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KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday directed a committee headed by a deputy inspector general of police to make all possible efforts for the recovery of around 20 missing children.
The two-judge bench of the SHC headed by Justice Niamatullah Phulpoto, which is hearing a number of cases pertaining to missing persons, also directed DIG CIA Amin Yusufzai, who is heading the committee, to again appear on Nov 15 along with a progress report and justify the efforts taken by the committee for recovery of the missing children.
Earlier, on the directive of the SHC, the provincial police officer had constituted a committee comprising SSP CTD, SSP AVCC and SSP investigation (East) to make efforts to trace out the missing children.
On Thursday, the head of the committee through a progress report informed the bench that the committee was regularly interacting with the investigating officers as well as the parents of the missing children and closely examining the efforts being made for the recovery of around 20 children. The SSP CTD was also directed to provide necessary technical assistance to the IOs.
The report said that advertisements had already been published in leading newspapers while the news channels were being approached to air the news regarding missing children.
The provincial police chief also directed all the district superintendents of police to set up child protection desks in all districts for urgent response and supervising of such cases, it added.
Earlier, on the directive of the SHC, the police had lodged 23 FIRs regarding missing children at the Awami Colony, North Nazimabad, Nazimabad, Ferozabad, Saudabad, Docks, Preedy, Boat Basin, Quaidabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, New Karachi Industrial Area and Korangi police stations.
Later, two of the missing children returned home.
The petition was filed by Roshni Research and Development Welfare in 2012 seeking court directives to the provincial police for considering the missing children cases, who went missing from different parts of Karachi, a cognizable offence, and register FIRs in this regard.
The NGO claimed that cases of missing children were not properly investigated by the police which resulted in many avoidable deaths.
Published in Dawn, October 26th, 2018
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