KARACHI: The Sindh High Court has directed a prosecutor of Pakistan Rangers, Sindh to inform it under which provision of law the paramilitary force has detained a man, said to be Rangers personnel who allegedly went missing last year.

A woman had filed a petition in the SHC stating that her son, Adeel, was serving in Pakistan Rangers, Sindh. She said he was picked up in November 2021 when he was going to Keamari along with his friends to attend a reception.

When a two-judge bench headed by Justice Mohammad Karim Khan Agha took up the matter for hearing, a special prosecutor appeared on behalf of the Rangers submitted that the person in question was in the custody of the paramilitary force and as such he was not a missing person.

The bench said that the special prosecutor-Rangers must file a statement on the next date of hearing as to why and under which provision of law the petitioner’s son was in Rangers’ custody.

The bench adjourned the hearing for a date to be fixed by the court’s office after six weeks.

Petitioner Zaibunisa said she was a resident of Ittehad Town. She said that after the alleged abduction of her son, she had petitioned the SHC and the Rangers in their comments filed in April had denied to have detained him.

However, she contended that her son had made a contact with her and said he was allegedly detained by Rangers and kept with the Wing Commander 51 Wing in Kandhkot, Kashmore district and asked the petitioner to withdraw her petition for his release.

Therefore, the petitioner said she had withdrawn the petition and on June 8, the petitioner along with the wife and son of the detained person met him at the office of the wing commander.

However, in July, she had again petitioned the SHC stating that her son was detained since Nov 13, 2021 on account of a so-called departmental inquiry, which was not permissible under the law.

The petitioner further submitted that her son’s absence from duty was not deliberately as he absented due to illness of his father and murder of the elder brother.

She pleaded to direct Rangers authorities to produce her son in court without any delay.

Published in Dawn, August 22nd, 2022