File photo of Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed
The Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Monday gave police a week to recover the “missing” Awami Muslim League (AML) chief, Sheikh Rashid, warning of a case against police officials if they failed in this endeavor.
Rashid was reportedly “arrested” by “plain-clothes men” last month. According to his lawyer, Rashid’s nephew Sheikh Shakir and house-help Sheikh Imran were also arrested in the same operation and taken to an “undisclosed location.” After the lawyer filed a case seeking the recovery of his client, Rawalpindi City Police Officer (CPO) Khalid Hamdani submitted a report in court claiming Rashid had not been arrested by police, nor was he in their custody. The court then directed police to locate Rashid.
During today’s hearing, Justice Sadaqat Ali Khan was informed by police that both Rashid’s nephew and worker had returned. To this, the court warned police that a case would be filed against the senior superintendent of police (operations), the deputy superintendent of police and four station house officers allegedly involved in Rashid’s arrest if the former minister were not recovered within a week.
To a query from the judge over what Rashid’s nephew and employee had said about their detentions, the politician’s lawyer said they were refraining from saying anything. The lawyer further alleged that he possessed evidence proving Rawalpindi police had arrested his client.
“This warning of [recovering Rashid in] a week is the last. If Sheikh Rashid is not found, I will get cases registered against all officers,” observed the judge, adding the AML chief must be presented in court.