Whereabouts of families of men killed by Davis unknown

Rana Sanaullah, the Law Minister of Punjab province, told the media that the families of Faizan Haider and Muhammad Fahim, who were killed by Davis in January, were in the garrison city of Rawalpindi.

However, the Punjab Home Secretary expressed ignorance about the whereabouts of the families in a written reply submitted to the Lahore High Court yesterday.

The reply, handed over to the court by an Assistant Advocate General, suggested that the judge should ask the federal government about the "missing persons".

The reply was submitted in the court of Justice Chaudhry Iftikhar Husain, who was hearing a habeas corpus petition that asked the judge to direct authorities to trace the families of the dead men.

The reply further said that the Punjab government had no information about the families. It said that though Davis' passport was still in the custody of the Punjab government, it did not play any role in sending him abroad after his release was ordered by a court.

The Punjab government contended that all the information about Davis was in the possession of the federal government and the High Court should summon the Interior Secretary in this regard.

Davis, a former Special Forces soldier, was arrested in Lahore on January 27 after he shot and killed the two men.

He was freed on March 16 after the families of the dead men agreed to a "blood money" deal of over USD 2.3 million.

Muhammad Azhar Siddique, the counsel for the man who filed the habeas corpus petition, pointed out that Law Minister Rana Sanaullah had told the media that the families members of both victims were living in Rawalpindi.

He requested the court to summon the minister to get complete information about the "missing persons".

Justice Husain directed the Assistant Advocate General and investigating agencies to look into the matter in light of Sanaullah's statement.

Siddique further said that if footage from closed circuit cameras installed at Kot Lakhpat Jail, where Davis was held, and the call records of the mobile phone numbers of senior officials, including Sanaullah, was obtained, the situation would become clear.