ISLAMABAD-The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday directed Deputy Inspector General Police (DIGP) Islamabad to appear before the court in person in a petition of High Court Bar Association (HCBA) Multan seeking recovery of a missing lawyer namely Muhammad Yafis Naveed in the current week.
A single bench of the IHC comprising Chief Justice of IHC Justice Athar Minallah conducted hearing of the petition moved by the bar through its President Malik Haider Usman Advocate and General Secretary Mian Muhammad Arshad Waqas and cited secretary Interior, Inspector General (IG) Islamabad police and Station House Officer (SHO) police station Kohsar Islamabad as respondents.
During the hearing, Justice Athar remarked that it was the responsibility of the state to protect the lives and property of citizens. He asked the president of Multan Bar Association to assist the bench regarding more options as the state institutions were already engaged in search of the missing lawyer.
The counsel for the petitioner adopted the stance that the law enforcement agencies should update them regarding any progress into the matter.
The Deputy Attorney General informed the court that the first information report (FIR) had been registered and a report of Defence Ministry had also been filed. He appealed the court to grant further time to progress in the matter.
Later, the IHC bench deferred hearing in this case till December 9 and summoned the DIG Islamabad police to appear before the court in person on the next hearing.
Petitioners stated in the petition that Muhammad Yafis Naveed former vice president of HCBA Multan along with his wife and children reached Islamabad on 7-8-2019 and stayed in a hotel in G-7 Markaz of Islamabad.
Petitioners added that the next day, the abductee and his family went to Blue Area where he asked his wife to wait there as he was going to meet his friend.
They continued that the wife of Muhammad Yafis Naveed waited for her husband approximately for two hours, after this, she tried to make call on his phone, but his mobile phones were switched off.
The petition reads that after the occurrence, the wife of abductee approached the respondents and requested them to recover the detenue Yafis, but they turned deaf ears towards her request and bluntly stated that he was not in their custody.
It maintained that the detenue is a respectable citizen of Pakistan and there is not any case or complaint registered against him.
No criminal proceedings are pending against him, but the respondent officials illegally and unlawfully abducted the detenue without any lawful justification.
“The petitioner (High Court Bar Association Multan) has great apprehensions that the detenue will be dead in a fake police encounter if he is not recovered from the illegal and unlawful custody of the respondents,” said the petition.
It further said that the petitioner has no other speedy, efficacious and alternate remedy available except to invoke the jurisdiction of this court and seek an appropriate action against the respondents.
Therefore, the petitioners prayed to the court to direct the respondents to recover Yafis and he may be produced before this court and set him at liberty in the interest of justice.