SHC directs government to submit reports on whereabouts of missing persons

The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the secretaries of the federal interior and defence ministries to seek reports from internment centres and other law enforcement agencies working under their control with regard to whereabouts of missing persons.

Hearing petitions against enforced disappearance of citizens, a division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto inquired the investigation officer (IO) on what basis and material he had declared the case of a missing person as enforced disappearance.

The IO submitted that the matter was declared as enforced disappearance on the basis of the statement of the petitioner and other witnesses as well as the discussion that was held by the joint investigation team (JIT) and provincial task force (PTF).

Regarding payment of compensation to the family of the missing person, a counsel for the Rangers submitted that there had been a judgment of the Islamabad High Court on such point. The high court directed the Rangers counsel to submit a copy of the IHC judgment on the next date of hearing.

In another matter, a petitioner submitted that Habib Khan had been missing since 2015 and his whereabouts were unknown. The IO submitted that the missing person had a mental disorder and it was revealed in the JIT that he had gone somewhere due to his mental illness.

The high court observed that it was the duty of the state to trace the whereabouts of the missing person and directed the JIT and PTF to repeat sessions for the recovery of the missing person.

During the hearing of a petition for the recovery of 14-year-old girl Afshan who had been missing for three years, the SHC directed the investigation officer to make serious efforts for her recovery.

On a petition against enforced disappearance of Abdul Qadir since February 14, 2018, the SHC observed that it appeared that the case of the missing person had been discussed at the PTF meeting.

The high court observed that directions had been issued to the JIT head and IO to collect a fresh travel history of the missing person from the Federal Investigation Agency and also call reports from internment centres in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

The high court directed federal and provincial law officers to collect fresh reports from all prisons and inform about the last location of the missing person that had been found and the person who contacted him.

The SHC observed that several JIT and PTF sessions had been held for the recovery of missing persons but to no avail.

The high court directed the home secretary and relevant officers to repeat the sessions of the JIT and PTF and submit compliance reports on the next date of hearing.

The SHC also issued notices to federal and provincial law officers, Sindh inspector general of police and others on a petition against the disappearance of Amjad Ali, a 16-year-old boy who has been missing since April 21, 2024, from the Orangi Town area.