*KARACHI: *A petition has been filed in the Sindh High Court by ManzarBashir Memon, a high court advocate who is the son of Bashir Memon,Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The petition claims that the family of Bashir Memon is being harassed andpersecuted by influential persons in Sindh because the FIA is pursuinginvestigations against these powerful elements.

As per the petition, the names of the “influential political persons”,their associates, and related businesses have not been listed in thepetition, for “reasons of secrecy and pendency of the inquiries that arecontinuing on the advanced level”.

While listing respondents as the Government of Sindh through the chiefsecretary, the Sindh home secretary, the Sindh Works and Servicessecretary, the inspector general of the Sindh Police, and the SindhInquiries and Anti-Corruption Establishment through its chairman, thepetitioner says that while his father is no stranger to persecution, havingbeen given ‘hardship’ postings and been the target of “fabricatedcampaigns” to vilify him after “refusing to distort the results of aninquiry that was entrusted to him by [the SHC] with regard to dozens ofcriminal cases filed against the political rivals of the then-ruling party.”

The petitioner claims that in fear of the negative fallout of the inquiriesbeing conducted by the FIA against them, the influential persons andbusinesses “started using the resources and machinery of the Government ofSindh to pressurise and coerce Bashir to influence the inquiries so as toexact favourable results” from them.