The Lahore High Court (LHC) has scheduled September 6 as the date to resume the hearing of a plea filed by the father of missing anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan. Imran Riaz Khan was arrested on May 11 and his whereabouts remain unknown since then.
The hearing will be presided over by LHC Chief Justice Muhammad Ameer Bhatti, according to a recent cause list issued by the court.
Imran Riaz Khan was apprehended at Sialkot airport following the nationwide protests that erupted after the arrest of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) Chairman Imran Khan. He was taken to Cantt police station and later transferred to Sialkot prison. A first information report (FIR) was registered on May 16 on the complaint of Muhammad Riaz, the anchorperson’s father.
The FIR was lodged against unidentified individuals and police officials under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code, which deals with kidnapping or abducting someone with the intent to confine them secretly and unlawfully.
During a hearing on May 19, Imran Riaz Khan’s father emotionally pleaded for mercy as his son’s whereabouts remained unknown. Following this, the LHC Chief Justice ordered the police to recover and present the missing anchorperson by May 22.
However, on May 22, the Punjab Inspector General confirmed that there was no trace of Imran Riaz Khan in any police department across the country. The Inter-Services Intelligence and Military Intelligence also denied having the anchorperson in their custody.
Since then, the LHC has been consistently urging all relevant agencies to work together to locate and produce Imran Riaz Khan in court. Various deadlines were set, but as of now, the missing journalist has not been found.
The lawyer representing Imran Riaz Khan expressed frustration during the June 6 hearing, stating that their patience was running thin. The Punjab government assured the court that efforts were being made to locate the missing journalist.
The LHC had set a deadline of July 25 for the police to find Imran Riaz Khan, but the hearing could not take place due to the unavailability of the bench. Brigadier (retd) Falak Naz, representing the Ministry of Defence, informed the court that they were working on tracing locations and other issues to recover Imran Riaz Khan as soon as possible.
Imran Riaz Khan’s lawyer, Mian Ashfaq Ali, expressed hope that all institutions were actively searching for his client and that he would be found soon.
The next hearing on September 6 will determine the progress made in locating the missing anchorperson and the measures taken by relevant authorities.