Peshawar High Court Orders Mumtaz’s Body to Be Handed Over to Heirs

Court directs police not to obstruct burial and hospital administration to record video of the body

Peshawar: The Peshawar High Court has directed authorities to hand over the body of Mumtaz alias Mumtazay, who was wanted in 47 cases, to his lawful heirs and disposed of a supplementary petition.

A two-member bench comprising Justice Syed Arshad Ali and Justice Babar Sattar heard the supplementary petition filed by Mumtaz’s mother, Bagh Meena.

The petitioner’s counsel, Shabbir Gigyani, told the court that on Monday, Mumtaz was being transferred from Islamabad Airport to Peshawar when armed men attacked the police. In the ensuing exchange of fire, Mumtaz alias Mumtazay and two attackers were killed.

The lawyer told the court that the deceased’s body was not being handed over to his family. The court then questioned who was holding the body and why there was a delay in handing it over to the heirs.

Additional Advocate General Abdul Rauf Afridi and DSP Legal appeared before the court. The AAG informed the court that police were ready to hand over the body but would release it only to the deceased’s genuine heirs.

The petitioner’s counsel said that Mumtaz’s mother and brother would collect the body and requested the court to ensure that no obstacles were created during the burial process.

The AAG informed the court that the body was currently at a hospital and requested that the hospital administration record a video of the body to preserve an official record.

The court directed that Mumtaz’s body be handed over to his genuine heirs and ordered the hospital administration to maintain a video record of the body. Police were also directed not to create any hurdles in the burial process.