The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday ordered the provincial government to provide maximum security to PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
Directing the Sindh Home Department to make necessary arrangements for the purpose, the court also allowed Bilawal to use vehicles with tinted glasses and personal security guards.
The orders also contain directions to ensure security at public places for the PPP chairman who had moved the court to the provision of security in 2016 as the federal government has been unable to present policy for political leaders for years.
Later in 2018, the then Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar had directed all the provincial police chief to withdraw security protocol provided to ‘influential individuals’ not entitled to official protection – a move that had triggered severe criticism from different circles.
During the hearing, the Supreme Court had also advised politicians, particularly the JUI-F chief, to arrange for their own security, declaring that it would not allow election campaign at the expense of the state.
As the SHC heard the matter, Akhtar Hussain – the counsel for Bilawal – argued that his client was facing serious terrorism threats and different outfits could target him any time at any place. Different agencies also issued threat alerts on the subject, he added.
Justice KK Agha remarked that the reports suggested that Bilawal was facing serious threats and more delay could not be tolerated in the given situation.
“In our view, providing complete security to Bilawal is of extreme importance,” the high court judge observed.
Meanwhile, the assistant attorney general informed the court that no comprehensive policy had been devised to offer security to political leaders.
The abovementioned decision by the Supreme Court is still discussed whenever any issue arises.
After the assassination of religious scholar Maulana Adil in Karachi last month, Sindh Minister Saeed Ghani had stated that security for the slain seminary head had been discussed multiple times but the provincial government was unable to provide the same because its hands were tied by the 2018 Supreme Court order.