KARACHI: Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday extended its interim order of restraining the anti-corruption court of taking any action against Fazlullah Pechuho, the Sindh health secretary and brother-in-law of Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari.
Pechuho had been tried by the anti-corruption court on the complaint of a suspended high school principal Muhammad Mithal for allegedly demanding a bribe and implicating him in a false case during his tenure as education secretary of the province.
Zardari’s brother-in-law had filed a criminal miscellaneous application and requested the SHC to quash the case which he maintained was false and fabricated.
Barrister Baloch Ahmed Junejo argued that Pechuho was a responsible officer and had taken strict action against the black sheep in the education department. Pechuho is being targeted with mala fide intentions, Junejo added. While denying the allegations, the lawyer termed the case as baseless and argued that it was meant for tarnishing Pechuho’s image.
According to the complainant, he was suspended twice illegally and the education department’s employees— Section Officer Abdul Jabbar and Junior Clerk Iftikhar Hussain— backed by the then education secretary had refused to reinstate him when he turned down their bribe demand of Rs 200,000.
In the Monday’s hearing, the bench extended its orders that restrained the anti-corruption court from carrying out the proceedings of the corruption case against Pechuho and adjourned the hearing.
In the earlier hearing, the SHC had suspended the non-bailable arrest warrant issued by the anti-corruption court for the arrest of Pechuho and restrained the police from arresting him.
