Hearing a case involving the recovery of two minor daughters of model-turned-actress Sofia Mirza from her former husband, a two-member Supreme Court bench on Friday said the Foreign Affairs Ministry and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) had touched the extremes of ineligibility.
The bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan directed Attorney General Moulvi Anwarul Haq to personally see into the matter of the girls’ recovery, take it up with the foreign affairs secretary and submit a comprehensive report on the matter by November 23.
Appearing on notice, Mansoorul Haq, a representative of Foreign Affairs Ministry, told the court that Umar Farooq, former husband of Sofia Mirza, had left Dubai on May 12, 2011, however, it was still unknown where he had gone.
Expressing dismay over the statement, the chief justice told him that one year ago, he had informed the court that Umar Farooq’s passport had been cancelled. He asked the official how Farooq could have left Dubai without a passport.
The CJP said the Foreign Affairs Ministry and FIA had shown extreme ineligibility in the matter, as despite the lapse of a year, both institutions did not know where Farooq had left along with the two girls.
Appearing on notice, FIA’s Director (Legal) Azam Khan told the court that all countries had been informed in writing that Farooq’s passport had been cancelled. The chief justice asked the representative of Foreign Affairs Ministry that although the ministry takes the court orders for granted, it was a state order that had not been taken seriously.
