Missing minors: Court summons police chiefs over inaction

Despite the arrest of the suspect, police not recovering the children.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday summoned senior officials of Islamabad police to explain the delay in recovering two minor girls from the custody of their abductors.

Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui directed Islamabad senior superintendent of police, superintendent of police rural and station house officer Lohi Bher, to appear in person before the court on Friday (today).

Earlier, Mehboob Ahmed filed a habeas corpus petition seeking the recovery of his nieces, who were kidnapped by their father’s relatives, Amjad Nawaz and Arshad Nawaz, on May 20. Ahmed, who is the maternal uncle of the minors, claimed that the mother was “unrightfully being kept away from her daughters”.

The petitioner’s counsel Barrister Zafarullah Khan contended before the court that his client’s nieces, Maheen, eight and Dil-e-Shayal, five, were kidnapped by Amjad and others at gunpoint from their house. He maintained that the police had registered a case against the accused and Ahmed Nawaz was arrested, but the minor girls are yet to be recovered.

He said police officials were reluctant to take action to recover the girls due to pressure from a senior politician from Multan.

Khan informed the bench, that the mother had previously petitioned district and sessions court Multan for the recovery of her minors last August.

The girls were restored to her after the court passed a decree in her favour.

“Police inaction is illegal and contrary to the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898,” Khan said. He argued that the illegal detention of the girls was a violation of the fundamental rights of the petitioner.

The counsel said the petitioner’s sister married Allah Nawaz in 2003, but left him last year, because of the “inhumane treatment meted out to her”. She was forced to leave her daughters, because her husband refused to let them accompany their mother.

He prayed the court to direct the police officials for the recovery of minors and arrest the co-accused. After a preliminary hearing, the court adjourned the case till today.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 1^st, 2012.