ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has ordered the station house officer (SHO) of Noon Police Station to submit a detailed report on the disappearance of two brothers of journalist Ahmed Noorani, who is currently living in the United States.

Mr Noorani, who works for a news outlet called FactFocus, recently published an investigative report regarding a serving high-ranking military official and his relatives.

Mr Noorani’s mother filed a petition with the IHC seeking recovery of her two sons.

During the hearing, Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas questioned the police about their investigation.

Advocate Imaan Hazir Mazari, representing the petitioner, criticised authorities for not registering an FIR despite three days passing since the incident.

Mr Noorani’s mother, Amina Bashir, urged the high court to seek an immediate response from the police.

The court gave the SHO until March 24 to submit a written report. Justice Minhas also warned the SHO that failure to provide a satisfactory update to the court could result in summoning the Islamabad Inspector General of Police in the matter.

In her petition, Ms Bashir stated that her two sons have been forcibly disappeared from their home in Islamabad’s Sector I-14 in the early hours of Wednesday.

The family has accused intelligence agencies of orchestrating the abduction, allegedly in retaliation for Mr Noorani’s recent reporting.

Mr Noorani’s FactFocus website remains inaccessible in Pakistan.

The two brothers of Mr Noorani, Muhammad Saifur Rehman Haider and Muhammad Ali, both engineers by profession, were taken from their residence at around 1am.

According to their mother, around two dozen unidentified individuals stormed the family’s home, forcibly entered the premises and took her two sons away.

The family also said that the assailants also confiscated their mobile phones and deleted footage of the incident, recorded by one of their family members.

The petition cited the government, the Ministry of Defence, the Islamabad inspector general of police, and the SHO of Police Station Noon as respondents in the case.

Published in Dawn, March 22nd, 2025