PHC larger bench to hear petition of five missing persons tomorrow

PESHAWAR: The five-member larger bench of the Peshawar High Court would hear petition for the recovery of five missing persons, including a woman who disappeared from Peshawar, tomorrow (Monday).

The bench is headed by Acting Chief Justice S M Attique Shah, and includes Justice Arshad Ali, Justice Sahibzada Asadullah, Justice Naeem Anwar, and Justice Wiqar Ahmad.

According to the petition, on April 27, police from Hayatabad Police Station along with other law enforcement agencies raided the house of petitioner Abdul Haleem and took away him and four others. The petitioner Abdul Haleem was later released, but the others remained missing. He approached the PHC for the recovery of his missing relatives.

On the other hand, the respondents claimed that a woman named Safia travelled from Oman to Lahore and then to Peshawar, and subsequently went missing. The raid was conducted in connection with this case.

To resolve the matter, the PHC formed the five-member larger bench.

It may be mentioned that during the previous hearing, a three-member bench of the PHC had issued notices to the Attorney General of Pakistan, the secretary of Interior, and the Inspector General of Police, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, ordering them to present the missing persons in court at the next hearing.

The stance of the Peshawar Police is that a passport belonging to the Omani woman, along with two mobile phones and a laptop, were recovered from the petitioner’s house.

The police submitted in court that the missing persons were released on bail by the local magistrate under Section 107 challan and were, therefore, not in police custody.

The court has issued notices to the Attorney General, the KP IGP, and the secretary of Interior, seeking their response, and has also ordered that the missing persons be presented in court Monday.