Missing persons’ case: A competition of veracity at the Peshawar High Court
Hearing a writ petition filed by Zohra, wife of Akhtar Muneer who is believed to be missing, PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan was informed that her husband was earlier picked up by Mohmand Taliban who later released him on payment of Rs0.6 million in ransom. Then, the Mandani Police raided their house and picked Muneer up.
“I was present at home and these police officials raided my house and picked up my husband,” Zohra said, after taking an oath at the bar. She identified Noor Ali, a former inspector at the Mandani Police Station, an ASI and a hawaldar.
In a swift response, the police denied arresting Muneer and also took an oath at the bar, saying they had not picked him up.
The court later ordered that the case be enlist to the already over-loaded cause list for May 16, as nine cases were put on it on Tuesday and several others earlier.
Meanwhile, Deputy Attorney-General Iqbal Mohmand informed the court that two persons, Zar Gul Jan and his nephew Muhammad Gul, son of petitioner Sahib Jan, were picked up from Spogmai Plaza in Shaheen Town and have been shifted to an internment centre Forte Slop in Khyber Agency.
Iqbal told the court about Fayaz, a laboratory technician at a hospital in Landi Kotal and a resident of Khyber Agency, saying that he has been shifted to the same internment centre. Fayaz was allegedly picked up by Khyber Rifles, a paramilitary force that is part of the Frontier Corps.
In another case, a man named Amanullah was asked to approach the Fata tribunal. He had earlier been thought of as a missing person but was then found behind bars where he was sent by Orakzai Agency’s political administration over alleged militant links.
Meanwhile, in two other cases, the defence ministry sought 15 days from the court to submit a reply.
COMMENTS
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ