LHC dismisses plea alleging illegal custody

FIR registered against petitioner’s brothers, law officer tells court

LAHORE: Lahore High Court’s (LHC) Justice Anwaarul Haq Pannun has dismissed a plea seeking recovery of a petitioner’s two brothers from alleged illegal custody of Ibrahim Manika.

Ibrahim Manika appeared before the court on Monday. As the proceedings commenced, a law officer told the court that police had registered an FIR against the petitioner’s brothers whose recovery he had sought. The petitioner’s counsel told the court that the police had registered the FIR after he knocked the doors of the LHC.

The counsel contended that they did not know which police station had the custody of the petitioner’s brothers.  The judge said that now the FIR had been registered and the petitioner should go for obtaining a bail order. The petitioner had contended that his brothers Ahmad Hassan and Ijaz Ahmed were residents of Pakpattan where Ibrahim Manika also permanently resided. He said his brother Ijaz Ahmed had good relations with Ibrahim Manika.

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He said Ijaz had invested Ibrahim’s Rs1 million in his property business. He had later returned the invested amount along with a profit of Rs500,000. About seven months later, Ibrahim invited his brother at his farmhouse on Bedian Road Lahore and sent him to do some work with his driver on his vehicle, the petitioner said. However, the vehicle met an accident and was damaged. Manika blamed Ijaz for the accident and told him to get the vehicle repaired and give him a car for use during the period. The petitioner claimed that the respondent also threatened him, reminding him that he was the son of the prime minister’s wife.

The petitioner said his brother acquired a car on rent and gave it to Manika but he kept on threatening him.

On February 4, he came to his home along with policemen and took away his brother Ahmed Hassan, he added. Later, his brother Ijaz Ahmed was also called and taken into custody, the petition said.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25^th, 2020.