BEFORE THE HONOURABLE ISLAMABAD HIGH

COURT, ISLAMABAD

Writ Petition No: _____/2015

Mumtaz Anwar Abbasi, father of Detenu Hammad Dadan

resident of DD3 Gulshan Dadan Khan, Rawalpindi
.. Petitioner
Versus
1. Station House Officer, Police Station I-9, Islamabad
2. Inspector General of Police, Islamabad Capital Territory,
Islamabad
3. Ministry of Defence through its Secretary, Islamabad
4. Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate, through its
Director General, Islamabad
5. Ministry of Interior through its Secretary, Islamabad
Respondents

WRIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 199 OF CONSTITUTION OF

THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN, 1973.

Respectfully Sheweth:
BACKGROUND AND FACTS

1. That the Petitioner is a citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and

holder of Computerized National Identity Card No. 37405-7270354-1.
He is a resident of Gulshan Dadan Khan, a neighborhood in Rawalpindi
established by the Petitioners grandfather. He hails from one of the
most respectable families in the region. He earns his living through

various businesses including CNG supply and has lived more than five
decades of his life as law-abiding citizen. The Petitioner has 3 children,
among whom is the 26-year-old son, Hammad Dadan, Advocate.
2. Advocate Hammad Dadan (hereinafter referred as detenu) was born
and raised in the Islamabad-Rawalpindi region. He did his O Levels
from Beaconhouse School System, Margalla Campus and his A Levels
from HeadStart School, Islamabad. Being a bright and hardworking
student Hammad went on to study law at the University of Sussex, UK
from where he graduated with an LLB (Hons.). Having completed his
studies, he returned to Pakistan because he was passionate about
contributing to dispensation of justice in his country. He enrolled as an
Advocate with the Punjab Bar Council in 2014 and became a member
of the Islamabad Bar Association. Hammad started practicing law and
since November, 2014, Hammad was working as an Associate Lawyer
in the renowned law firm of Khan & Muezzin, where he was
flourishing both as a person and as a professional.

3. That on the evening of June 20, 2015, which was the second day of the
holy month of Ramzan, Hammad decided to attend the Tarawih prayer
at Masjid Imam Abu Daud, opposite Pakistan Institute of Medical
Sciences (PIMS), Islamabad. When the Petitioner asked Hammad about
why he was going to this particular masjid and not the neighborhood
masjid, Hammad explained that he was going there because he
enjoyed listening to the Quranic recitation in Masjid Abu Daud which
he finds more melodious than that of other masajids.
4. That around 9 p.m, Hammad, the detenue left his home situated at
DD3 Gulshan-e-Dadan and was driving his car Mira bearing vehicle
registration number DW 282 ICT. On his way to the masjid, Hammad
picked up 3 other young friends who also wanted to attend Tarawih
at Masjid Abu Daud. These included: Ammar Dadan s/o Raja Javed,
Abdullah Umar s/o Col. (r) Khalid Mahmud Abassi; and Ahmad s/o Haji
Bashir. Ammar Dadan, around 28 years old, is a second cousin of
Hammads. Ammar also did his schooling at Beaconhouse School
Margalla Campus after which he attended the Bahria University

Islamabad from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Business

Administration (BBA), after which he set up a real estate business. He
lived in the house next to the Petitioners i.e. DD4, Gulshan-e-Dadan.
Abdullah Umar, around 26 years old, was also schooled in the Army
Public School. He is presently a second year law student at the
International

Islamic

University,

Islamabad

and

has

permanent

residence at House 33, Street 19, 1-9/4. Hammad also gave a ride to
Ahmad Bashir s/o Haji Basir, a teenager, who is his friend. The four
boys attended tarawih together on the night of 20th June 2015.
5. That at or about 11 pm, the Petitioner received a call on his mobile
phone having number 0300 9563986 from Hammads mobile phone
having number 0336 999 7702. He seemed in a state of shook and
spoke only briefly. He said Father, my car had been hit. We are near
Beaconhouse. Please come to help us. The Petitioner assured him
that he was coming to help and immediately rushed out and drove
towards Beaconhouse Margalla Campus, situated in H-8, near Shifa
Hospital.
6. That when the Petitioner reached Beaconhouse around 11:30pm on
20.06.2015, he found out that Hammads car, Mira bearing registration
No. DW 282 ICT, was standing on the road. Hammad was nowhere to
be found in the car. Instead, the car was surrounded by a large number
of by-standers who were gathered over there. Behind Hammads car
was another car, a Toyota Vigo, which has been left half upturned and
was now being lifted up by a crane.
7. That Ahmad Bashir, the teenager friend of Hammad and the
assembled people at the spot, which included a number of policemen,
informed the Petitioner that Hammad, Ammar and Abdullah have been
abducted by armed personal belonging to Inter-Service Intelligence,
Respondent No. 4. The Petitioner was informed that a Vigo and a
number of other vehicles owned by Respondent No. 1 started chasing
the car of detenus when they left Masjid Daud after the tarawih. When
the detenus tried to loose their chasers, the Vigo owned by the
chasers actually hit the detenus car from behind and in the process
their own Vigo turned upside down.

8. That once both the car of the detenus and the cars of the chasers got
stuck, the chasers came out. They were armed men dressed in plain
clothes. First they dragged out Abdullah who was sitting in the front
passenger seat. Hammad protested by informing them that he was an
Advocate but undaunted by this, they also abducted him and put him
in a separate car. Finally, they dragged Ammar out of the car and
abducted him as well.

9. That the Petitioner inquired from the people gathered on the spot
about whose car the stranded Vigo was? The people gathered there
and, in particular, an Officer of the nearby Police Station, Sub-Inspector
Akram Cheema, informed the Petitioner that the stranded Vigo belong
to the Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Respondent No. 4 and that it
would be prudent to not inquire any further into the matter.
10.

That the Petitioner, being extremely anxious about the life and

well-being of his son and his sons cousins and friends, immediately
made inquiries with the hospitals of the city including Shifa Hospital
and PIMS. No hospital had any news about their whereabouts.
11.

That the Petitioner then went along with Col. (R) Khalid Abbassi,

father of detenu Abdullah went to I-9 Police Station where, around 1:30
am they submitted a hand-written application for registration of FIR
nominating unnamed men of ISI, Respondent No. 2. Duty Officer SI
Akram Cheema informed the Petitioners that, on the basis of his site
visit, he shared their suspicion that this was a case of Enforced
Disappearance carried out at the behest of Respondent No. 4.
However, since Respondent No. 4 is generally known to operate
beyond the boundaries of the laws and the Constitution of the Islamic
Republic of Pakistan, therefore FIR could not be registered against
them. Instead of registering an FIR against the real culprits,
Respondent police offered to register an FIR against na maloom
afraad. The Petitioner refused lying in the FIR and requested the daily
diary number and copy of his application so that he could seek all
possible remedies under the law. The Duty Officer refused to give the
Plaintiff a copy of his application for registration of FIR, making the

excuse that the photocopier in the Police Station was broken and a
copy couldnt be made till the next morning.

12.

That the detenu Hammad Advocate was a law-abiding citizen of

Pakistan and is entitled to the protection of the laws of the Islamic

Republic. It is worth mentioning that the detenus had never been
charged with any specific offence, nor had they ever been notified of
any pending or contemplated charges against them in any jurisdiction
in connection therewith they might be said to have been arrested.

13.

That the Petitioner has also gotten in touch with the detenus

professional community, the Islamabad Bar Association. The legal

community has expressed shock and deep concern about this incident.
If the defenders of the law themselves are subject to such arbitrary
treatment at the hand of state institutions, then what justice can an
ordinary citizen possibly expect?
14.

That the Petitioner has come knocking at the doors of this Court

as a means of last resort. However, if even this Court cannot seek the
release of Hammad Advocate and his fellow detenus and cannot bring
his

tormentors

to

task,

then

the

last

flame

of

hope

for

constitutionally governed Pakistan will be extinguished.

15.

That under the circumstances given above, the following

questions arise pertaining to the enforcement of various fundamental

rights and protections available to every citizen of Pakistan in terms of
the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973:
(A) Whether the abduction of a citizen without any lawful excuse is not
infringement of the right to life, liberty and security bestowed upon
by virtues of Article 9 of the Constitution?
(B)Whether the unlawful and arbitrary arrest of a person in a
disgraceful way is not in violation of the right to a fair trial and due
process of law and hence unfair, unjust and unreasonable?

(C)Whether the arbitrary deprivation of liberty of a person about whom

its not even ascertainable in what conditions he is being kept is not
in violation of Article 25 of the Constitution which enjoins upon the
state to ensure equality of citizens and; is any arbitrary action taken
against an individual not in contravention to the principles of
equality and non-discrimination?

(D)

Whether the unlawful and unjustified deprivation of an individual,

against his will and making him presumably suffer through physical
and psychological trauma as well as the mental pain inflicted to his
family not in violation to Article 14 of the Constitution, and
therefore likely to be redressed by this Honorable Court?
16.

That in light of the submissions hereinabove, being aggrieved by

the unlawful actions

of the respondents and their law-enforcement

agencies/agents, the petitioner invokes the Constitutional jurisdiction

of this Honorable Court on the following grounds:

GROUNDS
i.

That the detenus have been taken away without any legal
justification and in an unlawful manner. Further, the way the
detenus have been or are being treated with is in utter violation of
his constitutional right to be dealt with in accordance with the law
laid in Article 4 read with Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan as
both the Articles postulate that no person can ever be deprived of
life or liberty without going through the due process of law, if so
required. Article 4 of the Constitution states as no action
detrimental to the life, liberty, body, reputation or property
of any person shall be taken except in accordance with law,
whereas the article 9 reads that no person shall be deprived of
life or liberty save in accordance with law.

ii.

That the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973

categorically and unequivocally guarantees that no one would be
punished in this country but for a violation of a specific provision
of law, rule or regulation and that too should not be in defiance of
the requirements of law and the Constitution .

iii.

That the detenus have been picked up by the officials of agencies

without telling them or their family any reason for so doing; further
the abductors did not bother to produce the detenus before any
Court of law for getting such long detention legalized as required by
the law. It is averred that such abduction and subsequent
detention/confinement of the detenus is a clear infringement upon
the Fundamental Rights of the detenus enshrined under Article 10
of the Constitution of Pakistan which reads as (1) no person who
is arrested shall be detained in custody without being
informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest,
nor shall he be denied the right to consult and be defended
by a legal practitioner of his own choice. (2) every person
who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced
before a Magistrate within a period of twenty-four hours of
such arrest, excluding the time necessary for the journey
from the place of arrest to the Court of the nearest
Magistrate, and no such person shall be detained in custody
beyond

the

said

period

without

the

authority

of

Magistrate.

iv.

That Article 10 of the Constitution provides direct protection to

people from enforced disappearance. Enforced disappearance of
persons is considered to be a crime against humanity all over the
world in view of Article 1 of United Nations General Assembly
Declaration on the Protection of All Persons from Enforced
Disappearances, 1992 and Article 5 of International Convention for
the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICCPED),
2006. Missing persons cannot be detained illegally by government
agencies, there must be some legislation in the country to control
unauthorized detention of persons. (PLD 2014 SC 305)

v.

That the Honorable Lahore High Court in Abdul Rasheed Bhatti v.

Government of Punjab (PLD 2010 Lahore 468), in case of
illegal detention, has held that the liberty of every citizen is to be
protected and guaranteed under Articles 4, 9, 10 and 15 of the
Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, 1973, and the State
has to jealously safeguard liberty of every citizen wherever he may
be; and any action without sufficient cause depriving or restricting
liberty of a citizen is not envisaged by the Constitution of the
country and any such action taken by the Government or any of its
functionary is not immune from scrutiny of High Court in exercise of
its power under Article 199 of the Constitution.

vi.

That the fundamental rights of everybody under Article 9, 10, 14

and 25 to be read with Article 4 of the Constitution has to be
respected. If any person committed an offence, he should be dealt
with in accordance with law and the concerned agencies only. If the
Government officials of any department or organization would take
law into their own hands, powerful individuals would not be
prevented from doing the same. Everything is needed to be done
within the system and strictly in accordance with the law. (2005
PLD 700 Lah.)

vii.

That based on the facts alleged above, the Respondents and/or their
agencies,

directly

or

indirectly,

took

part

in

the

kidnapping/abduction of the detenus, which exposes them to

potential criminal penalty under the Pakistan Penal Code.

viii. That the Respondents have a legal duty to bar commission of such
crimes within the territorial sovereignty of Pakistan and to prosecute
those who take part in such crimes.

ix.

That there is no other alternate and efficacious remedy available to

the Petitioner but to invoke the constitutional jurisdiction of this
Honourable Court.

PRAYER
In view of the foregoing facts and circumstances it is most respectfully

prayed that this Honourable Court may be pleased to:

a) issue a writ in the nature of habeas corpus to the Respondents
directing them to immediately produce the detenus before this
Honorable Court;
b) provide

redress

for

the

criminal

offences

committed

by

the

Respondents against the detenus by directing the relevant authorities

that criminal charges, under the relevant laws of the Islamic Republic
of Pakistan be registered against those responsible for the abduction
and subsequent detention of the detenus;
c) Any other relief that this Honourable Court deems fit may also kindly
be granted.

Petitioner

Through

ZAHOOR ELLAHI
MIRZA SHAHZAD AKBAR
Advocate High Court
Barrister-at-Law
Advocate
High Court

Umer Gilani
Advocate High Court

Certificate:

Certified that the subject matter has never been directly or substantially
adjudicated upon by any court of Law; and this is the first Writ Petition filed
on the aforementioned subject.
Counsel

BEFORE THE HONOURABLE ISLAMABAD HIGH

COURT, ISLAMABAD

Writ Petition No: _____/2015

Mumtaz Anwar Abbasi

SHO, P.S. I-9 and others

Versus

WRIT PETITION UNDER ARTICLE 199 OF CONSTITUTION OF

THE ISLAMIC REPUBLIC OF PAKISTAN, 1973.

AFFIDAVIT

I, Mumtaz Anwar Abbasi S/O M. Anwar Abbasi, do hereby solemnly swear

and affirm that the contents of my accompanying Writ Petition are all true
and correct according to the best of my knowledge and belief and nothing
has been concealed from this Honourable Court.

Deponent

Verified on oath at Islamabad on this ________ Day of June, 2015 that the
contents of my above affidavit are all true and correct according to the best
of my knowledge and belief and that nothing has been concealed from the
Court.

Deponent