ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court has expressed strong disapproval of the police inaction in a case about enforced disappearance, ordering departmental accountability as well as seeking a compliance report from the cabinet secretary about the initiation of proceedings against the police high-ups, including the IGP.

In an order issued by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, the court sought a compliance report from the secretary about an earlier order wherein the official was directed to place the matter before the prime minister for initiation of departmental proceedings against the responsible police officers. The incumbent IGP was also asked to submit a report on whether any action had been taken against the joint investigation team members and investigating officers involved.

The case stemmed from an FIR registered in 2015 for the recovery of Abdullah Umar and the judge was hearing a contempt petition filed by the victim’s wife, Zainab Zaeem.

Justice Kayani reminded the government functionaries about a 2019 order that had imposed a penalty of Rs2 million on senior police officials, including the IGP, over their failure to recover Mr Umar, and had directed the Accountant General of Pakistan Revenue (AGPR) to attach their salaries until his recovery.

Seeks report on action against police high-ups

During the hearing last week, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani was informed by Ms Zaeem that she had received Rs5m as per the earlier court order. The amount, she said, had been credited to her account.

The court proceedings had also involved in-camera briefings by officials of the Ministry of Defence regarding the alleged abduction. The additional attorney general (AAG) informed the court that two officials from the defence ministry intended to appear in chambers for an in-camera session, as directed by the court’s earlier order of Sept 26.

During the closed-door proceedings, it emerged that the nominated officers were senior officials from the defence ministry who had previously appeared in similar enforced disappearance cases. Justice Kayani, however, noted that the earlier directive — allowing the ministry to nominate officers from the relevant law enforcement agencies for the purpose of briefing — had not been followed in letter and spirit, said the court order.

Justice Kayani directed the respondents to fully comply with the previous court orders and nominate an officer from the field formation for the next in-camera briefing.

He noted that the missing person, Mohammad Abdullah Umar, was “admittedly an injured person who was unable to perform his day-to-day functions prior to the date of his alleged abduction.

The case was adjourned till Nov 11.

Published in Dawn, October 12th, 2025