Nisar orders inquiry against officials over torture of school children

Two police officers suspended; senate chairman refers matter to human rights committee

ISLAMABAD: Taking notice of the illegal detention and torture of two schoolchildren in the capital, Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan on Wednesday ordered a thorough inquiry into the whole episode, sources told The Express Tribune. 

Further, Karachi Company SHO and ASI Rasheed have been suspended with immediate effect.



Two schoolboys from Rawalpindi, both 15-years –olds  Zohaib Khan and Asfandyar Abbasi, were picked up by Karachi Company police on Sunday night at around 11 pm near the metro station.

They were allegedly detained and badly beaten for hours.

During their 18 hour detention, the boys were allegedly  not allowed to contact their families and were forced to confess that they were out to rob people.

Waqar Imran, Zohaib’s father, told The Express Tribune that when his mother tried to call the boy at around 12.30 pm the phone was picked up by an unidentified man who kept on asking questions about Imran’s business while consistently avoiding identifying himself. The phone was later switched off.

Imran said he searched for his son in different police stations of the twin cities throughout the night but to no avail. On Monday morning, he filed an application about his missing son with the Banni police station.

However, with the help of a relative, he managed to trace his son’s phone to G-9 Markaz.



This prompted the family to visit Karachi Company police where they found their son in the lock-up. The police said a pistol-shaped lighter had been recovered from Abbasi’s possession. The kids were finally released Monday evening following the SSP’s intervention.

Meanwhile, during the Senate session, Senator Farhatullah Babar raised the issue of illegal detention.

Terming it a serious incident Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani referred the matter to the human rights committee with directions to investigate and report on it during the next session of the senate.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2017.