SC orders recovery of missing couple

Karachi

The Supreme Court (SC) on Saturday directed the DIG West to make serious efforts to trace the whereabouts of a couple who have been missing since June 2009.

According to a petitioner, Amirzadi, her son, Israr Ahmed, and Fakharunnisa Narejo married against the wishes of Fakharunisa’s family before the Justice of Peace in Karachi. She submitted in the court that the couple was abducted in the Shahrah-e-Noor Jehan area.

The woman said the relatives of her daughter-in-law, after declaring the couple Karo-Kari, had kidnapped them in June 2009 and since then their whereabouts had not been known.

In her application, the woman pleaded with the court to order ascertaining the whereabouts of the couple and recovering them at the earliest.

She had also moved the court against the acquittal of the accused involved in the kidnapping of her son and daughter-in-law.

Her counsel, Syed Abdul Waheed, submitted that a kidnapping case was registered against Ali Akbar, Asghar Ali, Amir Ali, Rab Nawaz, Haq Nawaz, Abdul Latif Narejo, Ghulam Rasool Narejo and Mukhtar Ali Narejo for abducting the couple in June 2009.

The trial court had convicted five of them – Ali Akbar, Asghar Ali, Amir Ali, Rab Nawaz, Haq Nawaz and Abdul Latif Narejo – and five-year rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs5,000 each were handed to them for being guilty of kidnapping the couple.

However, the counsel submitted that their convictions were set aside by the high court and the whereabouts of the couple were still unknown.

He said the police had failed to recover the petitioner’s son and daughter-in-law despite the lapse of seven years.

The Supreme Court had taken notice of the police failure to find the couple and observed that the investigation officer of the case did not make serious efforts for their recovery.

The apex court directed the DIG West to make serious efforts to recover the couple and submitted a report within 14 days.

 

Detention cases

The Sindh High Court issued notices to the federal and provincial law officers to submit comments on a plea against the detention of citizens allegedly by the law enforcers.

Petitioners Mohammad Asif, Mohammad Jameel Ahmed, Mirza Amir Bakht and Haris Zafar submitted that personnel of the law enforcement agencies took  Mohammad Kashif, Ghulam Ghous, Mirza Ahmed Faraz and Shahzaib Zafar in Korangi, Sarjani Town, North Karachi and North Nazimabad areas and their whereabouts were still unknown.

They submitted that the police was not disclosing whereabouts of the detainees and they were not being produced before any court of the law.

The court directed the federal and provincial law officers, the Sindh Police and the Sindh Rangers to file their respective comments on the petitions on the next date of hearing.