{
  "id": 8473698,
  "title": "LHC directs foreign ministry to process pleas over detention of 2 PTI-linked Pakistanis in UAE",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/lhc-directs-foreign-ministry-to-process-pleas-over-detention-of-2-pti-8473698",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-19T14:02:45.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Dawn - Pakistan",
    "slug": "dawn-pakistan",
    "url": "https://www.dawn.com/news/2031148/lhc-directs-foreign-ministry-to-process-pleas-over-detention-of-2-pti-linked-pakistanis-in-uae"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The Lahore High Court has instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to swiftly address representations regarding the detention of two Pakistani nationals with ties to the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political party in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). The court issued these directives on September 14 in response to two petitions filed by the families of Syed Salman Raza Zaidi and Muhammad Junaid Jahangir through attorney Abuzar Salman Niazi. According to the petitions, Zaidi disappeared from his home in Sharjah on September 27, 2024, and was later apprehended by UAE authorities. His wife indicated that two years had passed without receiving any clear information about the charges against her husband, the legal proceedings, any potential sentence, or the complete court record. Jahangir, on the other hand, was reportedly detained at Dubai airport upon his return from Saudi Arabia on September 24, 2024. The petitions raised concerns about the federal government and the Foreign Office's failure to provide adequate consular protection and legal assistance to the two individuals. The families requested that the foreign secretary process the representations concerning the detention of both citizens within 15 days, as per the law, and that they be granted access to their judicial records. Additionally, they sought diplomatic measures to facilitate their return to Pakistan and a report detailing the steps taken by the state in this matter. After reviewing the petitions and the accompanying documents, Justice Sadiq Mahmud Khurram instructed the foreign secretary to promptly process the representations related to Zaidi and Jahangir, if they were still under detention, in accordance with the law and within the stipulated timeframe.",
  "summary": "The Lahore High Court (LHC) has directed the secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) to process and decide within 15 days representations concerning the detention of two Pakistani citizens and PTI-affiliated individuals in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Justice Sadiq Mahmud Khurram issued the directions in written orders on Sept 14 on two separate petitions filed by the families of…",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 2,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Dawn",
        "title": "LHC directs foreign ministry to process pleas over detention of 2 PTI-linked Pakistanis in UAE",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/19/lhc-directs-foreign-ministry-to-process-pleas-over-detention-of-2-pti",
        "published": "2026-09-19T14:02:45.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}