LHC seeks report as 500 missing girls cases sit pending in Punjab

More than 500 cases of missing girls are pending in Punjab, the province’s police chief told the Lahore High Court on Wednesday, prompting Chief Justice Aalia Neelum to order a detailed report on efforts to find them.

Inspector General of Police (IGP) Rao Abdul Karim gave the figure while appearing before the chief justice in a petition filed by Sadia Hussain, a Faisalabad resident seeking the recovery of her daughter, Dawn reported.

A girl found after two years

The IGP told the court that the petitioner’s 16-year-old daughter had been recovered. She was produced before the bench, and the chief justice asked the police chief to confirm that she was the same girl whose photograph was on the court record. He said she was, and the case was disposed of after her rescue, The Express Tribune reported.

The chief justice noted that the girl had been missing for two years and was found only after the high court took notice. She observed that the police appeared to become active only once a court intervened, and asked how many other girls had stayed missing for long periods.

‘This mindset needs to change’

Asked whether the police had a mechanism for cases involving women and children, the IGP said special committees had been formed to deal with them. The chief justice questioned why so many cases were still pending. “If committees had been formed, why is the situation still like this?” the court asked.

The court also criticised the police’s attitude towards cases involving women, observing that there was a mindset in the department about what a girl involved in a case might be like. “This mindset needs to change,” it said.

Chief Justice Neelum called more than 500 cases a very large number and asked officials to consider the suffering of parents whose daughters had disappeared. She also expressed displeasure over police negligence in cases involving women, and directed the IGP to submit a report on the work being done to recover missing girls.

Police promise a review

Speaking to the media afterwards, the IGP said the police would review all cases involving women and children, including the quality of investigations, their outcomes and follow-up.

He said:

• about 3,200 such cases had been recorded up to January 2025
• 500 cases dating from January 1, 2021, were still pending
• the police would check whether missing women had been recovered and whether their cases had been properly closed

He said recovering missing women was essential, and stressed the need for continuous training of investigating officers.

Separate ruling on FIA officers

In a separate case, Justice Jawad Zafar of the LHC dismissed a plea to stop an inquiry against officials of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA). The inquiry, ordered by a Faisalabad justice of the peace, concerns allegations that a British citizen of Pakistani origin and his brother were forced to hand over cash, vehicles and documents while in detention.

The court ruled that the inquiry against FIA Director Saqib Sultan, Inspector Ajmal Hussain and other officials should go ahead, observing that such incidents could undermine public confidence in state institutions.

This article draws on reporting by Dawn and The Express Tribune.