PHC disposes of petition after 5 missing persons recovered

PESHAWAR: A five-member larger bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Monday disposed of a writ petition after the recovery of five missing persons from Hayatabad, directing the authorities not to harass the individuals concerned.

The case was heard by a five-member larger bench comprising Acting Chief Justice S.M. Atiq Shah, Justice Arshad Ali, Justice Sahibzada Asadullah, Justice Muhammad Naeem Anwar, and Justice Waqar Ahmad.

At the beginning of the hearing, Inspector General of Police Zulfiqar Hameed, Advocate General Shah Faisal Utmankhel, Capital City Police Officer Muhammad Qasim, DIG Investigation, and the petitioners’ counsels Amin-ur-Rehman Yousafzai and Muhammad Yasin Hassankhelvi appeared before the court.

The advocate general informed the court that the missing individuals had been released. In response, the chief justice asked, “Who released them? advocate general, you must tell us.” The advocate general stated that the individuals had been picked up in connection with the disappearance of a woman named Safia, who had arrived from Oman. Her passport and belongings were recovered from their residence. A case was registered against the suspects on May 2, and the woman’s laptop, two mobile phones, and other items were recovered.

The chief justice questioned how the authorities came to know that the woman was missing. The advocate general replied that it was discovered through social media. The chief justice then asked whether the woman was still missing, to which the advocate general confirmed that she was.

The chief justice expressed dissatisfaction, saying, “What is your police doing? The woman is still missing, and there is no trace of her yet.” He asked whether the individuals were arrested in this case. The advocate general clarified that they were not arrested but were taken for investigation and later released.

Calling the IGP to the rostrum, the chief justice asked, “IGP, what is happening?” The IGP responded that investigations were ongoing and that more information was being gathered from social media.

The chief justice asked, “Is the woman still missing? IGP, whatever you are doing must be within the framework of the law. You must protect people’s fundamental rights. The people of this province have been suffering for 40 years. No one should be harassed.”

The court disposed of the writ petition and instructed the police to continue the investigation and submit a report to the court.