SC sees no progress in missing children’s case

LAHORE:The Supreme Court Thursday expressed dismay over poor performance of the police and sought reports from the regional police officers (RPOs) while taking up a suo motu case against missing children.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik took up the matter at Supreme Court Lahore Registry. During the proceedings, assistant advocate general Rai Ishfaq Kharal appeared before the court and submitted reports.

The law officer said that out of nine cases, two cases have been traced out. Son of Model Town’s Rajab Ali was recovered while the kidnappers of a child from Kasur had confessed that they had killed him, the officer said. He said the police had been trying to trace out the other cases of seven children.

The law officer said that son of additional sessions judge Mehmood Yousaf was not recovered but the some of the accused involved in his kidnapping had been taken in custody.Police need more time for recovery of the victim, he submitted. On it, the bench observed that the reports are evident of this fact that the police performance is not satisfactory.

“It is quite clear that police have not been working rightly,” the bench observed. The bench directed regional police officers of Rawalpindi, Multan, Faisalabad, Gujranwala and Sheikhpura to appear in person along with reports and adjourned the proceedings for a month.

summer vacation: Justice Shahid Karim of Lahore High Court on Thursday postponed for a month the hearing of a petition seeking reduction in judges’ summer vacation and increase in courts’ working hours up to eight hours a day.

The judge directed the parties’ counsels to come up with further arguments till next date of hearing. The judge had already issued notices to all bar associations of the Punjab. The petition was moved on behalf of Lawyers Foundation.

Petitioner counsel AK Dogar said long vacation in summer were announced during the British Rule and the English judges could not bear the scorching heat of the sub-continent and had to return to their homeland.

He said now these judges of this region had no such problem and latest electronic gadgets were of great help to beat the heat. He pointed out that these holidays hampering the process of dispensing justice.

He said the filing of the case before the Lahore High Court was increasing day by day and these holidays even cause serious problems for the litigants. He requested the court to abolish these holidays and increase the court working hours up to eight hours.

NoticeS: A sessions court on Thursday issued notices for Model Town police station in a petition moved by a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader seeking registration of an FIR against ousted Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over his speeches allegedly against the judiciary.

Tanzila Imran, a Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf leader, submitted the petition saying that ex-PM made anti-judiciary speech in Abbottabad and provoked the public against state institutions. She said his speeches fell in the category of high treason. Model Town police station was approached against Nawaz Sharif over his speeches but her application was not considered, she said. She asked the court to order police to lodge an FIR against ex-prime minister.

After hearing the petitioner’s initial arguments, Additional District and Sessions Judge Fayyaz Ahmad Buttar issued notices for Model Town police and sought reply till December 2.