PHC orders police to recover missing child

Chief Justice Atiq Shah refuses further time, summons IGP after five-month delay

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Friday directed police to recover a child missing from Faqirabad for the past five months and produce him before the court by next Monday.

Chief Justice SM Atiq Shah observed that despite the passage of five months, police had failed to recover the child and no further time could be granted.

During the hearing of a petition seeking the child's recovery, the Chief Justice ordered the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Inspector General of Police to appear in person. On the subsequent hearing, Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) Peshawar Dr Mian Saeed and the Advocate General appeared in court.

The petitioner told the court that her son had been missing for five months and that a ransom demand had been made through a phone call. Police informed the court that the caller had been traced through call data, but the child was not found in his custody, preventing recovery so far.

The Advocate General suggested the possibility that the child might have run away from home. The Chief Justice rejected the suggestion, stating that the mother had approached the court for her child's recovery and it was the duty of the relevant authorities to find him. "The court is not concerned with how the child is recovered; the authorities must find him," he remarked.

CCPO Peshawar assured the court that every possible effort would be made for the child's early recovery but requested more time. The Chief Justice noted that had the concerned Station House Officer made timely efforts, the child would already have been recovered. He refused any further extension and ordered the child's production in court by next Monday.

The Advocate General also informed the court that contact had been made with the Advocate General of Punjab to seek cooperation in the recovery efforts. The hearing was adjourned until next Monday.