Desperate times: Family of missing brothers stages protest

The two missing brothers are said to be in the custody of law enforcement agencies

KARACHI: The family of two brothers, Mirza Mehmood Ali Baig and Mirza Saud Ali Baig, who have been missing for several months and are said to be in the custody of law enforcement agencies, demanded that they be presented in court.

"If there are charges against them, they should be brought before the court," demanded Afia, the wife of Mehmood at a press conference at Karachi Press Club on Wednesday. "We should know where they are and whose custody they are in."



According to the family, Mehmood, who is in the construction business, was arrested by the police and men in plainclothes from his house in April. "I saw the police taking him away in a white Corolla," said Afia. "My husband is innocent. I have been living with him for 11 years and have small children. Why have they taken him away?"

Saud was arrested in September from Karachi Airport upon his arrival from Dubai. Since then, there is no information about them.

Mirza Ali Baig, a brother of the missing persons, also spoke at the press conference. He said that they had filed FIRs at the Sharae Faisal police station and are fighting a case in the court for their recovery.

The family denies affiliation with any religious or political party. It refuted the police's claims that there was a dispute between Mehmood and Junaid Ali Shah of AO Clinic over the house he had constructed. "The police are giving a wrong twist that there was a fight between Junaid and my brother," said Mirza Ali Baig. "We enjoy good relations with him and he had made a full payment to my brother."

No security or law enforcement agency has claimed that the two men are in their custody, said the family.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 5^th, 2015.