Islamabad High Court. PHOTO: ARCHIVE
The Islamabad High Court summoned the Islamabad Inspector General of Investigation on December 9 over the alleged abduction of a woman and her minor daughters from Lahore and Bahawalpur, linked to a financial dispute involving former PIA CEO Musharraf Rasool.
The court has directed the DIG to clarify whether the statements of the Lahore police involved in the raid on the woman’s house have been recorded and whether those who carried out the raid had valid search warrants.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani emphasized that any transfer of people without a court order constitutes kidnapping, adding that the court seeks to establish the truth in a case involving the humiliation of a woman and her children. “If someone is detained without a search warrant, it is considered kidnapping. The police are inactive and the Federal Investigation Agency refuses to investigate.”
The petition alleges that police officers, acting on behalf of unidentified persons, abducted Sana Sohail, wife of Sohail Aleem, who worked on a private farm, along with her daughters (12-year-old Harim, seven-year-old Laiba and three-year-old Nimra) from Lahore on September 17.
According to the court order, CCTV footage from September 17 confirmed that the woman and her children were detained around 7am with the help of Punjab Police and transported to Islamabad. They were later shown to have been arrested in a first information report, which was registered three days later under various provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Arms Ordinance.
Read: Police and a woman among kidnapping suspects
Advocate Sardar Latif Khosa, representing the petitioner, has said that the petitioner, former PIA executive director Musharraf Rasool Cyan, is an influential bureaucrat whose influence led to the violation of the sanctity of the home.
The courts were no longer happy with the report submitted by a police committee. The court had noted that a case would be opened against the police officers responsible and had asked the FIA Director General to investigate the matter.
The hearing also took up a financial dispute case filed by former PIA CEO Musharraf Rasool against Waqas Ahmed and Sohail Aleem. Lawyer Latif Khosa noted that Rasool is a powerful figure and presented a photograph showing him attending a meeting on judicial reforms with the Chief Justice of Pakistan on November 20.
During the proceedings, Justice Kayani told Rasool’s lawyer Shariyar Tariq that although the Supreme Court had stayed one of the court’s orders in October, subsequent orders were not stayed, saying: “This court cannot be stopped from functioning. Any order we issue can be challenged before the Constitutional Court. We are seeking the truth in a matter where a woman and her children were humiliated.”
Latif Khosa also highlighted that Rasool had built a house in Islamabad worth Rs 165 million and that there were disputes involving the Navy. Lawyer Tariq explained that they approached the Supreme Court and also filed a petition with the Federal Constitutional Court.
Justice Kayani observed that the case is currently stuck with multiple authorities, including the police, FIA, magistrates, the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court, without a proper investigation having been carried out.
Read more: IHC orders investigation into alleged fabrication of police case
The court criticized the systemic inaction and said: “If the courts were stronger, none of this would have happened. A woman and her three-year-old daughters were kidnapped in Lahore, and a police encounter took place here. The helplessness of the law in kidnapping cases is shameful. A three-year-old girl was kept separated from her mother for six days, an extremely shameful act. If all courts are incapable of acting, why are we sitting here?”
The court also affirmed that the police officers involved in the case are responsible for the investigation, noting that some officers had little knowledge of the case. Khosa urged that a competent and neutral agency be appointed for the investigation.
The court adjourned the hearing till December 9 and summoned the Islamabad Investigation DIG to provide detailed clarifications on the raid, the statements taken and the legality of the search and transfer of the woman and her children. The original dispute arises from a financial transaction case filed by former PIA CEO Musharraf Rasool against Waqas Ahmed and Sohail Aleem.
