Missing persons’ cases becoming a serious issue: SHC

The Sindh High Court observed on Thursday that cases of missing persons were increasing day by day in the country and becoming a sensitive and serious issue.

Hearing petitions challenging the alleged detention of citizens by law enforcement agencies, a division bench headed by Justice Syed Mohammad Farooq Shah observed that family members missed their loved ones and suffered great psychological trauma whenever their relatives went missing. The kindness shown by others could not heal the pain of losing the loved ones in such a manner, it said.

A petitioner, Qudsia Saleem, submitted that her spouse Mohammad Arshad had gone missing on May 9 in the Golimar area and his whereabouts had been unknown since.

The court directed federal and provincial law officers to file comments on the petitions filed by Shaoib Mehmood and Saleem Ahmed. The complainants said Muzamil Shah Niazi and Waseem Ahmed had been taken into custody in Lyari and Surjani Town and police were not disclosing their whereabouts.

The bench told the East district’s SSP to make efforts to recover a 14- year-old boy who had been missing since January 27.

The boy’s mother, Arifa Begum, told the court through a petition that police had not made efforts to recover her son Mohammad Tariq Khan.

An investigation officer of Awami Colony Police Station submitted that the case had been closed due to lack of evidence.

The court took exception to the conduct of the investigation officer and observed that the police officer was not found efficient and capable of performing his duties. 

The court directed the investigations SSP to ensure the recovery of the boy by constituting a joint investigation team.

SHC warns Nadra 

The Sindh High Court warned a senior official of the National Database Registration Authority (Nadra) of stern action if documents of a woman whose computerised national identity card had been blocked were not produced before it.

The court was hearing the petition of Arifa Begum, who complained that the authority had not issued her national identity card though she had provided copies of her parents’ identity cards and other relevant documents.

A Nadra deputy director appeared and submitted that the woman’s identity card had been blocked as a suspect under verification case under directives from the director general of the Inter-Services Intelligence. 

To a court query, the Nadra official was unable to produce the purported directives issued by the ISI to Nadra for blocking the CNIC of the woman. 

He submitted that such record was maintained by the Nadra headquarters in Islamabad. The court took exception to his statement and observed that documents on the basis of which the identity card was blocked should be kept and maintained in the office where the CNIC was blocked. 

The court directed the official to produce the relevant documents in support of his assertion and made it clear that in case of failure, stern action would be taken not only against the Nadra director general, but also other officials who were responsible for blocking the identity card of the petitioner.