The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has asked Prime Minister Imran Khan and the federal cabinet to meet with the families of missing persons and convey assurances to them that the state was not involved in the disappearances. IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah issued these directions in his remarks during a hearing of the petition for recovering the missing journalist Mudassar Naaru, who has not been found since August 2018.
Justice Minallah further remarked that Naaru’s “family members were not content and the premier, as well as the federal cabinet, must listen to their grievances.” He emphasised that if the Deputy Attorney General did not provide a date by which the Prime Minister would meet Naaru’s family, then the interior secretary will be required to appear in court.
Naaru’s family is being represented by lawyers Imaan Mazari and Usman Warraich, while a legal representative of the Ministry of Defence also appeared before the High Court.
“Naaru has a mother, a wife and a child. Had the state been with them, they would not have been running pillar to post,” said Justice Minallah. He further noted: “According to the commission report, the missing family believes that the state and its agencies are involved in this.”
