ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court (LHC) Rawa­lpindi bench on Friday issued notices to the defence and home secretaries, the Punjab prisons IG and station house officer Saddar Bairuni on a petition seeking the recovery of the former deputy superintendent of Central Jail Adiala.

The petition alleged that Deputy Super­intendent Jail Mohammad Akram was picked up by an intelligence agency from his residence in the prison’s Officers’ Colony.

The petition stated that the whereabouts of the detenue were unknown since his abduction and requested the court to direct the authorities concerned to trace and produce him before the court.

Akram was reportedly taken into custody by law-enforcement agencies on charges of ‘facilitating the PTI founder as a messenger’ on Wednesday.

Although recently posted out from Adiala Jail, he was still residing with his family in the Officers’ Colony.

His wife, Memoona Riaz, filed the petition through her counsel Imaan Mazari, which was heard by Justice Muhammad Raza Qureshi.

Advocate Mazari contended that the petitioner’s husband was forcibly taken by personnel claiming to be from law enfo­rcement agencies on Wednesday.

The petition stated that “the unknown masked personnel (who had arrived in a Vigo) informed the petitioner that they were “with the Department/Mehekma” and that she should send her husband outside.

The detenu then approached the main gate to inform the officials that he would come with them but he needed to change his clothes and use the toilet. The armed men continued to ring the door’s bells till the detenu came back to the main gate,.

The armed masked personnel dragged him in front of his family, and the latter requested them that he be allowed to briefly meet the Adiala Jail superintendent before they took him. This request was refused, the petition stated.

Published in Dawn, August 17th, 2024