PESHAWAR: A two-member bench of Peshawar High Court on Thursday sought reply from Military Intelligence (MI) in a writ petition challenging mysterious disappearance of an Indian national from Kohat district in 2012.

The other intelligence agencies have expressed ignorance regarding the whereabouts of the missing Indian national.

The bench comprising PHC Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Mohammad Daud Khan directed a deputy attorney general to ensure filing of reply by the said agency within a fortnight in the petition filed by Fauzia Ansari, mother of the missing Indian Hamid Nehal Ansari.

The bench also directed the petitioner’s counsel Shakil Asif and a representative of the petitioner, Zeenat Shehzadi, that they should also submit written details to the court for what purpose the missing person had visited Kohat and why he entered Pakistan without any legal documents.

Other intelligence agencies have expressed ignorance about whereabouts of Hamid Nehal Ansari

The bench fixed March 24 for next hearing, observing that the petitioner had also to satisfy the court about the purpose of visit of the missing Indian.

When the bench took up for hearing the case, deputy attorney general Manzoor Khalil said that all the intelligence agencies had expressed ignorance regarding Mr Ansari except the MI which had yet to file its reply in the case. The DAG requested the bench to allow him some time so that he could ask MI for filing the reply.

The bench inquired from the petitioner’s counsel for what purpose Mr Ansari visited Kohat and why he came there without any legal documents. The counsel stated that Mr Ansari had gone to Afghanistan in search of job and a Pakistani national Attaur Rehman convinced him to visit Kohat. He added that once Mr Ansari was brought before the court the situation would be cleared.

During a previous hearing the then SHO of KDA police station in Kohat, Faizullah Khan, had submitted his statement stating that a suspected person was arrested by the rider squad after information was provided by an inspector of Intelligence Bureau, Naeem Khan, on November 14, 2012.

He had stated that the suspect was interrogated by an inspector, Ibrahimullah Khan, and his luggage was brought from Palwasha Hotel where he was staying. He had claimed that a fake identity card by the name of Hamza was also recovered from the person. He had alleged that the suspect was later on taken away by personnel of ISI and MI.

The petitioner in her petition stated that her son had gone to Afghanistan in November 2012 in search of a job in the aviation industry and from there he entered Pakistan so as to help a female in distress in Kohat. She claimed that her son was president of the Rotary Club Delhi and had got in touch with the girl through Facebook, a social networking site.

Mr Ansari, a 28-year-old MBA degree holder, was a teacher at Mumbai Management College. The petitioner believed that her son was in touch with some of his Pakistani friends and they suggested to him to cross into Pakistan without visa.

The petitioner had earlier sent an application to the human rights cell of the Supreme Court which had forwarded the case to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in March 2014. The commission had on April 10, 2014, directed Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home department to constitute a joint investigation team for tracing the whereabouts of Mr Ansari.

On the directives of the commission an FIR was registered at City police station in Karak district under section 365 of Pakistan Penal Code. Later on, another FIR was registered at KDA police station.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2015

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