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