KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday expressed grave concern over the failure of the provincial and federal authorities in tracking down “missing persons” and observed that it was the prime responsibility of the state to recover them.

Headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto, a two-judge bench of the high court gave this observation while hearing over 70 constitutional petitions seeking whereabouts of the people believed to have been picked up by law enforcement personnel in different parts of the city over the past few years.

While hearing the case of disappearance of a businessman, who according to police was kidnapped over “personal enmity”, the judge observed that it was still the job of police to track him down, even if the incident was motivated by enmity.

“It is basically the responsibility of the state to recover the missing persons,” he said and directed the police authorities to make all-out efforts to recover the ‘kidnapped’ businessman.

Home department does not seem to be serious in tracing missing individuals, observes bench

Petitioner Zia Iqbal told the judges that his brother, Azhar Iqbal, moved to Karachi from Sukkur along with his business. He said his brother was whisked away by plainclothes men from outside his residence in Gulshan-i-Kaneez Fatima, a neighbourhood in Scheme 33, in 2011.

DSP Pir Bux Chandio informed the court that Azhar was kidnapped over personal enmity after which a joint investigation team was constituted, but the ‘kidnapped’ man’s family did not turn up to record their statement.

Hearing another missing person’s case, Justice Phulpoto observed that the home department did not seem to be serious in tracking down the ‘missing persons’.

The bench that had directed the home department to constitute JIT for the recovery of Mohammed Saqlain, a resident of New Karachi, directed the home department to place on record the notification about the JIT on the next date.

In his petition, Fahim Muttaqi submitted that his brother was taken away by the plainclothes personnel of the law enforcement agencies on April 24. “There has been no clue to his whereabouts since then,” he added.

He explained that he had reported the matter to the area police, but to no avail as the officials feigned ignorance about the disappearance of his brother.

Another petitioner, Amna Bibi, stated that there had been no trace of her husband, Umer Farooq, since last year. He was taken away by law enforcers from their house in Faqeera Goth, a shanty town in Scheme 33, on July 16, she alleged.

A case of kidnapping of her husband was registered but the police had so far failed to make headway, he added.

The bench directed the home secretary to constitute a JIT for the recovery of Amna’s husband within two weeks.

The court also issued directions to the police and other authorities to make effective efforts for the recovery of the ‘missing persons’ and put off the hearing of different petitions to a date to be later pronounced by the court’s office.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2017