If a family member has been taken and you do not know where they are, telephone the chambers now. Hours matter, and the useful steps are ones that have to be taken immediately.

What follows explains the remedy that exists for exactly this situation.

Habeas corpus: produce the person

Habeas corpus is an order requiring whoever holds a person to produce them before the court and justify the detention. If the detention cannot be justified, the person is released.

Two routes exist in Pakistan:

Article 199(1)(b)(i) of the Constitution — the High Court may direct that a person in custody within its territorial jurisdiction be brought before it, so that it may satisfy itself that they are not being held without lawful authority or in an unlawful manner.

Section 491 of the Code of Criminal Procedure — a similar power exercisable in respect of persons illegally or improperly detained.

These are among the oldest and most effective remedies available, and the courts in Pakistan treat them as urgent.

When it applies

The situations that come to us:

  • A person detained by police without an FIR having been registered, or held beyond the period permitted before production before a Magistrate
  • Detention by an agency or authority that will not confirm custody
  • A person missing in circumstances suggesting they were taken
  • A woman confined by her family against her will, commonly following a marriage the family opposes
  • A child withheld by one parent or a relative from the person entitled to custody
  • Detention continuing after an order for release

The remedy is not confined to detention by the state. Confinement by private persons — including within a family — is within it.

What to do in the first hours

Record everything now, while it is accurate: the date and time the person was last seen or taken, the location, how many people were involved, what they wore or said, vehicle details and registration if seen, and the names of every witness.

Identify the police station having jurisdiction over the place, and go there. Ask for an entry to be made recording the report, and get a copy or note of the entry number. If a report is refused, record that refusal — the time, and who refused.

Ask formally whether the person is in custody, and if so under what authority.

Preserve CCTV. Shops, buildings and tollgates overwrite footage within days. Ask immediately and in writing.

Do not wait 24 hours. There is no rule requiring a person to be missing for a period before anything can be done, and delay is the single greatest obstacle.

Filing the petition

A habeas petition should identify the person detained, state the circumstances and time of detention so far as known, name the respondents — including the relevant officers and departments — and set out what has already been attempted and with what result.

Courts hear these matters urgently and can issue directions immediately, including directing a bailiff to search premises and produce the person.

The record of your earlier attempts — the police station visit, the written application, the refusal — is what demonstrates urgency and good faith. That is why the first hours' documentation matters so much.

Where a person is formally in custody

If it emerges that the person is under arrest in a registered case, the remedy changes: habeas corpus is not the route to challenge a lawful arrest.

The questions become bail, the validity of the FIR, and whether the sections cited are made out. See the first 48 hours after an arrest and how to get an FIR registered.

That is not a bad outcome. Establishing where someone is and under what authority is itself the point of the exercise.

Enforced disappearance

Where a person is taken and custody is denied by all authorities, the position is distinct and more difficult.

A Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances exists to receive and inquire into such cases, and petitions before the High Courts continue alongside. Progress in these matters is frequently slow, and honest advice includes saying so.

What helps: consistent, documented, persistent pursuit through every available forum, and a properly maintained record from the outset.

Women confined by family

A recurring category, most often following a marriage the family opposes.

The person confined may petition, or a petition may be brought on their behalf. Courts will produce the person and — critically — hear from them directly, without the family present, as to whether they are being held against their will.

If the person is an adult, their own statement to the court is decisive. If you believe an adult relative or friend is being confined, this remedy is available and it works.

Children withheld from a parent

Where a child is withheld, habeas corpus may be available, but custody questions are ultimately decided on the child's welfare in the Guardian Courts rather than summarily. See child custody in Pakistan.

Taking advice on which route fits your facts avoids losing time in the wrong forum.

How the firm can help

We file and argue habeas corpus petitions before the High Court of Sindh and applications under section 491, urgently, and pursue the related steps — registration of an FIR where one has been refused, and applications where a police station will not record a report.

Where the person is in lawful custody, we move immediately to bail and to challenging the case as registered.

These matters are handled with discretion and they are treated as emergencies. If someone has been taken, telephone the chambers — (021) 3263 7006.