The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Tuesday directed deputy inspector general (DIG) of Islamabad police to appear in person in a petition of High Court Bar Association (HCBA) Multan seeking recovery of a missing lawyer, Muhammad Yafis Naveed.
A single bench of IHC comprising Chief Justice Athar Minallah heard the petition moved by the bar through its President Malik Haider Usman Advocate and General Secretary Mian Muhammad Arshad Waqas, which cited secretary interior, inspector general (IG) of Islamabad police and station house officer (SHO) police station Kohsar Islamabad as respondents.
During the hearing, Justice Athar remarked that it is the responsibility of the state to protect the lives and property of citizens. He asked the president Multan Bar Association to assist the bench regarding more options as the state institutions are already engaged in search of the missing lawyer.
The counsel for the petitioner adopted the stance that the law enforcement agencies should update them regarding any progress into the matter.
The deputy attorney general informed the court that a first information report (FIR) has been registered and a report of Defense Ministry has also been filed. He prayed the court to grant further time in the matter.
Later, the IHC bench deferred hearing in this case till December 9 and summoned the DIG Islamabad police to appear before the court in person on the next hearing.
The petitioners stated in the petition that Muhammad Yafis Naveed, former vice president of HCBA Multan, along with his wife and children reached Islamabad on 7-8-2019 and stayed in a hotel in G-7 Markaz of Islamabad.
They added that the next day, Yafis Naveed and his family went to Blue Area where he said to his wife to wait there as he is going to meet his friend. They continued that the wife of Muhammad Yafis Naveed waited for her husband approximately two hours, after this, she tried to make call on his phone but his mobile phones were switched off.
The petition read that after the occurrence, the wife of abductee approached the respondents and requested them to recover Yafis but they turned a dear ear towards her request and bluntly stated that he is not in their custody.
It maintained that the detenue is respectable citizen of Pakistan and neither any case nor any complaint is registered against him and no criminal proceedings are pending against him but the respondent officials illegally and unlawfully abducted the detenue without any lawful justification.
"The petitioner (High Court Bar Association Multan) has great apprehensions that the detenue will be killed in the fake police encounter if he is not recovered from the illegal and unlawful custody of the respondents," said the petition.
It further said that the petitioner has no other speedy, efficacious and alternate remedy available except to invoke the jurisdiction of this court and seek appropriate action against the respondents.
Therefore, the petitioners prayed to the court to direct the respondents to recover Yafis, produce him before this court and set him at liberty in the interest of justice.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019