Earlier SHO was told to pick up someone, now govt does it as per policy: IHC

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb on Friday remarked that earlier the SHO was told to pick up someone, but now the Government of Pakistan does it according to its own policy.

Justice Aurangzeb was hearing a petition for the recovery of the kidnapped brother of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Dr Shahbaz Gill. The judge ordered the recovery of Ghulam Shabbir and his production in the court by August 6.

The petitioner’s lawyer said the IHC had ordered the production of the missing person on the previous hearing. The lawyer quoted Shahbaz Gill as saying that agencies told him that his brother was in their possession and that he should stop making vlogs in support of PTI founder Imran Khan.

State counsel Abdul Rahman said that according to reports of institutions, the missing person is not in their custody. Justice Auranzeb remarked if the Ministry of Defence has the courage to get involved in these matters. “Now if we give a strict order, action starts against judges. Earlier, the SHO was asked to pick up someone, now it is done according to the policy of Government of Pakistan,” the judge said.

He asked the public prosecutor to whom they would convey the feelings of this court. The government lawyer replied that he would convey them to the chief commissioner and the IG of Islamabad. At this, Justice Aurangzeb remarked that they did not care about the court as they had such a thick skin.

The deputy attorney general told the court that the ISI had said the missing person was not in its custody, while the MI had sought time. “What the courts can do now when the institutions say that they do not know. This is the most dangerous situation. The state says that it does not know where the person is, but it will not do anything.”

Justice Aurangzeb asked the representative of the Ministry of Interior to tell Khurram Agha (interior secretary) to look into the case seriously. “The person will come out after giving a guarantee, but what you are doing to the country,” he observed.

During the hearing, Justice Auranzeb addressed the state counsel and said, “Come to me in the chamber, I will show you my degree. It is real, you need not find it. If you want the details of my assets, I will show them to you.”

The court ordered recovering the missing person and producing him in the court by August 6. It also directed that the court order be presented before Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.