PESHAWAR: Local police have informed Peshawar High Court that an ‘absconding criminal’, about whom there were reports of his arrest in Bahrain, was neither arrested nor taken into custody either in Pakistan or abroad.

A bench consisting of Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Farah Jamshed directed petitioner Bagh Meena, the mother of alleged criminal Mumtaz, to file a counter-affidavit, if any, to the claim of the police.

It fixed July 16 for next hearing of the petition, seeking orders of the court to stop the respondents, including the KP police, from taking any “illegal and adverse action” against her son, including his extrajudicial killing in any fake encounter during his transfer to Pakistan, custody and investigation.

The petitioner has feared that there is every likelihood that the accused, Mumtaz, would be killed in a police encounter or subjected to severe torture while being transported from the airport to any destination or from one place to another while in police custody.

Accused’s mother seeks protection for him from any illegal act

During a hearing on June 19, the court had declared that it should be the responsibility of the Peshawar capital city police officer to ensure the safety and security of the accused, Mumtaz, while he remained in police custody. It had also sought a report from the CCPO in the matter.

Advocate Yousaf Orakzai appeared for the respondents, including the CCPO, and disputed the petitioner’s claim about the arrest of Mumtaz through Interpol in Bahrain.

He said that the accused was neither arrested nor taken into custody, either in Pakistan or abroad.

The lawyer said that the required report had been submitted. However, that report was not available on the case file.

The bench directed the relevant office to trace the report and place it on file.

The petitioner was represented by advocate Waqar Khan, whereas deputy attorney general Atif Nazir and additional advocate general Niaz Mohammad appeared for the federal and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governments, respectively.

The petitioner has claimed that she had a blood feud in the area and that certain FIRs had been registered against her family members, including her son, Mumtaz.

She added that apart from those cases, the police had also nominated him in some untraced cases.

The petitioner claimed that Mumtaz was abroad and on June 16, he surrendered to the Interpol in Bahrain.

She added that her son would be transferred to Pakistan and handed over to the local police in those cases.

The petitioner alleged that in light of the history of extrajudicial killings, especially in fake encounters and in “dummy crossfires” during the accused’s transfer, investigation and pointation, she feared the same illegal and unlawful treatment with her arrested son.

Published in Dawn, July 4th, 2026