ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Friday came down hard on the state over its failure to address enforced disappearances, directing the interior ministry to immediately compensate the family of Omar Abdullah, a citizen missing for years.

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, while hearing Omar Abdullah’s case, ordered the Interior Secretary to issue a relief cheque for the family and submit a compliance report by September 26.

He warned that if the order was not implemented, the additional interior secretary must appear in person at the next hearing.

A representative of the Ministry of Defence told the court that the case had already been forwarded to the Interior ministry for payment.

However, Omar Abdullah’s father confirmed his family had not received any compensation despite repeated assurances.

The judge strongly criticised the government’s handling of enforced disappearance cases, remarking that the state had chosen to pay families instead of producing the missing persons. “Missing persons will remain missing because the courts are hand in glove with the Ministry of Defense.

Those who were once branded terrorists are now being compensated. If they were terrorists, they should have been arrested, tried, and punished—not disappeared,” Justice Kayani observed.

He also questioned the sustainability of such relief packages: “Does Pakistan even have the budget to pay all missing persons’ families? Will payments be made with IMF funds while half the country is submerged in floods?”

The judge further remarked that the larger bench once formed to hear enforced disappearance cases had been dissolved. “How afraid are we that we cannot form a bench again? Is it because the Ministry of Defense would have to be held accountable?” he asked.

Separately, Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas heard another petition concerning the disappearance of student Saeedullah, filed by lawyer Imaan Mazari. She alleged that Rangers and CTD officials had abducted her client from a bus, yet no progress had been made in tracing him.

“If the son of a soldier or a general had gone missing, the entire judicial system would have been turned upside down.

“But when a student disappears, the state shows indifference,” Mazari argued, urging the court to issue a production order.

Justice Minhas, however, said the case had not yet reached the stage for such an order. Instead, he directed the Ministry of Defense and the Counter-Terrorism Department to submit a detailed report within a week and adjourned the case until next week.

Published in Dawn, September 13th, 2025