ISLAMABAD, March 30: The Supreme Court on Friday issued fresh directions to the Sindh police to ensure the recovery of a nine-member peasant family of Munnu Bheel by April 14. The family has been missing since 1998.

The Supreme Court bench comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan has taken a suo motu notice of the missing family of ‘haris’ on an application filed by a Swedish human rights activist, Torborg Isakssan.

The family was reportedly abducted by an influential landlord, Abdul Rehman Marri, some nine years ago. The landlord, however, was arrested and jailed on the intervention of the apex court.

At the last hearing, the Sindh police chief had conceded that the centuries-old decadent culture of bonded labour in the region was behind the disappearance and also the stumbling block in locating the poor nine-member peasant family. Munnu Bheel and his family members along with 71 other haris engaged in bonded labour on the land of Abdul Rehman Marri, a local landlord, was rescued by a task force of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) with the help of the local administration in 1996.

But on Feb 4, 1998, nine family members of Munnu Bheel were again kidnapped allegedly by the same landlord after the family refused to pay back a loan of Rs190,000 they owed to the feudal.

The abducted family members were Kheero (father, aged 70), Shirimati Akhu (mother, 60), Shirimati Moutan (wife, 40), Jalal (brother, 25), Shirimati Mumal (daughter, 13), Chamio (son, 10), Kanjee (son, 8), Shirimati Dhailee (daughter) and relative Katro.

Later on the intervention of the apex court, the Sindh police arrested Abdul Rehman Marri, who earlier had absconded but subsequently surrendered when the court ordered forfeiture of his property for his alleged involvement in the abduction of Munnu Bheel’s family.

On Friday, the Sindh police again submitted a report stating that two more suspects had been taken into custody and their arrest would lead to clue. But the Supreme Court rejected the report as it contained nothing new.

Meanwhile, Kamran Murtaza, the legal counsel of Abdul Rehman Marri, said the bail application of his client pending before the Sindh High Court was not being adjudicated because of main proceedings pending before the apex court.

The bench directed the high court to decide the bail matter of Abdul Rehman Marri on merit and expeditiously without being prejudiced with the proceedings of the Supreme Court. The bench also directed that the land of Abdul Rehman Marri could be used by his family members.