Missing persons: SHC summons IGP after law officer fails to show paperwork

Sharib Arsalaan Farooqui’s mother goes to court over disappearance.

KARACHI: A statement, unsubstantiated by documents, made by AIG Legal Dr Mazhar of the Sindh Police landed his Inspector General in trouble as the Sindh High Court ordered on Tuesday for Wajid Ali Durrani to appear before it personally at the next hearing in nine days.

Chief Justice Mushir Alam and Justice Imam Bux Baloch were hearing a constitutional petition filed by Rukhsana Farhat, who is the mother of Sharib Arsalaan Farooqui. Farooqui was once involved in high profile cases of terrorism, including the attack on the Corps Commander of Karachi case. He was bailed out as no charges against him were proved. He was arrested from his residence in Surjani Town on December 11, 2010 but has been missing since then.

On Tuesday, when the petition came up in court, Deputy Attorney General (DAG) Muhammad Ashraf Khan Mughal filed a statement by Lt. Col. Mirza Waseem Baig of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI)which denied that Farooqui was in their custody.

To a question from the court, AIG Legal Dr Mazhar submitted that they were making an effort to find the man. Perturbed by the stereotypical answer, the bench asked him to show the court documents on what investigations were being made and that indicated the stage of the inquiry.

The officer was unable to produce any independent investigation or enquiry. Upon this, the bench, sharing the anxiety of Farooqui’s elderly mother, said in a stern tone: “It shows that unless the family members of law enforcement agents disappear, they will not be bothered about common citizens.”

The bench then ordered the IGP Sindh to appear in person with the entire record of the investigations and inquiry. Otherwise we will pass an order on the officer’s competency to hold such an office, the unusual order said, directing the court’s office to fix the hearing after nine days.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 11^th, 2011.