LAHORE – The Punjab home secretary told the court in a written reply on Monday in connection with the hearing of a habeas corpus petition for the recovery of the families of Faizan and Faheem, the two men killed by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) contractor Raymond Davis, that the Punjab government was completely unaware of the families’ whereabouts and suggested that the Lahore High Court ask the government about the allegedly missing families.The reply surprised many in the courtroom in the wake of a statement by Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah earlier that the families in question were living in Rawalpindi. The reply said the federal government might have some knowledge of the whereabouts of the families, prompting Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Hussain to seek a report from the interior secretary as well regarding the families’ whereabouts.The judge passed the order on a habeas corpus petition filed by lawyer Malik Munsif Awan for the recovery of the allegedly missing families. Assistant Advocate General Wali Muhammad Khan submitted the report on behalf of the home secretary. Khan said that the passport of Raymond Davis was with the Punjab government and it was not involved in sending Davis abroad. He said further that the federal government had made the arrangements for Davis’ departure from Pakistan and the court should ask the federal government where the missing families were.However, the petitioner’s counsel Muhammad Azhar Siddique told the court about Sanaullah’s statement claiming the families were in Rawalpindi and asked the court to seek an explanation from him. After hearing the arguments, the court ordered the provincial law officer to verify the law minister’s statement and inform the court of the results at the next hearing.
The court also issued a notice to a deputy attorney general ordering him to get a report from the federal law secretary regarding the whereabouts of the allegedly missing families. The court adjourned the hearing till April 1.
