PHC Orders Inquiry Into Minister’s Abduction

News Desk
PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has directed the KP IGP to conduct an immediate inquiry into the alleged abduction of provincial minister Fazal Shakoor Khan and submit a comprehensive recovery report within a week.
A division bench, comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Kamran Hayat Miankhel, issued the directives during the hearing of a habeas corpus petition filed by the minister’s brother, Anwar Aziz, challenging the mysterious disappearance of the provincial official.
According to the petition, Mr Fazal was allegedly intercepted and whisked away by unidentified armed men on September 21 near the Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway Toll Plaza.
Representing the petitioners, legal counsels Bashir Khan Wazir, Ali Zaman, and Sarwar Muzaffar Shah argued before the bench that the state machinery must ensure the immediate safe return of a serving public representative, expressing grave concerns over the deteriorating security situation and the blatant infringement on the rule of law within the province.
The court emphasized that since the distressing incident occurred squarely within the territorial jurisdiction of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the provincial police chief bears direct responsibility for utilizing all available state resources to trace the missing minister.
The bench explicitly ordered the IGP to thoroughly investigate the circumstances surrounding the abduction, ascertain the whereabouts of the victim, and produce concrete updates before the court during the upcoming proceedings.
Legal experts and political observers note that the high-profile disappearance and subsequent judicial intervention highlight mounting challenges regarding security and civil liberties in the region.
The case has been adjourned until October 1, with civil society and political stakeholders closely monitoring the police’s progress in fulfilling the court’s strict recovery deadline.