Dear reader, online ads enable us to deliver the journalism you value. Please support us by taking a moment to
LAHORE: The defence ministry on Monday told the Lahore High Court that missing rights activist Raza Mahmood Khan was not in the custody of any agency working under its control.
A report submitted by a deputy attorney general on behalf of the ministry stated that the agencies working under the ministry’s administrative control -- Military Intelligence (MI) and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) -- had intimated that the alleged missing person was not in their custody. Representing the petitioner, Advocate Asad Jamal argued before the court that the police had not carried out a proper investigation into the case and also failed to protect the evidence of the kidnapping incident.
He pointed out that the police even had not recorded statement of a citizen who reported the incident on police emergency helpline 15.
Justice Raja Shahid Mahmood Abbasi adjourned the hearing till May 10 and summoned investigations SP concerned along with a detailed report on the incident. Hamid Nasir Mahmood had filed the habeas corpus petition contending that his brother Raza Khan was allegedly kidnapped by unidentified persons on December 2, 2017 from his Model Colony residence.
He said Naseerabad police registered a kidnap case against unknown suspects but failed to recover his brother or make any arrest.
He asked the court to order the police to recover his brother and produce him before the court.
Published in Dawn, May 8th, 2018
Comments (5) Closed
Blaming agencies over every kidnapping have became a new trend in the country Whenever there is any report of someone is missing the police without any Investigation indirectly point towards the agencies and police have certainly decreased their workload even more by doing this
Our courts are helpless before our "agencies". It is very convenient for these agencies to say that they do not have this missing person because court or police cannot go and check their internment centers where they keep such people. These agencies pick up people in broad daylight without following any due process and then flatly deny having any information about arrested person. They dont even bother to tell why they are arresting someone and there is no forum where you can go and find any information about the arrested person. It is akin to " kidnapping" by state. They keep such persons in custody for months if not years. Lucky ones are ultimately released while others just simply vanish. Our agencies have zero regard for rule of law and operate like a mafia.
"Not in our custody" can have different meanings. He hasn't showed up yet. We may have lost him temporarily. He is volunteering information to intelligence agencies. He has been kidnapped by persons unknown. He is not in jail.
Really?? Have they ever lied?
The security agencies reply to the SC yet no one knows where the missing person is? The ordeal and mental torture continues for the family, is this democratic Pakistan or some communist country of the cold war era.