KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Friday expressed resentment towards the interior ministry for not deporting a detained Indian national despite lapse of around seven years and warned that the interior secretary would be summoned if the deportation was not carried out.

The court observed that the appellant was an Indian national while the ministry could not be able to confirm his nationality apparently due to lack of efforts.

The single-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha directed the ministry of interior to depute an officer well-versed with the facts of the case or file a compliance report at the next hearing.

Abdul Mughni was arrested in 2013 by the Mobina Town police station near Abul Hassan Ispahani Road and booked him under various provisions of the Foreigners Act.

Abdul Mughni was arrested in 2013 and booked under Foreigners Act

A sessions court had sentenced him to six months in prison in 2017. The convict filed an appeal against his conviction before the SHC.

The bench said that since the appellant had already served out his sentence, the jail superintendent had been directed to make arrangements for his deportation through the home department.

However, at the last hearing, it also noted that the focal person of the home department of Sindh had submitted that a correspondence was made with the ministry of interior on the subject matter and it did not respond and thereafter, the court had issued a notice to the secretary to send an official familiar with this case to explain as to why the appellant had not been deported yet.

On Friday, a section officer of the ministry turned up and asserted that the deportation had not been made yet due to certain procedural issues.

The bench in its order said: “I find it quite extraordinary that after a lapse of seven years, ministry of interior has not been able to confirm whether the appellant is an Indian national or not. Prima facie this is because of lack of efforts on the party of ministry of interior”.

The bench stated that when the section officer was confronted, he was not even aware if the Indian government had similar computerised national identify card system like Nadra.

“In the event the impugned order dated 24.08.2017 regarding the deportation of the appellant is not complied with by the next hearing, this court will have no option except to call the secretary, ministry of interior, government of Pakistan in person to explain as to how his department is actually working in such like matters”, it added.

The bench asked its office to send a copy of this order to the interior secretary for information and compliance.

“It is expected that on the next date of hearing, secretary, ministry of interior shall send an officer well-served with the facts of the case or file his compliance report via DAG [deputy attorney general] regarding the deportation of the appellant. In this regard, reasonable time is given and this matter shall come up on 13.05.2024 at 09:00am”, it concluded.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2024