ISI denies role in Hizb activists missing

Four activists of Hizbut Tahrir not in spy agency’s custody, claims official.


Obaid Abbasi September 27, 2011

ISLAMABAD:


The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) on Monday denied its involvement in the enforced disappearance of four activists of banned outfit.


The intelligence agency in its reply on a petition told the Islamabad High Court (IHC) that the four Hizbut Tahrir (HT) activists were not in its custody.

IHC Chief Justice Iqbal Hameedur Rehman was hearing four identical petitions on the missing activists namely, HT spokesperson Imran Yousufzai, activists Hayyan Dawar Khan, Osama Hanif and Dr Abdul Qayyum. They had been allegedly picked up from different parts of the country.

Deputy Attorney-General Tariq Mehmood Jahangiri appeared before the court on behalf of the agency.

The court directed the Deputy Registrar Judicial to seek report from the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances regarding the progress made by the body and adjourned the case till October 6.

Relatives of the missing activists had filed writ petitions before the court in July blaming security agencies for the disappearances.

Osama Hanif, a telecom engineer and a graduate of the National University of Science and Technology (NUST), went missing from sector G-11 on July 12. Similarly, HT deputy spokesman Imran Yousafzai, Hayyan Dawar and a dental surgeon Dr Abdul Qayyum were also picked up by the spy agencies on July 14, 21 and 27, respectively from different areas of the country.

On August 10, the representatives of the Military Intelligence (MI) had also denied that the HT activists were in their custody.

After the detention of Brigadier Ali Khan by the Pakistan Army for his alleged links with HT, more than a dozen activists of the organisation went missing.

On July 26, the court had issued notices to DGs of MI and ISI and Superintendent of the Police to submit their replies by July 29.

In August the case was referred to the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, a body which has been constituted by the Supreme Court to collect report on the cases of the missing persons.

Published in The Express Tribune, September 27th, 2011.

COMMENTS (3)

Annas Wibowo | 12 years ago | Reply

The issue is that there are efforts have been undertaken to suppress a non-violence Islamic group. This is a sign of the corruption of the regime and the so called war on terrorism. The war on terrorism campaign is an imperialism effort to suppress the people and the moslems all over the world. The real enemy is imperialism and the imperialists states of the world, which is USA and its allies.

Pundit | 12 years ago | Reply Denial , Denial and Denial...
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