KARACHI: A District and Session Court in Karachi on Wednesday reserved verdict on the bail application of social activist Sarim Burney in a document tampering and human trafficking case,
The court will likely pronounce the reserved decision on the bail application on Thursday (tomorrow).
Advocate Amir Nawaz Waraich, the counsel for Sarim Buney, argued that the FIA has not yet submitted final challan of the case while the court has also given custody of the children to trust on the application of custody.
“The decision to take the trust into government custody was also withdrawn,” the lawyer argued.
“Parents concerned could also not submit any documents to prove their relation with children,” Advocate Waraich Advocate further argued.
Earlier, a Karachi City Court had turned down the bail application of activist Sarim Burney.
The Judicial Magistrate East announced that the court had reserved its decision on Burney’s bail application in the pending human trafficking case after hearing the arguments from both sides.
Previously, a local court granted a two-day physical remand of Sarim Burney to the Federal Investigations Agency (FIA) on June 6.
Investigation officer Chaudhary Bilal had earlier requested a 14-day physical remand for the activist on the basis that it was necessary to gather evidence and apprehend any other alleged accomplices of Burney after obtaining his statement.
However, an extension of the physical remand was denied with the FIA being given custody of the accused for only two days.
On June 5, the Federal Investigation Agency’s (FIA) Anti-Human Trafficking Team arrested human rights activist Sarim Burney immediately upon his arrival at Karachi Airport from the United States (US).
The agency claimed the social activist was arrested over his alleged involvement in serious offenses, including human trafficking.
It claimed that the agency had been surveilling Burney’s activities for some time before his arrest.
The FIA alleged that renowned social worker had been involved in human trafficking, including smuggling and illegally sending more than 25 children to the US for adoption. The FIA claimed it had received a complaint filed by American authorities against Sarim Burney Welfare Trust on the charges of fraud and fasifying documents.
