Punjab Inspector General Dr Usman Anwar on Tuesday told the Lahore High Court (LHC) that phone numbers which had been traced back to Afghanistan were involved in the case of anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan, whose whereabouts remain unknown since his arrest on May 11.
He made the remarks as the court resumed hearing a plea seeking to find the anchorperson, who was among the individuals apprehended in the wake of protests that erupted in the country after the arrest of PTI chairman Imran Khan.
A first information report (FIR) pertaining to the matter was registered with Civil Lines police on May 16 on the complaint of the anchorperson’s father, Muhammad Riaz.
The FIR was registered against “unidentified persons” and police officials for allegedly kidnapping Imran, invoking Section 365 (kidnapping or abducting with intent secretly and wrongfully to confine person) of the Pakistan Penal Code.
Lahore High Court Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti presided over Tuesday’s hearing which was also attended by the Punjab police chief. Imran’s counsel Mian Ali Ashfaq was also present.
At the outset of the hearing, the chief justice asked the authorities to provide an explanation for why Imran was still a “missing person”. He inquired whether the interior or defence ministries had submitted any reports in this regard.
“We did not state in our order that Imran Riaz is in the agencies’ custody. We emphasised that agencies should provide assistance in locating him,” Justice Bhatti remarked.
A representative from the Ministry of Defence told the court that they had been unable to ascertain the journalist’s whereabouts thus far.
