SHC unhappy with performance of IOs in missing persons’ cases

Expressing dissatisfaction with the performance of investigation officers (IO) assigned to ascertain the whereabouts of missing persons, the Sindh High Court (SHC) on Thursday observed that no serious efforts were being made to trace the individuals.

Hearing petitions regarding enforced disappearances, an SHC bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto observed that several cases of missing persons have been pending for several years, but police and other law-enforcement agencies have failed to recover them.

The court observed that police officials were not providing details to the court with regard to detainees allegedly arrested by the personnel of law-enforcement agencies. Petitioners submitted that navy personnel Imran Yousuf, Munir and others were picked up by law-enforcement agencies and their whereabouts are unknown.

They said they were afraid for the lives and well-being of the detainees, and requested the court to direct the police and law-enforcement agencies to produce them before the court and provide details of the cases, if any, that are registered against them.

Hearing petitions for the recovery of children who reportedly went missing from different parts of the city, the court directed the Sindh police chief to constitute a committee headed by a DIG level officer to recover the missing children. The court directed the IGP to use modern techniques to ensure the children are recovered.

The petitioner, Roshni Helpline Trust, had moved the court to issue directives to the police that cases of missing children be considered as a cognisable offence and investigation should be initiated in such matters without any delay.

The counsel for the petitioner submitted that the whereabouts of 24 children were still unknown and requested the court to direct the police to recover them. The petitioner further said that cases of missing children were not properly investigated and, as a result, many children had lost their lives.

Filing a progress report in court, the police officer submitted that efforts were being taken to find the remaining missing children. The court directed the senior superintendent of police concerned to take all efforts for the recovery of missing children and submit a progress report on the next date of hearing.