Zubair Qureshi
Islamabad
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday directed the Prime Minister’s adviser Mirza Shahzad Akbar, to submit a report on the poor standard of the Islamabad city police’s investigation process and present it to the premier within two weeks.
The court also directed Akbar to submit a detailed report on the matter in the IHC within three weeks.
Chief Justice of the IHC gave these order while hearing a petition filed by the mother of Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan Joint Director Sajid Gondal that sought recovery of her son from “unknown” abductors when the SECP official had gone missing earlier this month.
Shahzad Akbar along with Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafaat, the Inspector General of Police and interior secretary, appeared before IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah and faced the concerns the judge expressed regarding poor law and order situation in the federal capital’s vicinity.
Justice Minallah told Akbar that despite a court ruling, there was no prosecution branch in Islamabad. The judge said that the capital should have been a “model city” and that the “standard of police investigation was extremely poor”.
People are being disappeared while the agencies that are responsible to probe and maintain security of the city are doing real estate business. This is a clear case of conflict of interests, said CJ IHC.
“Go to a katcheri and see how courts are operating, no one has paid any attention towards it,” Justice Minallah told Akbar.
CJ Minahlla said, the court verdicts were based on police investigation and the standard of police investigation is extremely poor, investigation officials have not been trained.
He further said that many suspects were acquitted due to poor investigation by the police and the courts were deemed responsible.
The IHC top judge said that Akbar was among the five persons who had been appointed by the prime minister as advisers and he had the PM’s trust.
“Tell the prime minister that the rights of a layman are being trampled upon,” Justice Minallah said. Akbar said the matter of missing persons had been brought to the cabinet’s notice and a sub-committee has been formed. The recommendations will be sent to the cabinet, he added.
“This is an ongoing issue,” Akbar told the court, saying in Tuesday (today) Cabinet meeting too the matter would be put before the prime minister for consideration.
The petitioner’s counsel Barrister Jahangir Jadoon told the court that Gondal has returned and also recorded a statement before the magistrate. He added that authorities had yet to ascertain who was behind Gondal’s disappearance.
The judge said that the court could not comment on who was responsible for Gondal’s disappearance as the matter was being investigated by the authorities.
