Missing man’s heirs: Govt challenges IHC verdict to pay monthly allowance

Requests court to set aside July 13 judgement

ISLAMABAD: The government and local administration have challenged an Islamabad High Court (IHC)  judgement that holds certain government functionaries responsible for non-recovery of a missing person and ordered the state to pay a monthly compensation stipend to his family.

The Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Interior, and Islamabad’s district administration challenged on Saturday IHC Justice Athar Minallah’s landmark July 11 judgement in which he held that “enforced disappearance is one of the most cruel and inhuman acts and categorised as a crime against humanity.”

Setting a new precedent, Justice Minallah had said the act of enforced disappearance may also attract provisions of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 and for the first in Pakistan’s history penalised a retired general and several civilian officials in the case of a missing person.

The court had noted that such crimes create anguish, insecurity and fear among the close relatives, exposing them to grave economic and social consequences. It also creates a sense of fear and insecurity in society, it had said.

The judgement came with regard to the case of an IT professional, Sajid Mehmood, who was abducted from his house in Sector F-10 in front of his family and neighbours in 2016. His wife, Mahera Sajid, had later filed a writ of habeas corpus in IHC through her counsel, Umer Gilani.



Beside safe recovery of her husband, Mahera had demanded that the federal government should be held liable for gross negligence in discharging its duty to protect the liberty of her husband and as a consequence, must pay her and her daughters monthly maintenance.

Apart from holding them responsible, Justice Minallah had later also imposed a cost of Rs100,000 each on the Ministry of Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Zamirul Hassan Shah, Islamabad Chief Commissioner Zulfiqar Haider, Inspector General of Police Khalid Khattak, and District Magistrate Mushtaq Ahmed.

Costs of Rs300,000 were also imposed on Inspector Qaiser Niaz, who was the In-charge of Shalimar Police Station when Mehmood was abducted. Besides, the court had expressed displeasure over the performance of Inter-Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence and Intelligence Bureau.

In the appeal, the state through Advocate General Islamabad Tariq Mehmood Jehangiri questioned whether the single bench was right in accepting the petition as it was not maintainable without impleading the government or the state as respondents in the case.

He also questioned how the court was justified in imposing a fine on the heads of state functionaries and SHO in view of the facts and circumstances of the case.

In the chief commissioner and deputy commissioner’s appeal, their counsel said the appellants were not impleaded as a party in the petition and no relief whatsoever was claimed against the petitioners. The appellants requested the court to set aside the judgement.