Tracing missing Syrian: Secy defence told to appoint person

"Ministry of foreign affairs had admitted in a letter that Bilal was picked up after his visa expired", says Petition.

ISLAMABAD: The defence secretary was told on Thursday to appoint a person to track down a Syrian who went missing from Islamabad in 2010.  Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui directed Secretary Defence Lt General (retd) Asif Yasin Malik to depute a person for the recovery of Bilal al-Samawari. The petition for Bilal’s recovery had been filed on October 10 by his friend, Muhammad Ismail. Bilal was studying LLB Shariah at the IIUI when he was picked up by security agencies after his visa expired. The petition said that the ministry of foreign affairs had admitted in a letter that Bilal was picked up after his visa expired. Justice Siddiqui adjourned the case till November 7.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26^th, 2012.