LAHORE: The Punjab home department told the Lahore High Court on Tuesday five out of seven allegedly missing under-trial prisoners at Kot Lakhpat jail had been handed over to military authorities for their prosecution by military courts.

An assistant advocate general submitted a report in the court on behalf of the department and the jail superintendent during hearing of petitions moved by families of six members of a banned outfit on trial for sectarian murders, complaining denial of access to their kin by the jail officials.

The suspects include Qari Asif Mahmood, Ikramullah, Abdul Rauf Gujjar, Sabir Shah, Hashim Abdullah, Sheikh Farhan and Rafiullah Khan.

The report stated that Sheikh Farhan and Hashim Abdullah were still detained in the Kot Lakhpat jail, while the remaining five had been handed over to military authorities on direction of the interior ministry.

At this, the petitioners’ counsel sought court’s permission to make the interior ministry a necessary party in the petition. The court allowed the request and adjourned hearing for a date to be fixed by office.

Muhammad Rafiq and others had filed the petitions saying the jail authorities were not allowing them to see their family members, the suspects, for many weeks. The petitioners expressed serious apprehension about the well-being of the suspects. They sought an order for jail authorities to allow their meeting with the suspects.

The suspects were arrested last year for involvement in targeted killing of Advocate Shakir Ali Rizvi, Arshad Ali Shah, Dr Syed Ali Haider and his son Murtaza Ali, Khurram Raza Qadri of Sunni Tehreek, Maulana Sahamsur Rehman Muavia of Ahle Sunnat-Wal-Jamat (ASWJ) and life attempts on writer Asghar Nadeem Syed, journalist Raza Rumi and other cases.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2015

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