September 7th, 2020
By Ahmad Saeed
LAHORE
The authorities on Monday have failed to produce the missing Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) Joint Director Sajid Gondal before the Islamabad High Court (IHC). The court on Saturday had given an ultimatum to Islamabad police and interior ministry officials for bringing in the missing officer by Monday 2 pm. During today’s hearing, Chief Justice Athar Minallah expressed his anger over the non-compliance of the court order.
Justice Minallah scolded the Secretary Interior Yousaf Naseem Khokhar over the issue and ordered him to inform the federal cabinet about the incident.
He said that if the judges cannot protect the fundamental rights of the citizens, then constitutional courts should be shut down.
Khokhar assured the court that the police officials are investigating the matter from every angle. The court then adjourned the hearing until September 17.
Asmat Gondal, mother of Sajid Gondal was discontented with the hearing.
Speaking to Voicepk.net, she said that the court did not even bother to hear what the family had to say.
“We had a lot to say about the police performance and investigation in the case but were not given any chance to speak,” she said.
She revealed that the two eyewitnesses of the incident have come forward and they told the police how Gondal was kidnapped. When asked as to why the two witnesses were not produced before the court in today’s hearing, Ms. Gondal said that it was the police duty to apprise the court about this development and produce them before the court.
“Instead of taking the investigations in light of new evidence and statements, police officials were probing us as they neither have any clue or intention to resolve the matter. They were just blank.”
According to Ms. Asmat, they asked the police on Saturday to check the footage of CCTV cameras installed in the nearby buildings from where Gondal went missing but the police delayed it till Monday morning and when the police went there on Monday morning, the people straightaway refused the police to share the footage by saying that their cameras had been out of order for many months.
Gondal, who has also worked as a TV reporter before joining the SECP, has been missing since the evening of September 3 as his official car was found abandoned near the National Agricultural Research Center (NARC), Islamabad. His family informed his colleagues about the incident on Friday morning and the FIR was registered in the evening under Section 365 of the Pakistan Penal Code.
