Islamabad High Court. PHOTO: FILE
The Islamabad High Court has summoned the Islamabad Director Inspector General of Investigation on December 9 over the alleged abduction of a woman and her minor daughters from Lahore and Bahawalpur, linked to a financial dispute involving former PIA Chief Executive Officer Musharraf Rasool.
The court has directed the DIG to clarify whether statements from the Lahore police involved in the raid on the woman’s house have been recorded, and whether those who carried out the raid had valid search warrants.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani emphasised that any removal of individuals without a warrant constitutes abduction, adding that the court seeks to establish the truth in a case involving the humiliation of a woman and her children. “If someone is taken without a search warrant, it is considered abduction. The police are inactive, and the Federal Investigation Agency is refusing to investigate”.
The petition alleges that police officials, acting on behalf of unidentified people, abducted Sana Sohail, wife of Sohail Aleem, who worked in a private farm, along with her daughters — 12-year-old Harim, seven-year-old Laiba, and three-year-old Nimra — from Lahore on September 17. The petition added that the officials later implicated the woman in a fabricated criminal case at the Tarnol police station in Islamabad.
According to the court order, CCTV footage dated September 17 confirmed that the woman and her children were taken into custody at around 7am with the assistance of the Punjab police and transported to Islamabad. They were later shown as arrested in a First Information Report, which was registered three days later under various provisions of the Pakistan Penal Code and the Arms Ordinance.
Read: Cops, woman among kidnapping suspects
Advocate Sardar Latif Khosa, representing the petitioner, has said that the complainant, former PIA chief executive officer Musharraf Rasool Cyan, is an influential bureaucrat whose influence led to the violation of the sanctity of the home.
The courts have been previously unhappy with the report submitted by a police committee. The court had remarked that a case would be registered against the police officers responsible, and called upon the Director General of the FIA to investigate the matter.
The hearing also addressed a financial dispute case filed by former PIA CEO Musharraf Rasool against Waqas Ahmed and Sohail Aleem. Lawyer Latif Khosa noted that Rasool is a powerful figure and presented a photograph showing him attending a judicial reforms meeting with the Chief Justice of Pakistan on November 20.
During proceedings, Justice Kayani remarked to Rasool’s lawyer Shariyar Tariq that although the Supreme Court had suspended one of the court’s orders in October, subsequent orders were not suspended, saying: “You cannot prevent this court from functioning. Any order we issue can be challenged in the Constitutional Court. We are seeking the truth in a matter where a woman and her children were humiliated”.
Latif Khosa also highlighted that Rasool had constructed a house in Islamabad worth Rs165 million and that there were disputes involving the Navy. Lawyer Tariq explained that they had approached the Supreme Court and also filed a petition in the Federal Constitutional Court.
Justice Kayani observed that the case is currently stalled across multiple authorities, including the police, FIA, magistrates, the Supreme Court, and the Federal Constitutional Court, with no proper investigation underway.
Read more: IHC orders probe into alleged police case fabrication
The court criticised systemic inaction, noting: “If courts were stronger, none of this would have happened. A woman and her three-year-old daughters were abducted from Lahore, and a police encounter occurred here. The law’s helplessness in cases of abduction is shameful. A three-year-old was kept apart from her mother for six days — an extremely shameful act. If all courts are unable to act, why are we sitting here?”
The court also stated that the police officers involved in the case are responsible for the investigation, highlighting that some officers had little knowledge of the case. Khosa urged that a competent and neutral agency should be appointed for the investigation.
The court adjourned the hearing until December 9, summoning the DIG Investigation Islamabad to provide detailed clarifications on the raid, statements taken, and the legality of the search and removal of the woman and her children. The original dispute arises from a financial transaction case filed by former PIA CEO Musharraf Rasool against Waqas Ahmed and Sohail Aleem.
