LHC grants IGP till tomorrow noon to produce Imran Riaz

CJ Bhatti displeased with progress report on anchorperson’s case

LAHORE:

The Lahore High Court (LHC) granted Inspector General Police (IGP) Dr Usman Anwar time until tomorrow to produce anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan.

Earlier today the court summoned the IGP, home secretary and additional chief secretary in person after the police failed to produce Khan.

Previously, the court had directed Sialkot’s district police officer (DPO) to locate the whereabouts of the anchorperson and present him before the court in the next 48 hours.

LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti had issued the order earlier this week while hearing a plea seeking the recovery of the journalist who has been missing for the past week.

The journalist, who is a staunch and vocal supporter of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) chairman Imran Khan and his policies, was arrested by the police on May 11 from the Sialkot Airport.

The government had swung into action and started a crackdown against the PTI supporters after former premier Imran Khan's arrest from the premises of the Islamabad High Court on May 9 sparked widespread protests and rioting.

Imran Riaz Khan was reportedly arrested for allegedly inciting violence during clashes between security forces and PTI supporters.

Read Imran condemns 'illegal arrests, abductions' of PTI workers

As proceedings commenced today, LHC CJ Bhatti expressed dissatisfaction over the progress report submitted by the DPO.

"The DPO had sought 48 hours for this report," the judge exclaimed as he deemed it "nothing but evidence of the non-seriousness of the police officials in the case".

"The appointment of a sub-Inspector to probe this matter alone shows just how committed the police officials are," the court observed.

"How would you expect law enforcement agencies to cooperate with him?" CJ Bhatti said, adding that they were "special people" and therefore, a "senior official should have been assigned the task of sitting with them'.

An FIR has been registered, the matter is being probed and an investigation is being carried out, the law officer told the court.

Khan's lawyer however argued that the police's claims were empty promises.

"The DPO has not only failed to come up with a comprehensive report but also failed to satisfy the court over the measures taken to identify those who took Imran Riaz Khan, the efforts made to trace the vehicle and where the records of the CCTV footage of the event are," the lawyer maintained.

The arguments revolved primarily around how the anchorperson could be traced, if law agencies are unaware of his whereabouts, who could be tasked with producing him before court, the identification of the vehicle used to pick up Khan and how a joint investigation team (JIT) could be formed if the investigation is unsatisfactory.

The court then summoned IGP Anwar who appeared before the single bench during the second round this afternoon.

"The matter is being probed and we require some time to investigate the issue properly, he said as he assured the court that he would "leave no stone unturned in recovering or producing Imran Riaz Khan".

He also informed the court that all agencies were cooperating with the police and assured the court that sincere efforts will be made to trace Khan.

CJ Bhatti then granted police until 12:15 pm Friday to produce the anchorperson and adjourned the proceedings.