KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Tuesday directed SSP Malir Rao Anwar to appear before it and file comprehensive reply regarding the whereabouts of Pakistan Qaumi Movement (PQM) chairman Syed Iqbal Kazmi.

Headed by Justice Syed Mohammad Farooq Shah, a two-judge bench was hearing a constitutional petition seeking whereabouts of the PQM chief who had announced to take out a rally which was likely to be addressed by Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM) founder Altaf Hussain.

Shazia Kazmi, the wife of PQM chief, and party’s secretary general Zahid Maqsood approached the court against the law-enforcement agencies for allegedly detaining Mr Kazmi.

They impleaded the home secretary, director general of the Rangers, inspector general of police, DIG Karachi-East, SSP Malir, DSP Malir and SHO of Sharea Faisal police station as respondents.

The petitioners submitted that Mr Kazmi was on his way along with his police guard, constable Nabi Bakhsh, when he was intercepted near the Karachi airport on Jan 17 at around 3pm. They alleged that some police officials in uniform pulled out Mr Kazmi and the guard from their car, muffled them and took them away.

The petitioners said that the law enforcers later released the police guard, but Mr Kazmi had been ‘missing’ since then.

They said that the PQM chief had announced to take out a rally from Ayesha Manzil to Mazar-i-Quaid on Jan 21 to unite the divided nation, including political parties. They said he also filed a petition for permission to take out the rally after the authorities had denied the permission.

The petitioners said that they contacted the area police but to no avail, as the officials at the police station feigned ignorance about the arrest and detention of Mr Kazmi.

Kazmi went missing just four days before his scheduled rally which MQM founder Altaf Hussain was likely to address, but the rally could not be taken out in his absence.

On Tuesday, Mr Kazmi’s wife told the judges that her husband had been missing for the past 22 days yet there was no clue to his whereabouts. She said her husband was a chronic patient of asthma and she was concerned about his health.

The PQM’s secretary general said Mr Kazmi was in police protection at the time of detention, therefore, he must have been picked up by some other agency.

The court directed the federal and provincial law officer and Rangers’ prosecutor to get in touch with all the law-enforcement agencies and inquire about his whereabouts.

The bench issued notice to the deputy attorney general, advocate general and the prosecutor general for a date to be later fixed by the court’s office.

The petitioners asked the court to direct the respondent authorities to recover and produce Mr Kazmi in court.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2017