Interior Ministry here on Friday told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that a missing lecturer of Islamia College Jhang Road was not in custody of any agency working under the domain of the ministry. This was stated in a written reply on behalf of interior secretary ministry submitted before court of Chief Justice Khawaja Muhammad Sharif following a habeas corpus petition for the recovery of Hafiz Tahir Mehmood.
The secretary informed the court that there were 15 agencies under his control but all denied that the alleged missing teacher had been taken into custody by them. Now the Chief Justice sought report from Director General ISI, which falls under domain of defence ministry, by August 24 and directed a deputy attorney general to ensure the submission of reply.
Home Secretary Punjab was again directed to file reply in this regard as he did not submit the same on Friday. Parveen Akhter mother of alleged detainee had filed the petition stating that on July 9, 2010 some 18/20 personnel of secret agencies in plain clothes raided her house and held all inmates hostages. They tortured whole family and picked up her son Hafiz Tahir Mehmood, a lecturer in Islamia College Jhang Road, along with two guests including Usman Gujjar and Javed Anwar.
She said the raiders introduced themselves as personnel of secret agencies and refused to disclose any reason of their action and arrest of the inmates. They also took away passport, credit cards and all belongings of Hafiz Tahir with them. She said the abducted had not been produced before any court of competent jurisdiction and his whereabouts were not known to her.
Petitioner pointed out that on July 27 she was also informed through a telephone call that her son had become mad in the custody of personnel of agencies. She expressed apprehensions that the personnel of the agencies might killed her son in fake police encounter as this practice had become an order of the day. She, therefore, prayed to the court to get her son recovered and set him at liberty.