Islamabad High Court. PHOTO: FILE
The Islamabad High Court has summoned the Islamabad Director, Inspector General of Investigation on December 9 into 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 YOU 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.
Judge Mohsin Akhtar Kayani emphasized that any removal of persons without a warrant constitutes abduction, adding that the court seeks to establish the truth in a case involving the humiliation of a woman and her children. “If someone is taken without a search warrant, it is considered abduction. The police are inactive and the Federal Investigation Agency refuses to investigate”.
The petition alleges that police officials, 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. police station in Islamabad.
According to the court order, CCTV footage dated September 17 confirmed that the woman and her children were taken into custody around 7 with the assistance of the Punjab Police and transported to Islamabad. They were later shown as 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, woman among suspects for kidnapping
Advocate Sardar Latif Khosa, representing the petitioner, has said that the complainant, former managing director of PIA, Musharraf Rasool Cyan, is an influential bureaucrat whose influence led to the violation of the sanctity of the home.
The courts have previously been dissatisfied with the report made by a police committee. The court had observed that a case would be registered against the police officers responsible and directed the FIA director general to investigate the matter.
The hearing also dealt with a financial dispute case filed by former PIA chief Musharraf Rasool against Waqas Ahmed and Sohail Aleem. Noting that Rasool is a powerful figure, lawyer Latif Khosa presented a photograph showing him attending a judicial reform meeting with the Chief Justice of Pakistan on November 20.
During the proceedings, Judge Kayani remarked to Rasool’s lawyer Shariyar Tariq that although the Supreme Court had suspended one of the court’s orders in October, subsequent orders were not suspended, saying: “You cannot prevent this court from functioning. Any order we issue can be challenged in the Constitutional Court. We are seeking the truth in a case where her children were a humiliated case”.
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 had approached the Supreme Court and also filed a petition with the Federal Constitutional Court.
Justice Kayani noted that the case is currently stalled across multiple authorities, including the police, FIA, judges, the Supreme Court and the Federal Constitutional Court, with no proper investigation underway.
Read more: IHC orders probe into alleged police case fabrication
Criticizing systemic inaction, the court noted: “If the courts were stronger, none of this would have happened. A woman and her three-year-old daughters were abducted from Lahore and a police encounter took place here. The law’s helplessness in abduction cases is shameful. A three-year-old was kept apart from her mother for six days – an extremely shameful act here, so are we an extremely shameful act here?”
The court also stated that the police officers involved in the case are responsible for the investigation, highlighting 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 to December 9 and summoned DIG Investigation Islamabad to provide detailed clarifications about the raid, statements made and the legality of the search and removal of the woman and her children. The original dispute arises from a financial transaction case filed by former PIA chief Musharraf Rasool against Waqas Ahmed and Sohail Aleem.
