ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has expressed concern over the government’s failure to recover missing professors, brothers of social activist – Azhar Mashwani.

A single bench Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb, on Friday, heard the petition of Qazi Habib ur Rehman, father of missing Professor Mazhar ul Hassan and Professor Zahoor ul Hassan seeking issuance of a writ of habeas corpus for the recovery of his sons, who have been missing since June 6.

During the hearing, the IHC bench asked about any developments in the case. Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawwar Iqbal Dogal responded that high-level contacts had been made, and efforts were ongoing.

Justice Miangul Hassan said in his written order, “The Additional Attorney-General submitted that the Attorney-General for Pakistan is expected to meet with the prime minister on the matter.”

He remarked, “Given the lack luster response, this Court has lost hope that even the Chief Executive of the country would care to give attention to this case. The apathy on the part of the respondents in this matter is deplorable.”

During the proceedings, an SP from Lahore Police appeared before the court and informed that the CCTV footage provided by the family was of low resolution, making it difficult for NADRA or forensic agencies to extract any meaningful information. He added that despite geo-fencing over 10,000 numbers, no actionable information had been found as of August 23.

He said that the Safe City Project also could not cover all angles, and no law enforcement agency had made any significant progress in the matter.

At that, the judge remarked that it seems that the government is the beneficiary of enforced disappearances. The court questioned how abductions could occur in the country without any action from the chief executive.

Babar Awan pointed out that the prime minister does not have the time to read the court’s orders.

The court questioned the AAG on why the investigation had been stopped since the case began in the IHC. He replied that the geo-fencing report had been prepared. The court inquired about the duration of the brothers’ disappearance, to which, the police officer responded that they had been missing since June 6.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024