Court of Foreign Affairs and others issues notice to Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others on petition filed by six foreigners
Foreign investors say ‘troubling events’ force them to leave the country
KARACHI: A constitution bench of the Sindh High Court on Friday dismissed a petition filed by six Chinese nationals against the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and others for harassment and restrictions on their movement in the name of “security matters”. Notices were issued to
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Muhammad Karim Khan Agha and Justice Adnan-ul-Karim Memon also put on notice the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and its consulate in Karachi, and federal and provincial law officers.
Mr. Xu Hui, Ms. Deng Huan and four other Chinese nationals have petitioned the SHC through their counsel Pir Rehman Mehsud and submitted that they, along with thousands of other Chinese nationals, after fulfilling all required legal access have come here and invested a lot of money and resources. in various business projects and sectors in Pakistan.
He maintained that it is the responsibility of the respective respondents to protect and provide a safe environment to all foreign nationals legally residing and investing in the country, including the petitioners.
The petitioners stated that the Sindh Police has engaged in repeated harassment over the past six to seven months, including imposing restrictions on the unauthorized movements of Chinese nationals in Karachi and Sindh, especially when they are being shown off. But they were subjected to arbitrary detention even inside their residences. Without clear legal grounds or specific incidents of “security issues” that warrant such actions.
He also claimed that the police personnel posted at the residences of the petitioners had literally locked them in their houses and restricted their movement within the confines of their houses on the instructions of their superiors and when The petitioners bowed to their illegal demands for payment of Rs.30. ,000 to Rs.50,000 then they would let them go.
The petitioners added that recently the officials of Sikhon police station had sealed seven industrial units of some other Chinese nationals, without prior notice, due to “security reasons”, who are now planning to invest in Lahore. were preparing or leaving the country at all, given the aforementioned unjustified restrictions.
They also claimed that, in fact, their troubles started on reaching the airport as the officials concerned did not allow them to enter the country without paying a bribe despite having legally required documents.
In the second phase the petitioners had to wait for hours under the direction of these officials as they could not go to their homes without bulletproof vehicles for which they themselves had to pay handsome sums, he maintained.
He further blamed the police for allegedly pelting stones at the cars of Chinese citizens, breaking their rear screens and claiming that the police officers deployed looked very rude and were not professionally trained. Because there are complaints of disturbing the privacy of applicants and demanding “tips”. 15,000 to 50,000 rupees.
The petitioners argued that they are not even allowed to file complaints/FIRS against such offences. He said that in October 2024, a theft of Rs 2 million had taken place at the house of a petitioner, but the concerned police station refused to register an FIR while the police arrested the petitioners without any legal justification. The translators were detained.
They also submitted that voices were raised earlier for redressal of their grievances, but no positive response was given by the respondents so far.
They maintained that the alleged harassment, illegal detention, unjustified restrictions on movement and even illegal pacification directly violated the universally recognized fundamental rights of the petitioners. Bail was granted under the Constitution of Pakistan. He added that such incidents had severely affected the applicants’ ability to run businesses and engage in essential professional and personal activities.
He asked the court to enjoin the alleged illegal and unconstitutional detention, harassment and restrictions on their movement, as well as to issue directives to the relevant authorities to ensure the lawful movement and security of the Chinese nationals residing here on the Line. Develop and implement appropriate security measures for With Pakistan’s commitment to investor protection and international obligations.
The petitioners directed the respondents to conduct a high-level joint inquiry against the officers/officials involved in such illegal activities and take strict and exemplary action against the culprits as per law.
He also referred the respondents to Sindh Chief Secretary, Provincial Home Secretary, Inspector General Police of Sindh and various other senior police officers.
After the preliminary hearing, the bench issued notices to the three respondents as well as the Deputy Attorney General and Advocate General of Sindh for a date to be fixed after four weeks.
Published in Dawn, January 25, 2025
