Lahore High Court Chief Justice Aalia Neelum has expressed dissatisfaction over a report submitted by the police regarding women abduction cases and remarked that a large number of abducted girls have still not been recovered, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Wednesday.
During the hearing of a case related to the non-recovery of a girl who was abducted four years ago, Justice Alia Neelum emphasized that it is the fundamental responsibility of the police to recover the abducted girls, but the institution appears to be failing in fulfilling this crucial duty.
Chief Justice Aalia Neelum heard the petition filed by petitioner Salma Bibi, who had approached the High Court in 2022 for the recovery of her daughter, Muqaddas Bibi.
IG Police Abdul Karim, along with Additional IG Investigation Shehzada Sultan and other senior officers, appeared before the court, while Assistant Advocate General Waqar Umar presented the report on behalf of the IG Punjab.
The IG Punjab informed the court that, in compliance with court orders, a report covering five years of data regarding abductions and recoveries of women had been compiled.
According to the report, from 2021 to 2025, a total of 105,244 cases of abduction of women were registered.
He further stated that during these five years, 105,571 women were abducted.
Cases registered under Section 365-B amounted to 70,773, while 34,471 cases were registered under Section 496-A.
He added that 80,776 cases were dismissed based on the statements of the recovered girls, while challans in 20,613 cases were submitted to the courts and currently, 3,864 cases are under investigation.
According to the IG, 612 women have been recovered so far, whereas 3,258 women are still missing.
During the hearing, the Chief Justice questioned why such a large number of girls had not been recovered.
In response, IG Punjab Abdul Karim stated that administrative issues were causing difficulties.
The Chief Justice expressed displeasure over this response and remarked that resolving administrative issues is the responsibility of the police and that any negligence in this regard is unacceptable.
An interesting moment occurred during the hearing when the IG Punjab mistakenly addressed the Chief Justice as “Madam CM,” but immediately realized his mistake, apologized, and corrected himself by saying “My Ladyship.”
The IG further informed the court that, in view of the increasing number of abduction cases, a proper mechanism has been devised.
A special team has been formed under the supervision of the Additional IG, and units have been established at the provincial, divisional, and district levels.
Expressing displeasure over the poor performance of the police, the court ordered that the performance of investigation officers who failed to recover abducted girls be immediately reviewed, responsibility be fixed, and action be taken against them.
The court also directed that officers with poor performance should not be assigned to future investigations.
The court further ordered the special team formed for investigating abduction cases to appear at the next hearing with a comprehensive report.
The petitioner, Salma Bibi, had approached the Lahore High Court in 2022 for the recovery of her daughter, Muqaddas Bibi.
In this case, IG Punjab Abdul Karim has already appeared before the court twice previously.
The court adjourned further hearing of the case until June 1 and granted exemption from personal appearance to the IG Punjab at the next hearing.
Reporter: Malik Ashraf