SHC reprimands police in missing children case

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court on Thursday reprimanded the provincial police and the inspector general in a case pertaining to missing children.

The counsel for a non-profit organisation claimed that the police refused to lodge complaints in such cases and disrespected the complainants.

Visibly displeased with the efforts of the law enforcers, the court summoned IG Kaleem Imam to appear before the bench.

DIG Crime Ghulam Sarwar Jamali and other officials of the provincial police force also appeared in court. When Jamali was questioned over the progress made to recover the missing children, he claimed that one of the 23 missing children has been recovered.

“What about the rest of the children?” questioned the bench and then reiterated its earlier recommendation of forming a task force for the matter. The court also remarked that the IG should have appointed a more able police official to probe the matter.

The hearing was adjourned for three weeks.

Addressing the media following the hearing, IG Imam said he understands the gravity of the situation. “Missing persons is a crucial issue, a more critical issue is missing children and rising child abuse. We have chalked out procedures to combat these problems.”

“The Sindh Police has two major inconsistencies; code of conduct and professionalism. We are focusing on these issues and introducing new initiatives and training programs to improve our core functionality.”

“We have made it clear to all officials to ensure free FIR registration.”

Imam further said that the police is under no pressure and “would ensure strict action against those involved in land grabbing”.

Source: Express Tribune