Police told to find four-year-old girl, other missing persons

The Sindh High Court (SHC) on Monday observed that providing some financial assistance to the families of missing persons is not a substitute, and directed the police and other law enforcement agencies (LEAs) to trace the whereabouts of missing persons, including a four-year-old girl.

Hearing petitions of missing persons, an SHC division bench headed by Justice Naimatullah Phulpoto observed that cases of some missing persons have been pending for several years but no progress has been made by the LEAs as regards ascertaining their whereabouts.

The bench observed that it has been pointed out by the provincial law officer that cases of missing persons that have been declared enforced disappearances have been provided with financial assistance. The court observed that providing some financial assistance to the families of missing persons is not a substitute.

The SHC was informed that a missing person named Mohammad Riasatullah had not been detained or arrested by any agency working under the control of the Ministry of Interior. The bench also directed the home secretary to constitute a joint investigation team (JIT) for the recovery of a four-year-old girl who went missing on August 14 from the vicinity of the mausoleum of Quaid-e-Azam Muhammad Ali Jinnah.

The court also directed the DIG (investigation) to appear before the SHC and explain the efforts made by the police for the recovery of a 15-year-old girl named Rimsha who had gone missing from the DHA neighbourhood in January.

The bench directed the heads of the JITs and the provincial task force to repeat the sessions for the recovery of missing persons and submit their progress reports.

Mubina, Rafiq Hussain, Fouzia Sultana, Nazeer Khan, Mohammad Asghar and Sughra Bibi had filed their petitions with regard to the recovery of Mehboobul Hasan, Saudul Hasan, Wajid Hussain, Waqas, Mohammad Riasatullah, Muzaffar Ali Khan, Zardar Khan, Mohammad Nawaz and Rimsha, whose cases had either been declared enforced disappearances or they were missing from different parts of the city.