LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Tuesday directed Muhammad Riaz, the father of missing anchorperson Imran Riaz, to coordinate with a special working group of the Punjab police to narrate his reservations concerning the efforts to recover his son.

CJ Muhammad Ameer Bhatti was hearing a habeas corpus petition by Mr Riaz, whose primary concern was the safe return of his son.

Shan Gul, advocate general for Punjab, told the court that efforts to recover the anchorperson were underway. He said the Punjab police chief asked him for assistance and proposed the petitioner establish contact with the special working group formed to tackle the issue.

IGP Dr Usman Anwar said all law enforcement agencies had been coordinating among themselves, while the special working group of Punjab police also held a meeting to review the progress of all the police units, including the CTD for the recovery of the anchorperson.

He said the Nadra and the Excise department had been asked to identify the persons and the private vehicles who received Imran Riaz outside the Sialkot jail and took him with them.

A representative of the defence ministry told the court that all the authorities were on one page regarding all efforts to trace the whereabouts of the anchorperson.

The petitioner’s counsel said they were running ‘out of patience’ with the performance of the police.

The chief justice adjourned the hearing for a week and directed the petitioner to share his reservations with the police working group.

Published in Dawn, June 7th, 2023