The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Thursday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government to submit a detailed report on vehicles seized in criminal cases and stored in police warehouses across the province. The court also sought information on the current status of those cases.
A three-member bench, comprising Justice Musarrat Hilali, Justice Shakeel Ahmad, and Justice Ishtiaq Ibrahim, instructed KP Advocate General Shah Faisal Uthmankhel to provide the court with details on how many seized vehicles had been handed over to individuals, including police officials, on Superdari (temporary custody).
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The Advocate General informed the bench that 1,119 vehicles were stored at Daudzai police station’s main warehouse, with an additional 36 vehicles kept at the Mathra police station warehouse. When asked whether these vehicles remained in storage or were in use, he said they were physically present in the warehouses.
However, the bench noted that during a previous hearing, they had personally seen a seized car being used by a retired police officer, with no official record of the vehicle found. The court directed that the car be transferred to the Excise and Taxation Department’s warehouse.
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Justice Hilali criticised the practice of distributing seized vehicles informally among officers, saying such misuse resembled an unlawful sale. The bench expressed concern over seized vehicles being neglected and turning to scrap, significantly reducing their value.
The court also inquired whether rules existed under the KP anti-narcotics law to auction vehicles and compensate the owners if acquitted. The AG confirmed no such rules had been made.