On Friday, the CJ disposed of a petition for the recovery of a missing lecturer directing the petitioner – Parveen Akhtar seeking recovery of her son – to move the commission constituted by the federal government on the direction of the Supreme Court for the recovery of missing persons. Prior to that the defence secretary, Lt Gen. (retired) Sayed Athar Ali told the court that the lecturer was not in the custody of any agency working under the ministry of defence. The secretary submitted in an affidavit that Hafiz Tahir Mahmood was not in their custody.
The petitioner had submitted that 18 men in police uniform and 12 in plainclothes had forcibly entered her house in Toba Tek Singh on July 9 and held her son as well as their relatives Muhammad Usman Gujjar and Javed Anwar, blindfolded them and led them away. She said the raiding party had also taken away Hafiz Tahir Mahmood’s passport, driving licence, registration documents of his motorcycle, snapshots of her husband, wedding photographs of her son, educational certificates of the entire family, an ATM card, several CNICs, ownership deeds of family land, a .32-bore pistil, cheque books and a radio set with them. She said Mahmood was a lecturer at Islamia College, Jhang Road. She said that a supposed secret agency official had later told her over telephone that her son had lost his mind. She said she had approached several police stations by got no clue about her son. She said she feared that he son would be killed in fake encounter.
She also said she suffered from cancer and heart diseases and would die if her son’s absence continued to distract from her treatment. She had prayed that court issue directions for recovery of her son, his production before the court and for setting him free.
Missing businessman:
Hearing a case about the missing businessman from Faisalabad, the CJ summoned the Faisalabad Anti Sectarian Staff DSP on September 3 after the businessman’s wife told the court she had learnt that her husband was in the DSP’s custody.
Earlier, the defence secretary, Lt Gen. (retired) Athar Ali, appearing in the court on Friday stated that the person was not in the custody of any of the agencies working under the defence ministry.
Ms Shazia Ramazan, the petitioner then informed the court that she had been told that her husband, Muzzammil Ahmed, was currently in the custody of DSP Naveed Younas.
In her habeas corpus petition Ms Ramazan had submitted that uniformed policemen and some other people had taken her husband in custody from Ghulam Muhammadabad, Faisalabad, on July 28. She said that her husband was a law-abiding citizen and not involved in any unlawful activity. He had a religious bookshop in Ghulam Muhammadabad but did not have links with any religious or political group.
She said the officials had arrested her husband in the presence of about 35 witnesses. Since then, there had been no clue to his whereabouts despite all efforts in that regard. She added that she feared for her husband’s life unless he was produced before a court of law.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 28th, 2010.
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