PESHAWAR: A single-member Peshawar High Court bench on Monday ordered the suspension of the station house officer (SHO) of a local police station for not investigating the whereabouts of a missing person after the registration of an FIR over a year ago.

Chief Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth summoned Khazana police station SHO Ahmad Gul Khan to appear before the court for recording a statement about a contempt petition filed by Bajaur resident Ubaidullah against him and investigation officer for not investigating the disappearance of his father, Maulana Gulzada, since Oct 2017.

The chief justice observed that an SHO was the custodian of his area, so how he could remain ignorant regarding the disappearance of the local residents.

“We will suspend 10-12 SHOs after which they will start probing took away people from their residences,” he warned.

PHC CJ wonders how police can be ignorant about residents’ disappearance

The chief justice said in almost all missing person cases, it was observed that unidentified people had picked up people from their houses after which was whereabouts were not known.

Additional advocate general Qaisar Ali Shah said the SHO was posted to the Khazana police station two months ago and the disappearance occurred before that, so he shouldn’t be suspended.

However, the bench observed that the newly-posted SHO hadn’t probed the matter.

The investigation officer produced the FIR registered on the court’s order.

The chief justice expressed anger at the police’s failure to investigate the matter despite the registration of FIR in April 2018.

Mohammad Arif Jan, lawyer for the petitioner, said his client belonged to Bajaur tribal district and had lived in Larama area in the jurisdiction of Khazana police station.

He said some unidentified persons in plainclothes had raided his house on the night of Oct 10, 2017, before taking away his father, Maulana Gulzada, and Rs70,000 cash and since then, the latter’s whereabouts wasn’t known.

The lawyer said his client had approached the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, while he also filed a petition on the matter with the high court.

He added that on the order of the commission as well as the court, the FIR was registered on Apr 13, 2018, against unidentified persons, bust no noteworthy investigation was conducted by the police.

NOTICES ISSUED: The bench issued notices to the defence and interior secretaries, provincial inspector general of police, Frontier Corps inspector general, and other respondents in a petition against the alleged illegal detention of a resident of Thal tehsil in Hangu district.

Danyal Asad Chamkani, lawyer for petitioner Adil Mohammad, said a relative of his client, Zakir Khan, was taken into custody by law-enforcement agencies along with four of his friends from Thal bazaar few months ago.

He added that the other four persons were later freed but Zakir continued to be missing.

In another contempt petition, the bench summoned the current and former SHOs of Mathra police station to appear before it on July 15.

The petition is filed by resident of Mathra Abdur Rasheed against the disappearance of his brother, Abdullah.

Fazal Wahid, lawyer for the petitioner, said few years ago, the then SHO had visited residence of the petitioner along with personnel of an intelligence agency and had taken away his brother, Abdullah, and he had been missing since then.

He added that an FIR was registered on the order of the court but no progress had taken place in the case.

Moreover, the bench heard several other habeas corpus petitions against alleged illegal detentions of different detainees and issued notices to the respondents including secretaries of defense and interior, provincial home secretary and others.

Published in Dawn, June 11th, 2019