SHC irked at police’s failure to recover missing persons

Two pleas out of 20 disposed of as missing citizens appear before court

The Sindh High Court ruled on Wednesday that the police investigation into the recovery of missing persons is flawed. A two-member bench, headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto and comprising Justice Abdul Mobin Lakho, expressed annoyance at the authorities for their failure to recover missing persons and submit reports in this regard despite multiple notices issued by the court.

During the hearing of petitions pertaining to 20 missing persons, the bench was informed by the family of one missing man that his whereabouts have been traced after the passage of five years. The court was informed that the man named Abdur Rehman is detained at Malakand Jail. The family moved the court to direct the authorities to permit a visit and pleaded for his release.

The bench directed the federal defence and interior ministries' secretaries to make arrangements for Rehman's family to visit him. The court further directed the relevant authorities to release Rehman if he is not accused in any case.

The bench also questioned the performance of joint-investigation teams and the provincial task force.

The court was informed by the sister of a citizen, Ali Mehdi, that her brother was detained on March 12, 2018 from Rizvia Society. The officials are absent during JIT meetings, she said.

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Upon Justice Phulpoto's inquiry, the assistant attorney-general stated that he has not received any replies from the federal interior secretary. Following this, the court issued a show-cause notice to the secretary and sought an explanation on the matter.

While hearing the petition filed by the family of missing Muhammad, the bench observed that some 10 to 12 JITs have been formed but to no avail.

Along with issuing directives to convene a meeting of the provincial task force every month, the bench sought a list of citizens detained in the country's detention centres from the federal government and sought reports from both the interior and defence secretaries by March 11. The bench also directed law enforcement agencies to inform the court if persons detained in Karachi are being kept at centres in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

During the hearing, two citizens named Umar Mukashi and Shoaib appeared before the court after four years of disappearance. Justice Phulpoto asked Mukashi to inform the bench about the people who had detained him so that the court may take action against them.

In reply, Mukashi stated that he was blindfolded and does not know who his captives were.

The court disposed of the two petitions pertaining to recovery of Mukashi and Shoaib.

*With additional input from PPI

Published in The Express Tribune, February 4^th, 2021.