Tracing the missing: Sindh High Court orders ‘meaningful actions’

Observes home dept, police failing to deliver results

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) observed on Monday that the provincial task force and joint investigation teams (JIT) formed to investigate the alleged missing persons’ cases were failing to deliver results.

A division bench, while hearing a set of petitions seeking recovery of various citizens from alleged unlawful detention of law enforcers, expressed its dismay over the failure of law enforcers, the provincial task force and JITs in delivering results.

The two-member bench further observed that concrete and result-oriented efforts should be made by the home department, police and others in order to establish whereabouts of the missing persons.

The bench was exclusively hearing various petitions in which the petitioners had pleaded to the court to order recovery of their loved ones from alleged illegal custody of the police, Rangers and other law enforcement agencies.

During Monday’s proceedings, the judges were informed that the court had previously ordered the provincial government and the law enforcers to recover two missing persons - Zia Iqbal and Mirza Mehmood Ali Baig - but they had not made any effort in this regard.

The bench directed the home department and police to file their replies as to why steps for recovery of the two citizens had not yet been taken.

The bench also issued notices on other petitions, directing the provincial and federal law enforcement agencies to file their comments on the whereabouts of the alleged detainees.

Pasban leader’s son

The judges, meanwhile, summoned the superintendent of the Karachi central prison to explain why Pasban Pakistan’s general-secretary, Usman Moazzam, was not produced before the JIT. Moazzam had moved a petition seeking recovery of his son, Saad Siddiqui, from alleged detention of law enforcers. Later, he himself was taken into custody in a separate case.

Filling a progress report in the case, Gulberg sub-divisional police officer DSP Muhammad Sabir informed that the JIT was formed in compliance of the court’s order to record Moazzam’s statement. The officer said Moazzam, who is in Karachi central jail, was produced before the JIT only once. When jail authorities were approached for his production again, they refused to shift Moazzam to the police station.

Sabir added that the prison authorities asked him to produce the court order with regard for shifting his custody to the police station for recording of his statement. Taking notice of the incident, the bench directed the jail’s superintendent to appear in court on August 28.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 16^th, 2016.