HYDERABAD, July 26: The Hyderabad circuit bench of Sindh High Court has directed the Sindh home secretary and DIG Hyderabad Sanaullah Abbasi to appear before the court in the event of failure to find a missing person by Aug 8.

The court, comprising Mr Justice Shahid Anwar Bajwa and Mr Justice Azizur Rehman, observed on Thursday that if needed it would also call Dr Mir Alam Mari, senior vice chairman of the JSQM(Arisar).

The order was passed on a constitutional petition filed by Allahando Teewno, brother of the missing person, Ghulam Umar alias Raja Dahar.

The petitioner’s counsel Advocate Hakeem Chandio claimed that his client’s brother and Dr Mir Alam Mari had been picked up by police and agencies personnel on March 5 from the area of Bhittai Naggar near Gulistan-e-Sajjad.

He said Dr Mir Alam Mari was released near Nooriabad on March 10, but his brother’s whereabouts remained unknown.

He said his brother’s life was in distress and feared that he might be murdered. He said he had been picked up because he was accompanying Mr Mari.

He said he was not affiliated with any nationalist party or the Jeay Sindh Muttaheda Mahaz of Shafi Burfat.

DIG Sanaullah Abbasi who appeared before the court said he had suspended SHO Bhittai Naggar for not taking action in the matter.

The bench heard the case in chamber because of a lawyers’ protest in solidarity with the judiciary.

According to Hakeem Chandio, Justice Bajwa referred to an observation made by the apex court that Pakistan’s integrity was not threatened by anything but cases of missing persons, but their subsequent deaths in custody did pose a real threat to the country’s integrity.