ISLAMABAD – While hearing the petition seeking recovery of social media activist Azhar Mashwani’s two missing brothers, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday remarked that apparently, the government seems to be the beneficiary of enforced disappearances.
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb conducted hearing of the petition filed by petitioner, Qazi Habib ur Rehman, who is the father of the detenues namely Professor Mazhar- ul-Hassan and Professor Zahoor-ul-Hassan, and sought the issuance of a writ of habeas corpus for the recovery of the detenues who have been missing since June 6.
During the hearing, the IHC bench asked about any developments in the case. At this, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawar Iqbal Dogal responded that high-level contacts had been made, and efforts were ongoing.
Justice Miangul Hassan said in his written order, “The learned Additional Attorney-General submitted that the Attorney-General for Pakistan is expected to meet with the prime minister on the matter.”
He remarked, “Given the lacklustre response, this court has lost hope that even the Chief Executive of the country would care to give attention to this case. The apathy on the part of the respondents in this matter is deplorable.”
During the proceedings, an SP from Lahore Police appeared before the court and informed that the CCTV footage provided by the family was of low resolution, making it difficult for NADRA or forensic agencies to extract any meaningful information. He added that despite geofencing over 10,000 numbers, no actionable information had been found as of August 23.
He said that the Safe City Project also could not cover all angles, and no law enforcement agency had made any significant progress in the matter.
At this juncture, the judge remarked that it seems that the government is the beneficiary of enforced disappearances. The court questioned that how abductions could occur in the country without any action from the chief executive.
Babar Awan pointed out that the prime minister does not have the time to read the court’s orders.
The court questioned the AAG, why the investigation had been stopped since the case began in the IHC. He replied that the geofencing report had been prepared. The court inquired about the duration of the brothers’ disappearance, to which the police officer responded that they had been missing since June 6.
Expressing his concern saying, the bench said that it has been three months since two people went missing forcibly. He added, “We can only imagine what their families are going through. People are being picked up, and the Chief Executive is doing nothing.”
During the hearing, Awan requested the court to summon the prime minister, to which the court responded, “The PM is the head of state as per the constitution, and the attorney general is the head of the law…we summoned the attorney general in accordance with due process.”
Justice Aurangzeb remarked, “If the government does not want to follow due process, what can be said?” He added that they do not realize the damage being done to the country’s reputation.
The court directed the head of the JIT, SP Lahore, to submit reports and stated that the police must investigate how non-police people managed to wear police uniforms.
Later, the bench deferred hearing of the case till August 28 for any available bench.
