On March 27, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) directed the Secretary of Defence to submit a report on the recovery of two brothers of journalist Ahmad Noorani, who have been missing since March 19.
A single-member bench of IHC comprising Justice Raja Inaam Ameen Minhas issued the direction during a hearing on a petition filed by Noorani’s mother, Amina Bashir. In her petition, Bashir sought the recovery of her two sons, Muhammad Saifur Rehman Haider and Muhammad Ali, who went missing from their residence in the early hours of March 19.
During the proceedings, Islamabad Inspector General of Police (IGP) Ali Nasir Rizvi, informed the court that he had supervised a special investigation team, but they could not yet find Noorani’s brothers. Despite efforts that included geo-fencing and retrieving call detail records (CDRs), they had not yet found any leads.
Rizvi added that a team was formed under the leadership of the SSP operations and the brothers were not with the Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD) and in the 27 police stations that fall under his jurisdiction.
“We have sought details from IGs and IG prisons all over the country as well. We have written to the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) also. However, we [have so far] found no lead even after getting the nearby districts and hospitals checked by the chief commissioner. Even no persons bearing their names have left the country. We got check from hotline 15 as well but they also did not receive any call regarding them,” he added.
The court asked if there was a solution for this and Rizvi asked for more time for the search.
Advocate Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, representing the petitioner, raised concerns of the involvement of intelligence agencies under the Ministry of Interior, Business Recorder reported. She criticized the police handling of the case and asked if safe houses had been checked.
The judge said that it would further look into it when the reply came on the notice sent to the ministry regarding this.
Justice Minhas emphasized that the Ministry of Defence’s response was now critical to the case. He instructed the Defence Secretary to provide a reply by the next hearing.
Bashir addressed the court and became emotional, asking, “If something happens to my sons, who will be responsible?” She urged the court to consider her situation as a mother. The court acknowledged the gravity of the situation and adjourned the next hearing until after Eid-ul-Fitr while awaiting a response from the Defence Secretary.
