Pakistan: Islamabad High Court summons police officials in journalist Sami Ibrahim's abduction case

Islamabad [Pakistan], May 28 : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has summoned the SSP (investigation) and SP City along with a geo-fencing report of the area from where journalist Sami Ibrahim was abducted, Dawn reported.
The Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq directed the Secretary Interior to give details of all the cases registered against the journalist. During a hearing in a petition seeking the recovery of Ibrahim, Aabpara police SHO told the court that an FIR has been lodged against the journalist's disappearance, as per the Dawn report.
During the hearing, the state counsel said that the police were recording the statements of the witnesses. The state counsel said that the investigators will proceed in this matter accordingly. He said that no case has been registered against the journalist with Islamabad police and the FIA, according to Dawn.
He said that the interior ministry could not be consulted for the details of cases against Sami Ibrahim. The Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Aamer Farooq expressed displeasure over the lethargy of police and asked if there was any CCTV camera in the nearby region from where the journalist went missing, Dawn reported.
Pakistan Defence Ministry's legal counsel said that the journalist Sami Ibrahim was not in the custody of intelligence agencies. However, he sought some time for a detailed ground check.
Petitioner's counsel said that some unknown people lifted Sami Ibrahim from 7th Avenue, Dawn reported. He requested the court to issue directions to respondent authorities for the recovery of the journalist. The court has put off further hearings in the matter until May 29.
Meanwhile, Former Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Sunday said the country demanded to know the whereabouts of journalists Sami Ibrahim and Imran Riaz Khan.
He tweeted, "The nation demands to know the whereabouts of journalists Sami Ibrahim and Imran Riaz Khan. Why is the journalistic community so overawed and scared to demand for both to be produced in the court of law within 48 hours, as it is their fundamental right. Otherwise it should then be called an abduction. These terror tactics are just an attempt to muzzle the media, so that this unprecedented fascist crackdown on the largest political party is only to be kept out of any media coverage."
Senior journalist Sami Ibrahim went missing from Islamabad on Wednesday, The Express Tribune reported. In a statement, the Islamabad police said that efforts are being made for the search and recovery of Ibrahim but called it premature to draw conclusions yet.
In a complaint filed by Ibrahim's brother Ali Raza at Aabpara Police Station, the journalist was intercepted by four cars near Sixth Avenue, Sector G-6, at around 9 pm (local time) on Wednesday after he left his office and was en route home with his driver.
According to the complainant, the journalist was forcibly taken by eight to 10 unidentified men. They also took three mobile phones that belonged to the driver and car keys, as per The Express Tribune report.
The development comes amid a crackdown on the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf's (PTI) leadership, workers and supporters. Media personnel have also come under the ire of the state for expressing their views in support of the political party and/or against violations of civil liberties and judicial rights, as per The Express Tribune report.
Journalists Imran Riaz Khan and Aftab Iqbal, both supporters of the PTI, were also taken into custody earlier this month. The whereabouts of Imran Riaz Khan are not known while Aftab Iqbal has been released.