PESHAWAR: Peshawar High Court has summoned federal defence secretary and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief and additional chief secretary (home) for responding to mysterious disappearance of four brothers of a prominent Afghan business family.

A single-member bench of Justice Ijaz Anwar directed that the said officers should appear in person on June 14, the next date of hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by a female family member of the detainees, Gulalai Alkozai.

The petitioner has challenged the abduction of the four brothers from their residence at Hayatabad Township Peshawar allegedly by persons in police uniform on Feb 28.

She has requested the court to order recovery of the detainees.

Advocate Nadir Shah appeared for the petitioner and stated that she belonged to a prominent business family and had been residing with other family members at Hayatabad Township.

He stated that at midnight on Feb 28 a contingent of police had raided their residence and had taken away the four brothers — Mohammad Nasir Alkozai, Usman Alkozai, Abdul Waris Alkozai and Zahir Alkozai.

He stated that the detainees were shifted to unknown location and since then their whereabouts were not known.

He argued that during previous many hearings the court had ordered the police for the recovery of the detainees, but so far no development took place.

The counsel stated that the police had registered an FIR but there was no progress in the investigation. He added that a few days ago the KP inspector general of police had assured the court that the detainees would be traced in two weeks’ time, but they failed to trace their whereabouts.

Published in Dawn, June 12th, 2024