ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday said it would summon officials of Pakistani intelligence agencies if the administration failed to recover a “missing person” by Wednesday, local media reported, days after Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif assured it of helping reunit all such individuals with their families.
The court issued the directives while hearing a petition filed on September 12 for the recovery of 27-year-old Haseeb Hamza who was taken away by around 20 men, 15 of whom were in black uniform, on the intervening night of August 22 and 23, Pakistan’s Dawn news website reported.
In his petition, Hamza’s father, Zulfiqar Ali, stated his son was a farmer and worked in the Layyah district of eastern Punjab province, adding the unidentified men apprehended Hamza and seized several items, including five laptops, six cellphones and some documents, during the raid.
He made the federation of Pakistan, defense secretary, Military Intelligence (MI) chief and the interior ministry respondents in the case, urging the court to direct respondents to produce the detainee.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah presided over the hearing of the petition, during which Islamabad Inspector-General (IG) Dr. Akbar Nasir Khan informed the court that police had registered a case regarding Hamza’s disappearance.
“This is intolerable, IG sahib,” Chief Justice Athar Minallah was quoted as saying, before mentioning an earlier verdict regarding “missing persons” had held the IG and other officers responsible.
“The missing person should be presented before the court tomorrow at 10am. If that doesn’t happen, then we will call each and every [officer] and take action against them.”
The judge directed for sector commanders of MI, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) and the Special Branch to appear before the court, if the missing person was not recovered, according to the Dawn report.
The hearing of the case was adjourned till 11am on Wednesday.
Cases of “enforced disappearances” of citizens have for years been a divisive issue in Pakistan, where militants have waged war against the state for decades.
Families say people picked up by security forces often disappear for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Pakistani security and intelligence agencies deny involvement.
On September 9, PM Sharif appeared before the same court in a case relating to the disappearance of six “missing” persons, including journalist Mudassar Naaru.
The prime minister assured the court of making all efforts to recover all those who had been forcibly disappeared in the country and reunite them with their families.
