IHC reprimands authorities after PTI candidate ‘goes missing’ despite bail

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice of the Islamabad High Court (IHC), Aamer Farooq, has reprimanded authorities for violating the court orders after a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) candidate was allegedly picked up despite getting protective bail.

The IHC chief justice was conducting the hearing of the protective bail plea of Barrister Abdullah Mumtaz Kahloon, a candidate from the former ruling party in PP-76, in a case registered against him in Sargodha.

Barrister Abdullah went ‘missing’ from outside the Islamabad International Airport soon after he landed in Pakistan from abroad.

It is noteworthy to mention here that ahead of the February 8 general polls, the ‘missing’ candidate had already secured protective bail in a case registered against him in Sargodha before arriving in Pakistan.

At the outset of the hearing, Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Duggal, who was representing the government, told Justice Farooq that Abdullah could be seen on CCTV cameras while coming outside the airport and he then departed for an unknown location with three to four persons without resisting them.

CJ Farooq questioned whether the faces of those people could be seen or not. He also inquired about any CCTV cameras in the airport’s parking area. To this, Duggal replied that the faces of other people coming with Abdullah were not visible in the footage.

The IHC chief justice asked the additional attorney general how the authorities would handle this matter. Duggal replied that they would write to the sensitive institutions to trace Abdullah out.

CJ Farooq reprimanded authorities for violating the court orders. He remarked how he would implement his orders after a clear violation was committed. The judge added that he was going to summon the joint secretaries of the defence and interior ministries.

The hearing was adjourned till January 15.

The Imran Khan-led party’s leadership is facing a plethora of cases — especially pertaining to the May 9 riots — with senior leaders, including its founder, Vice Chairman Shah Mahmood Qureshi and others, behind bars.