Missing person case: Government directed to remove secretaries, IG and SHO

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has directed the government to immediately remove Secretary Interior, Secretary Defence, Inspector General Police Islamabad and Station House Officer (SHO) for their failure to provide protection to the citizens of Pakistan.

In a written judgment issued late on Saturday in a case of a missing person, a 27-year old Suleman Fariooq Chaudhry, an electrical engineer, the IHC also imposed Rs 2 million fines on each.

"The JIT report clearly spells out that the alleged detenu was picked up by the law enforcement agencies and they are not interested to produce him before this Court or to release him despite direction of this court, hence, there is no other way but to proceed against them," Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani wrote in the decision.

"Therefore, instant writ petition is allowed. Inspector General Police Islamabad, Secretary Ministry of Interior, Secretary Ministry of Defence, SHO concerned are burden with costs of Rs 20,00,000 each and their cases be sent to the competent authorities including Prime Minister of Pakistan through the concerned ministries to be dealt in accordance with the law and they be removed from their services immediately for not performing their lawful duties and their failure to provide protection to the citizens of Pakistan," the verdict reads.

The court also directed the respondents to take solid steps and ensure recovery of the abductee, Suleman Farooq Chaudhri by all means within a period of one month.

In the judgment, the judge stated that the record reflects that Chaudhri is an electrical engineer and graduate from University of Engineering Taxila and recently completed his M.S. Electrical Engineering from Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad. The judge further wrote that Chauhdry is missing since October 4, 2019 despite best efforts by local police but no clue regarding his whereabouts came on record.

He further noted that the JIT has been called in sealed envelope, which prima facie reflects that the JIT is of the view that "it is case of enforced disappearance", however, on the other side not a single document or report has been placed on record to connect the detenu with the anti-state activities.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2020