Police have failed to recover the missing chairman of the Sambrial Press Club, journalist Rana Shahid Mahmood. Following this admission, the Lahore High Court (LHC) issued a summons on Wednesday for the Superintendent of Police (Investigation) to appear in person before the court in the case.
Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh of the LHC passed the order while hearing a petition that urged the court to direct the police to recover the missing journalist.
Barrister Karimullah Sraw represented the petitioner, Fraz Shahid — the son of the missing journalist, while law officer Sittar Sahil appeared on behalf of the state.
During Wednesday's hearing, the police informed the court that they had failed to recover the missing journalist. At this, Justice Sheikh summoned the SP Investigations and adjourned further hearings until September 2, 2024.
At the last hearing of the case, the court directed a deputy superintendent of police to ensure the journalist's recovery.
The petitioner said his father, Rana Shahid Mahmood, was the chairman of the Sambrial Press Club. He added that Mahmood went missing while reporting against alleged drug dealers in the area.
"The CCTV footage we have provided to the police will help in the investigation," the petitioner stated.
He urged the court to direct the police to recover his father.
Mahmood had been allegedly abducted at midnight on July 1, 2024, from a local café in Sambrial.
Shahid said that some unidentified people had allegedly abducted his father from the café and shifted him to an unknown location.
"My father, Rana Shahid Mahmood, went missing a month ago, but the police could not trace him so far," Fraz Shahid lamented.
Surprisingly, he said, his father was kidnapped in the presence of local police, as seen in the CCTV footage which surfaced later.
Shahid claimed that individuals wearing police uniforms were present on the scene.
He said that they had been running from pillar to post for the safe recovery of his father but had yet to find any clue as to his whereabouts thus far.
Tahir Sarwar, the nephew of the abducted journalist, had lodged an FIR with the Sambrial police station under Section 365 of Pakistan Penal Code 1860.
He told the police that his uncle, who is a known journalist in the area and the chairman of the Sambrial Press Club, was picked up by some 20 to 25 unidentified people who were wearing masks at the time of the abduction at midnight July 1, 2024.
Sarwar further claimed the unidentified abductors reached the spot on five five pickup trucks, SUVs and a sedan car. The complainant claimed Mahmood was forced to accompany the masked men at gunpoint. Curiously, he added that the kidnappers took away the digital recordings from the CCTV installed at the café. This posed questions regarding the source of the CCTV footage, which surfaced later.