ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday summoned the director general of the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) in a missing person case.
Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan directed the ISI chief to appear before the court next week in response to a petition filed by Parveen Bibi, the spouse of Mohammad Arif, who went missing early last month.
Mr Arif owned two branches of ‘Dar-i-Arqam’ School in Iqbal Town and Dhamial Camp of Rawalpindi. He is also the owner of a printing press located in Hathi Chowk in Rawalpindi Saddar.
The petition stated that Mr Arif, a resident of Peshawar Road in Rawalpindi Cantonment, went to Khushab along with Ishtiaq Ahmed Aasi, the secretary general of the Pakistan Railways Mazdoor Union, Dr Uzair and Hafiz Rauf to condole the death of a friend there.
However, the four people were allegedly picked by ISI in Khushab. After a couple of weeks, Mr Aasi and Mr Uzair returned to their homes.
The petitioner claimed that the relatives of the two released men informed her that the ISI had allegedly picked the four from Khushab.
In February, Ms Parveen through her counsel Zafarul Hassan Joya filed the habeas corpus petition with the IHC. She cited the ministry of interior and the ISI director general as the respondents.
Initially, Justice Khan issued notices to the respondents and directed them to trace the whereabouts of the missing person. The judge also directed the ISI chief to depute an official to apprise the court of the progress on the matter.
On Monday, when Justice Khan resumed the hearing of the matter, standing counsel Raja Khalid informed him that the interior ministry was seeking six weeks’ time for submitting a report about the missing man.
The judge, however, rejected the plea on the grounds that it was the matter of the liberty of a citizen.
He also noticed the absence of the ISI representative and directed the director general of the intelligence agency to appear in person before the court on the next date of hearing.
During the hearing, the counsel for the petitioner said under the law the spy agency cannot pick any suspect without bringing it into the knowledge of his family.
It may be noted that last week Justice Ijaz Ahmed of Lahore High Court (LHC)s’ Rawalpindi bench also issued notices to the directors general of the ISI and the Military Intelligence (MI) on a petition seeking the recovery of another missing person.
The petition said Khan Badshah, a businessman, and his brother Dr Naik Bakht Badshah, residents of Wah Cantonment, went missing from their house on March 21, 2013. Dr Badshah was released after a couple of months but Khan Badshah is still under the alleged custody of the intelligence agencies.