KARACHI, Nov 23: The Sindh High Court on Wednesday asked the Shah Faisal Town police to produce a detainee on Thursday morning. A division bench comprising Chief Justice Sabihuddin Ahmed and Justice Tahir Saeed declined to accept affidavits produced on behalf of the respondent police officials. The officials were unable to satisfy the court that they did not know the whereabouts of detainee Asif Siddiqui.

Complainant Aftab Siddiqui, Asif’s father, stated that his son, who is employed as a fire-fighter in the city district government, was picked up by a mobile police squad of Shah Faisal Town on November 19. When he visited the police station, he was told by certain officials that Asif was in their custody and had been detained on superiors’ orders.

The complainant said no case had been registered against Asif nor he had been informed of the charge against him nor produced before a magistrate as required by law. He said police officials were kind enough to allow him to talk with the detainee on phone but would not accept his request for release. He addressed his complaint to the SHC chief justice, who converted it into a petition in exercise of the court’s suo motu power and issued notices to the police officials accused by the complainant.

Town Police Officer Mohammad Sultan, inspectors Tariq Baig and Irshad Abidi, sub-inspector Siddique and ASI Badar appeared on Tuesday. They said they had not arrested the alleged detainee and were not aware of his whereabouts. They categorically denied the allegations levelled against them by the complainant and said they had given their affidavits to Additional Advocate-General Sarwar Khan.

The bench asked the officials to ascertain the detainee’s whereabouts and produce him in the court on Thursday.