SHC directs home secretary to convene fresh meeting of PTF

Author: Staff Report

KARACHI: While expressing its displeasure over the provincial home department for submitting ‘stereotyped’ report in missing persons’ cases, the Sindh High Court has directed the home secretary to convene a fresh meeting of Provincial Task Force (PTF) and submit its report by Dec 19.

A two-judge bench headed by Naimatullah Phulpoto gave this direction while hearing several petitions seeking whereabouts of missing men .

The court was equally critical of the police for submitting similar reports and directed them to make all-out efforts for recovery of missing persons.

Petitioner Muhammad Saleem submitted that his son Mustaq was missing since July 29, 2015 and his whereabouts were still unknown.

He alleged that the personnel of law enforcement agencies had whisked his son away from outside his home. Neither are they disclosing his whereabouts, nor have they presented him in any court of law if he was involved in any criminal activity, he lamented.

Whereas, Petitioner Mangal Khan stated that the law enforcement agencies had picked up his son Piyo Khan from his house in Korangi Industrial Area in Dec 2014 and did not disclose his location.

He complained to the judges that he had approached the area police station and higher authorities to seek whereabouts of his son but all to no avail.

Petitioner Sageerun Nisa told the judges that whereabouts of her son Furqan Khan was still unknown as the police were making no efforts to trace him out.

She said that her son had gone missing in May 2015 and since then there was no clue to him. The woman petitioner pleaded the judges to order the police to make serious efforts to recover her son.

Meanwhile, the additional home secretary has submitted the minutes of PTF meeting held on November 16 to discuss the cases of missing persons referred to it by the high court and Commission of Inquiry Enforced Disappearance. The judges were informed that the PTF headed by the provincial home secretary discussed over 50 cases of the missing men, out which three men, including Owais, Faraz Khan and Ghulam Murtaza were stated to have been traced out.

In a number of cases, the PTF issued directions to the convener of JIT meetings to convene another session within 15 days to ascertain the whereabouts of missing persons.