Islamabad:
The high court of the capital expressed its anger and frustration in the face of the failure of the Islamabad police to recover four brothers, who disappeared from Islamabad in early 2024.
Judge Muhammad Asif, presiding over a bench from the High Court of Islamabad (IHC) in a single member, resumed hearing on Monday a request filed by the family of the brothers and sisters disappeared.
During the hearing, the judge noted that every few days, a new case of forced disappearance on land before the court. “We trust the police, but they failed to deliver,” he said.
The legal director of the Islamabad police said that in many cases, people will voluntarily leave the house, to reappear later and testify before a magistrate that they had been absent for personal trips.
The petitioner’s lawyer asked how the Punjab police managed to bring together the brothers of the Islamabad police jurisdiction, adding that a year and four months had passed without any progress in their recovery.
He also pointed out that three Punjab police officers were appointed accused in the case but had not been arrested. “Islamabad and Punjab police have not both managed to recover the brothers,” he said.
Inspector Deputy General of the Islamabad police (DIG) told the bench that police had received opinions but that they had not participated in the surveys. “Now we will ask for their arrest warrants.”
The judge observed that the police should have asked for the accused’s mandates earlier. “All this can also happen with you and me. What will we do then?” He asked.
Punjab police ‘principal superintendent (SSP) assured the court that the provincial police would obtain the arrest warrants of the accused official executed and submitted a report to the court.
During the hearing, the mother of the missing brothers passed out from the sorrow, causing a sympathetic response from police and lawyers officials
While hearing the case in October 2024, the IHC was then chief judge Aamer Farooq had castigated the authorities for their inability to recover the brothers and also asked reports to the Ministry of the Interior and the Ministry of Defense.
The IHC had also ordered superior police superintendents (SSP) in Islamabad and Rawalpindi to appear in person at the next hearing with stage reports, warning that otherwise it issued their arrest terms.
The four brothers had disappeared in January 2024 in the Barakahu region of the federal capital.
According to the petitioner, the brothers were recovered by the Rawalpindi police from Khanna, who is the court of Islamabad in January. However, the police authorities of Islamabad and Punjab then denied having detained them.
