The Sindh High Court (SHC) has directed the West SSP to conduct an inquiry into the kidnapping of three children of a man from Punjab and submit a report within seven days.
The high court also directed an East district court to assign magistrates to record statements of two minor boys and their elder sister as to whether they wanted to live with their father or like to be set at liberty.
The order came on a petition of Shahid Akram who sought custody of his two sons, who were recovered by police during a raid, and a sui juris daughter.
A counsel for the petitioner submitted that his two underage sons and one daughter were kidnapped from Sheikhupura Punjab and they were recovered from the house of a man, Anwar, in the Gulistan-e-Jauhar area.
He submitted that the custody of his sons had been given to a shelter home in Karachi on the state’s application instead of handing them over to the petitioner or a shelter home in Punjab.
He said that due to the impugned sessions court order, the petitioner was facing hardship as he was a resident of Sheikhupura and his children was lodged in a shelter home in Karachi.
The SHC was requested to set aside the session’s court order with regard to handing over the custody of his two underage sons to a Karachi shelter home and either grant their custody to him or any child protection centre in Punjab.
The custody of the children was not given to the petitioner as the boys were reluctant to join their father as their father was cruel and had criminal conduct.
A division bench of the SHC headed by Justice Salahuddin Panhwar directed the district sessions court to assign judicial magistrates for recording statements of minor boys and a sui juris girl with regard to their willingness to go with their father.
The high court observed that after perusal of statements of the children, there was smoke on the screen regarding the claim of the petitioner, therefore, the West SSP shall conduct an inquiry into the matter and submit a report within seven days.
The SHC also directed its office to verify the FRC and birth certificate issued by Nadra and the UC concerned with regard to the children and submit a report.
Published in News Daily on 31-January-2025.
