Rangers DG issued notice in missing persons cases
Petitioners blame paramilitary force of not declaring the arrest of their loved ones
Maj Gen Bilal Akbar. PHOTO: FILE
KARACHI:
The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued on Monday notices to the Rangers director-general and others on a petition seeking whereabouts of a woman allegedly detained by the paramilitary force in December last year.
A division bench, headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, directed law officers to file comments of Maj Gen Bilal Akbar by April 25.
The petition, challenging the alleged detention of Nausheen Khatoon, was filed by Sarwat Jameel.
The petitioner named the Rangers DG, Sindh home secretary, the IG and others as respondents.
He submitted that Rangers personnel had taken Nausheen into custody from Kashmir Road on December 22, 2015. He said requests were made to relevant officials to share information regarding her whereabouts but they went unheard.
He argued that Nausheen's continuous detention was a violation of constitutional provisions that guarantee fundamental rights of every citizen. Therefore, it was pleaded to direct the paramilitary force to disclose her whereabouts.
After the initial hearing, the two judges issued notices to the Rangers DG, deputy attorney general and others to file replies to the allegations by April 25.
Other cases
The same bench, meanwhile, issued separate notices to the chiefs of Rangers and police to also file comments regarding the whereabouts of various other citizens allegedly in the custody of law enforcement agencies.
The relatives of the 'missing persons' have alleged that law enforcement agencies had picked up Sajid, Nadeem, Jan Muhammad, Aziz Ali, Mursaleen, Iqbal and others from across the city in recent days.
They stated that neither the detainees were being produced in any court nor any information on their whereabouts was being shared with the families, who fear their loved ones may be killed in an extra judicial manner.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2016.
The Sindh High Court (SHC) issued on Monday notices to the Rangers director-general and others on a petition seeking whereabouts of a woman allegedly detained by the paramilitary force in December last year.
A division bench, headed by Justice Irfan Saadat Khan, directed law officers to file comments of Maj Gen Bilal Akbar by April 25.
The petition, challenging the alleged detention of Nausheen Khatoon, was filed by Sarwat Jameel.
The petitioner named the Rangers DG, Sindh home secretary, the IG and others as respondents.
He submitted that Rangers personnel had taken Nausheen into custody from Kashmir Road on December 22, 2015. He said requests were made to relevant officials to share information regarding her whereabouts but they went unheard.
He argued that Nausheen's continuous detention was a violation of constitutional provisions that guarantee fundamental rights of every citizen. Therefore, it was pleaded to direct the paramilitary force to disclose her whereabouts.
After the initial hearing, the two judges issued notices to the Rangers DG, deputy attorney general and others to file replies to the allegations by April 25.
Other cases
The same bench, meanwhile, issued separate notices to the chiefs of Rangers and police to also file comments regarding the whereabouts of various other citizens allegedly in the custody of law enforcement agencies.
The relatives of the 'missing persons' have alleged that law enforcement agencies had picked up Sajid, Nadeem, Jan Muhammad, Aziz Ali, Mursaleen, Iqbal and others from across the city in recent days.
They stated that neither the detainees were being produced in any court nor any information on their whereabouts was being shared with the families, who fear their loved ones may be killed in an extra judicial manner.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 12th, 2016.