KARACHI: A request to withdraw their plea was made on Tuesday by six Chinese nationals who had petitioned the Sindh High Court a few days prior against alleged police harassment.
On January 24, the SHC sent notices to the Chinese Embassy in Pakistan and its consulate in Karachi, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and federal and provincial law officers regarding a petition against alleged harassment that was filed by two women, Deng Huan Yang Zhita, and four Chinese men, Xu Hui, Zhang Lichun, Zeng Fanxiong, and Liuhaiguang.
They stated in the appeal that they, along with hundreds of other Chinese nationals, arrived in Pakistan after completing all the legal requirements and made large financial and material investments in a range of industries and economic endeavors. However, throughout the past six to seven months, the Sindh police have harassed them repeatedly and unjustly restricted their movement.
Their claims caused a stir since the home minister of Sindh initially ordered an investigation into the claims made by Chinese nationals, but later asserted that their petition was illegal because the Chinese nationals had not followed the proper procedures.
According to a new application submitted to the SHC, they are satisfied after receiving guarantees from high-ranking government officials.
In light of this, petitioners’ attorney Peer Rehman Mehsud applied to the SHC to have his clients’ petition withdrawn.
He claimed that because his clients were “satisfied” after receiving guarantees from high-ranking government officials, they were unwilling to move on.
According to the application, “We do not wish to proceed with the matter further after the deponent and other petitioners were approached and assured by high-level authorities to redress our grievances in accordance with law stricto sensu, and have taken some material steps in that regard,” following the Hon’ble Court’s order dated 24.01.2025.
We do, however, retain the right to pursue legal action for any subsequent reason. That the deponent, other petitioners, and other Chinese nationals/investors in general would be severely harmed and sustain irreversible losses and damage unless and until my accompanying application is approved,” it concluded.
The respondents received letters from the SHC’s constitutional bench on January 24 directing them to submit responses within four weeks. The outcome of their application to withdraw the petition will be determined by the same bench.
The petitioners claimed that their widely acknowledged fundamental rights—which were also protected by the Pakistani Constitution—were directly violated by harassment, wrongful detentions, unwarranted movement restrictions, and even “taking illegal gratifications on the part of police and others.”
Additionally, they claimed that the police were accepting payments to allow them to leave their homes and that, under the guise of security concerns, they had closed seven other Chinese nationals’ industrial facilities without warning.
According to the petitioner, their suffering began as soon as they landed at the airport. They must wait for hours because they are unable to travel to their homes without bulletproof cars, which they must purchase for hefty prices.
Ghulam Nabi Memon, the head of Sindh police, defended the security measures, stating that the police were taking the issue of Chinese security more seriously by addressing any potential security lapse or gap in light of attacks on Chinese citizens by the banned Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).
He stated that while “we cannot compromise their security,” it is likely that some Chinese citizens desired “free movement.” He claimed that some of their local guests or sponsors were unwilling to pay for security measures like installing CCTV, building walls or barbed wire, or giving them armored cars.