KARACHI: The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday summoned the SSP of the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) in a petition filed for the recovery of a missing person.

Petitioner Saeeda, had moved the SHC in March last year, seeking the whereabouts of her husband Abdul Hameed.

Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto said the petitioner had categorically stated that her husband had been picked up by CTD personnel last year.

At the outset of the hearing, the investigating officer (IO) filed a progress report, but the bench noted that apparently no serious efforts had been made to locate the missing person.

In order to track down the person, seven sessions of the joint investigation team (JIT) were held and the case had also been discussed before the provincial task force (PTF) for missing persons, yet there was no clue, it added.

The bench ordered the SSP to be in attendance on March 3 along with his response and also directed the authorities concerned to repeat the JIT and PTF sessions before the next hearing.

It also directed the secretaries of the ministries of interior and defence to collect reports from the morgues in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa about the missing person in question and submit the same at the next hearing.

Meanwhile, the same bench on Monday also directed the deputy inspector general (DIG) of the Crime Investigation Agency (CIA) to continue his efforts to recover a missing girl.

A man named Abdul Haleem had approached the SHC in July 2011 and submitted that his daughter had gone missing and despite approaching the authorities cornered, her whereabouts were still not known.

The IO filed a progress report about the case. The bench said the CIA DIG highlighted the steps taken during the investigation, who appeared to be hopeful to find out some clue about the girl.

While adjourning the hearing till March 15, it directed the DIG to continue efforts till the recovery of the girl and said that his attendance was dispensed with till further orders.

Published in Dawn, February 14th, 2023