LAHORE: The Lahore High Court (LHC) has issued notices to Foreign Secretary Asim Iftikhar in two contempt petitions alleging that authorities failed to comply with an earlier court order concerning two Pakistanis linked to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) who remain detained in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
Justice Sadiq Mehmood Khurram issued the notices on Thursday after hearing arguments from the petitioners’ counsel, Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi. The court directed the foreign secretary to submit his reply by October 29.
The petitions allege that the Foreign Office failed to act on representations concerning the detention of Syed Salman Raza Zaidi and Muhammad Junaid Jahangir, despite a September 14 order directing the secretary to process and decide the matters within 15 days.
During Thursday’s hearing, Niazi argued that the two men continued to be deprived of consular, diplomatic and legal access. He told the court that the petitioners had not been formally informed of any decision on their representations, despite the passage of the deadline.
The counsel urged the court to initiate contempt proceedings over the alleged non-compliance with its earlier directions.
The cases concern two separate incidents involving Pakistani citizens who were reportedly taken into custody by UAE authorities in September 2024.
According to the petitions, Zaidi went missing from his residence in Sharjah on September 27, 2024, and was subsequently detained by UAE authorities.
His wife, Faryal Zainab, has approached the court seeking information about his case. Her counsel submitted that she had yet to receive clear details of the charges against her husband, the judicial proceedings, any sentence imposed or access to the complete court record.
The petition highlights concerns over the lack of information available to the family nearly two years after his reported disappearance and subsequent detention.
In the second case, Jahangir was allegedly detained at Dubai airport on September 24, 2024, while returning from Saudi Arabia.
His father, Muhammad Ibrahim, filed a petition challenging what he described as the failure of the federal government and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to provide effective consular protection and legal assistance.
According to the petitioners, representations were submitted to the foreign secretary regarding both detentions, but the matters had not been processed as required by the court’s September directive.
The petitions seek directions for the provision of legal and consular assistance to both men, the acquisition of their judicial records and diplomatic efforts to facilitate their return to Pakistan.
The latest proceedings bring renewed judicial scrutiny to the government’s handling of the cases and its obligations towards Pakistani citizens detained abroad.
The foreign secretary has been asked to respond to the allegations by October 29. The notices do not, by themselves, establish contempt of court, and the allegations remain subject to the proceedings before the LHC.
