Family harassment case: Court seeks police, intelligence official’s version

KARACHI:

The Sindh High Court has sought the comments of federal interior ministry, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and the provincial police chief among other respondents in a case of harassment of a missing person’s family.

The divisional bench of Justice Muhammad Tasnim and Justice Riazat Ali Sahar heard a petition on Friday alleging the harassment of the family of Muhammad Ramzan, a man missing for more than a year now. He was whisked away by the law enforcement agencies personnel on February 11, 2011, the petitioner had stated.

Ramzan’s brother Fazal Ali submitted that his family was being harassed by the law enforcers for appearing before the commission on missing persons. The petitioner alleged that on March 3, he was also picked up by the law enforcement personnel near a gas station in Khairpur Nathan Shah. “I was asked as to why I had gone to the missing persons’ commission,” Ali stated. “I told them that there was no male to accompany my sister-in-law, so I had gone with her.”

The petitioner submitted that he was tortured by the police and other law enforcement personnel and was later thrown near the Salahuddin shrine, with threats to keep away from the missing persons’ case.

After hearing the counsel for petitioner, the court issued notices of appearance to Deputy Attorney General, Sindh Advocate General, director generals of ISI and MI, interior secretary, Sindh inspector general of police, Hyderabad Deputy Inspector General and others respondents.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2012.