ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq on Tuesday issued pre-admission notice to SHO of the Golra police station on the petition filed against alleged extra judicial killing of two suspects of F-9 Park rape incident.

The petitioner Akram Khan was seeking judicial inquiry into the killing of two suspects in a ‘police encounter’.

Justice Farooq inquired as if there was any other appropriate forum available to seek the same relief.

Qazi Adil Aziz replied that the relevant forum was the magistrate but argued that IHC could take cognizance of this matter under Article 199 of the constitution to administer complete justice.

IHC CJ advised him to approach the appropriate forum.

He remarked that the petitioner may seek the relief from the IHC in case the appropriate forum did not redress his grievance.

The court sought reply from the SHO Golra and adjourned hearing till next week.

The counsel of the petition argued that petitioner’s son Nawab Khan was picked up by the officials of the Islamabad Police on Feb 15 at about 4pm and when the petitioner went to the police station to ask about the reasons, he was told that Nawab was not in the police station.

Next day on Feb 16 the petitioner received a call from the Golra police station at about 3pm and when he reached the police station he was told that his son has died in an encounter, the counsel told the court.

He argued that Nawab was allegedly picked up on the basis of an incident related to the FIR registered with Margalla Police in connection with a rape incident in F-9 Park.

The petition termed the police encounter as ‘fake’.

It stated that the contents of the application of the petitioner clearly enunciate that the Police not only killed the petitioner’s son in a fake encounter but also got the CCTV video removed and taken into custody from the shop from where the son of the petitioner was picked up.

It went on to state that the body of Nawab has not been handed over to the petitioner and the petitioner has come to know about the burial place from the media reports.

It contended that the police was also duty bound to take the body of the petitioner’s son for medical check-up (post-mortem) in order to determine the cause of death.

It sought that “the incident is also required to be probed through a formal inquiry into the matter by people of unimpeachable integrity and having experience in the field, preferably some Judicial Officer(s).”

It said “for the sake of argument if the son of the petitioner was guilty of an offence in the FIR No.59/23 registered at Margalla police station, even then the Constitution directs all the public officials to act in accordance with the law and the son of the petitioner had a fundamental right to be dealt with in accordance with law and to be provided a fair trial in order to defend himself before a court of law.”

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2023