ISLAMABAD – The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Tuesday set Tuesday as deadline for the authorities concerned to recover and produce missing brothers of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) social media activist Azhar Mashwani.
Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb was hearing the case regarding disappearance of Azhar Mashwani’s two brothers.
The court directed the law enforcement and government officials including the Secretary of the Interior, the Director General of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and the Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Operations, who were present in court, to act swiftly.
The Defense Secretary, who was abroad, was represented by the Joint Secretary of Defense.
During the proceedings, Justice Aurangzeb expressed concerns over the lack of progress in the case and questioned the authorities on their plan of action.
The court dismissed jurisdictional concerns raised by the government’s counsel, reminding them that as representatives of the state, they had the power and responsibility to act.
“You represent the Federation and have the authority. This is not a matter of ego; it’s about recovering missing persons,” Justice Aurangzeb remarked.
The court observed that the police have the ability to trace missing individuals when they commit to the task, and placed the responsibility on the Interior and Defense secretaries.
Justice Aurangzeb also warned that failure to resolve the case by Tuesday would test the court’s patience.
“I am granting time until Tuesday to resolve these cases. If not, I will lose my patience, and the authorities should not expect leniency,” he remarked.
In addition, the court ordered the Defense Secretary to appear on August 20, expressing hope that the case would be resolved by then.
Justice Aurangzeb also directed the Attorney General for Pakistan to make himself available over the weekend to address the issue, observing that the court would issue a detailed order in the case.
The court put off further hearing until August 20.
