ISLAMABAD  - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) Friday issued notices to interior and defence secretaries and inspector general (IG) of Islamabad police in a petition seeking recovery of a missing person Hafiz Iqrar Abbasi, a local leader of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ).
A single bench of IHC comprising Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan conducted the hearing of the petition and directed the respondents to submit their comments in this regard within a fortnight.
Abdul Rehman, brother of missing Abbasi, moved the petition. Abbasi, a prayer leader at Jamia Masjid Bilal situated in Jinnah Town and chairman of Iqra School System, went missing from the suburbs of the federal capital on April 14.
The petitioner moved the court for recovery of his brother through his counsel Niazullah Khan Niazi Advocate and Hafiz Mazhar Advocate and cited interior secretary, defence secretary and IGP Islamabad as respondents in his petition.
He adopted before the court that his whole family including his missing brother did not have any concern whatsoever with any religious or extremist group.
“The said brother of the petitioner is neither a hardened nor desperate criminal and he has been abducted without any lawful justification. Moreover, FIR has also been registered and a proclamation in newspaper had also been published in this regard but the concerned agencies have not taken any action according to law,” contended the counsel for petitioner.
The counsel alleged in the petition that certain personnel of a secret agency picked him up from Rawat while he was on his way to home.
The petitioner, who is Iqrar’s elder brother, told the court that cellphone of his brother was last traced in Sihala area. He maintained before the court that Iqrar had been kept somewhere in the precincts of Police Station Sihala. He told the court that a first information report (FIR) in this regard was lodged with the police station Sihala but his whereabouts were still unknown.
“The detention of the abductee without presenting before the court and without letting his guilt or whereabouts to his family members is illegal, unlawful, unjust and against the humanity,” argued the lawyer. He maintained if there was any allegation of some serious offence against the brother of the petitioner, even then the law enforcement agencies were not competent to keep him in their illegal confinement without producing him before the competent court of law.
The petitioner mentioned that Abbasi had contested last election from PF-45 Abbottabad as an independent candidate and he was planning to contest from the same constituency and was to negotiate with the Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaf (PTI) for its support but he was picked up.
He prayed to the court to direct the respondents to produce Abbasi before the court and order them to release him from unlawful custody of the agencies in the best interest of justice.