LHC directs foreign ministry to process pleas over detention of 2 PTI-linked Pakistanis in UAE

The Lahore High Court has directed the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to process and decide on representations concerning the detention of two Pakistani citizens affiliated with the PTI party in the United Arab Emirates. The court's directions were issued in written orders on September 14, following two separate petitions filed by the families of Syed Salman Raza Zaidi and Muhammad Junaid Jahangir.

According to the petitions, Zaidi went missing from his residence in Sharjah on September 27, 2024, and was subsequently taken into custody by UAE authorities. His wife, Faryal Zainab, stated that despite nearly two years having passed, she had not received clear information about the charges against her husband, judicial proceedings, or any sentence imposed on him. Jahangir's father, Muhammad Ibrahim, reported that his son was detained at Dubai airport on September 24, 2024, upon his return from Saudi Arabia.

The petitions challenged the alleged failure of the federal government and the Foreign Office to provide effective consular protection and legal assistance to the two men. The court has given the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 15 days to process and decide on the representations. The cases were filed through Barrister Abuzar Salman Niazi, who informed the court that representations regarding the detention of both citizens had been submitted to the foreign secretary but had not been processed.

Brief written by urgent.news from Daily Times, Dawn - Pakistan, Dawn — 3 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.