The Lahore High Court has summoned the inspector general of police to appear in the court on December 2 regarding a petition for the recovery of journalist and YouTuber Shakir Mehmood Awan.

The court has instructed the Punjab Safe City Authority to provide CCTV footage related to the alleged abduction of Awan from his home.

In the previous hearing, Additional-IGP Punjab Shehzada Sultan appeared in court, where a law officer presented an FIR concerning Awan’s alleged abduction, which was filed by the South Cantonment police against unidentified suspects.

The petitioner’s counsel, representing Awan’s mother, criticised the police’s actions, stating that “merely filing an FIR does not exempt them from their duty to locate and recover Awan.”

The additional-IGP Punjab informed the court that that the IGP was in Islamabad. An FIR had been filed and police were investigating the journalist’s abduction, he added.

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In the second phase of the hearing, the court reminded the Punjab Safe City Authority CEO about the requirement to present CCTV footage related to the incident. The CEO responded that it would take some time to gather the necessary footage.

A law officer assured the court that all directives were being followed. The court adjourned the proceedings until the next hearing.

According to Shahnaz Begum’s petition, her son was abducted on November 28, 2024, from their home in Nishat Colony, Lahore. At least 20 masked and armed individuals forcibly entered the residence, seized electronic devices and dismantled the CCTV cameras.