Islamabad police produced Haseeb Hamza, a “missing” person, before the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday.
The 27-year-old, who is a farmer, had gone “missing” in August.
A day earlier, IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah had directed the police to present him today before 10:00am before the court.
CJ Minallah had warned during the previous day’s court proceedings that if Haseeb would not be presented in time, the court would call each and every officer, adding that Military Intelligence (MI), Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Intelligence Bureau (IB) would also be called for explanation.
Inspector General of Islamabad Police (IGP) Dr. Akbar Nasir Khan presented Hamza before the court an hour before the expiration of time fixed by the court.
Hamza, upon inquiry by CJ Minallah about where was he taken, replied that he had no knowledge of where he was because he was blindfolded at that time.
The police informed the court that they were investigating the delay in initial case registration and disappearance. The police also told that some of the people in missing persons cases had been recovered while the recovery of others was still underway.
CJ Minallah remarked that no one was fulfilling the responsibility and accountability was also not ensured, adding that it was constitutional responsibility of the state to ensure protection of the citizens.
He also said that FIR was not registered by the SHO until the court took notice. He also emphasized that the police must act according to law, asking if the court had ever stopped action against someone who had committed a crime.
The advocate general informed that there were some shortcomings in the system and full investigation would be conducted into the matter.
The IHC chief justice remarked that there was no defect in the system but there was no accountability or responsibility. The court directed the IG Islamabad to personally supervise the investigation of the case and submit a report to its registrar by September 22.
Hamza’s father, Zulfiqar Ali, had petitioned that his son was a farmer working in Layyah. Around 20 persons, 15 of whom were in black uniform, had raided their house at midnight on August 22 and 23 without any search warrant. They had seized several items including five laptops, six mobile phones and some documents. The petitioned urged the court to direct respondents to produce Hamza before the court and identify those responsible for illegal detaining.
