ISLAMABAD: While the police struggle to locate the accused in the murder of a prosecutor last year, his alleged accomplice filed a petition for bail at the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday.

An accused Abdullah Umar allegedly involved in the murder of special prosecutor of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) was released on bail in July 2014 on medical grounds. However, on June 20, he went missing at a time when a petition seeking his bail cancellation was filed in the IHC.

Umar was allegedly picked up on the night of June 20, along with his cousins Advocate Hammad Dadan, and Ammar Dadan.

The recent petition seeking release on bail for Adnan Adil one of Umar’s alleged accomplices’ was heard by a two members’ division bench of the IHC comprising Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui and Justice Athar Minallah.

Another accused along with a lawyer missing since June 20

The police arrested Adnan Adil and his brother Hammad Adil from Barakahu in September 2013 in connection with the Chaudhry Zulfiqar murder case. According to the challan, another man named Harris Khan was killed during the attack on the prosecutor after his gunman Farman Ali opened fire on the armed attackers. The accused Umar, who is missing, also got injured by the shots fired by the same gunman.

Tanveer Ahmed alias Ishaq member of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan Punjab is also wanted for the murder of the prosecutor.

The FIA’s special prosecutor Chaudhry Zulfiqar was killed on May 3, 2013 while he was on his way to appear before ATC in connection with Benazir Bhutto murder case.

According to the police report, in addition to prosecutor’s murder, these accused were also allegedly involved in the murder of former federal minister for minorities, Shahbaz Bhatti, who was assassinated near his residence in the Sector I-8 in March 2011.

Hearing the plea seeking recovery of the missing accused and a lawyer, IHC Justice Siddiqui directed the superintendent of police to trace the missing men and produce them before the court.

The judge also warned that in case the missing persons are not traced the court can summon the head of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI).

During the hearing, President IHC bar association Raja Aleem Khan Abbasi also accompanied the petitioner Mumtaz Abbasi the father of missing the lawyer.

Aleem Abbasi contended before the court that after the promulgation of Protection of Pakistan Act (PPA), the law enforcement agencies can detain a suspect for 90 days.

He said that if there was some evidence against the missing persons, these must be produced before a competent judicial forum. Expressing concerns over the disappearance of a citizen including a member of Islamabad bar, Abbasi said that the lawyers would formulate strategy to register their protest at appropriate forums.

The Industrial Area police informed the IHC that the FIR in this matter has been registered and the police were making efforts to trace the disappeared persons.

The court clubbed both the petition one related to cancellation of bail to the accused and second seeking grant of bail to the another accused and adjourned further hearing till Tuesday (today).

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2015

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