In this January 28, 2011 file photo, security officials escort Raymond Davis to a local court in Lahore. — Photo by AP

LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) on Friday directed the federal and Punjab governments to recover the heirs of Faizan Haider and Faheem — the two young men shot dead by CIA contractor Raymond Davis on January 27 — in 10 days’ time, DawnNews reported.

The court issued the directive during the hearing of a petition filed by a lawyer, Malik Munsif Awan. The petitioner had stated that the families of the two men had ‘gone missing’ after the release of Davis in the double-murder case.

The directive was issued after LHC’s Justice Iftikhar Hussain Chaudhry rejected the request of the federation’s lawyers for three weeks’ time to submit the government’s reply with regard to the status of the heirs.

The hearing was subsequently adjourned to April 12.

In his petition, Munsif Awan had apprehended that the families of the two men were kidnapped and kept in illegal detention. He had also submitted, quoting media reports, that the families had a huge amount of Rs200 million that they had received as blood money with them and their lives could be in danger.

The petitioner had also stated that there were also apprehensions that they were forced to accept the blood money for the release of Davis. Munsif Awan had therefore requested the court to summon authorities concerned and direct them to ‘recover’ the victims’ families and present them in the court.

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