ISLAMABAD: The capital police on Saturday registered a case against at least 30 unidentified individuals wearing uniforms of law enforcement agencies who had whisked away Mirza Murad Akbar – brother of ex-PM Imran Khan’s accountability aide Shahzad Akbar – from his house in Sector F-10/4 last week.

The Shalimar police registered the case on the complaint of SI Ghulam Murtaza after the Islamabad High Court (IHC) summoned the heads of the capital police and Rangers in connection with the abduction of Mr Akbar.

On June 2, the IHC asked Inspector General of Police (IGP) Akbar Nasir Khan and the Rangers director general as well as the interior secretary to appear before the court on June 5 in connection with the disappearance of Murad Akbar. The court had warned that it could also summon the interior minister and prime minister if the authorities failed to recover the brother of the former cabinet member.

The FIR registered on June 3 includes Pakistan Penal Code’s sections 147 (rioting), 149 (every member of unlawful assembly guilty of offence committed in prosecution of common object), 170 (impersonating a public servant) and 171 (wearing garb or carrying token used by public servant with fraudulent intent).

According to the FIR, the sub-inspector along with other officials was present at Nazimuddin Road near Street 38 of F-10/4 in connection with a probe into the kidnapping of Mirza Murad Akbar.

According to the FIR, an investigation by the police revealed that on May 28, 2023, at 1:10am, Mr Akbar was taken away by “25/30 persons wearing the uniform of police, ATS and Rangers” in seven to eight vehicles. It said the abductors were dressed as law enforcers and pretended to be working for the government.

Following his abduction, the Shalimar Police on May 29 registered a case pertaining to the abduction of Mr Akbar. The FIR was registered under Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) in response to a complaint lodged by Danyal Akbar, the son of Mirza Murad Akbar.

According to the FIR, approximately 30 people in Islamabad police and Rangers uniform, officers from the Anti-Terrorism Squad and some people in civvies barged into his house on May 28 at around 1:10am.

One of the persons in civvies broke the door down. The armed police officers, Rangers and Anti-Terrorism Squad entered the house, the FIR said.

The chef and the guard were constantly harassed and threatened by the security personnel, the FIR said, adding that they entered the room of Murad Akbar and took him into custody. Besides, his mobile phone was also confiscated after his room was searched.

The family members kept asking for a search warrant and the crime for which Murad Akbar was being taken into custody but no response was given, it said, adding that during the raid almost 15 police vehicles, Rangers and some vehicles bearing private number plates with tinted glasses were present outside the house.

It may be mentioned here that Shahzad Akbar is in the limelight for alleged involvement in a mega corruption scandal concerning the PTI government’s ‘secret deal’ with real estate tycoon Malik Riaz that caused a loss of at least 140 million pounds to the national exchequer.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2023