The Red Cross had confirmed that 10 Pakistani citizens detained at Bagram jail were released and repatriated. DESIGN: FILE
The Peshawar High Court (PHC) was informed on Tuesday that 708 missing persons have been traced at eight internment centres in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and the Federally Administrated Tribal Areas, while ground-checking and verifications for others are in progress.
The two-member bench of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah Khan was hearing around 300 petitions of enforced disappearances. Deputy Attorney General Manzoor Khalil, Additional Advocate General (AAG) Waqar Ahmad Khan, Major Muhammad Ali of the Ministry of Defence and Home and Tribal Affairs Deputy Secretary Usman Zaman appeared before the court.
Waqar Khan produced a report before the bench stating that 593 people are detained in the five notified interment centres of K-P, while 60 are in three centres operated under the jurisdiction of the political administration in tribal areas.
He also said a report was produced in the court earlier regarding 484 petitions in which whereabouts of 219 people were unknown for which ground check and verifications are in progress while 55 fresh internees were shifted to these centres.
However, other reports sought by the court in the previous hearing regarding the number of internees who died at the interment centres, whether anyone carries criminal charges, number of internees released and the number of petitions pending before the Supreme Court was not produced.
The court has observed that former deputy attorney general Iqbal Mohmand submitted a similar report in December last year showing that 643 people are detained at various centres but since then no progress report has been submitted.
The court was informed that Hafiz Muhammad Tariq was picked up by the Par Hoti police in Mardan on December 20, 2012 and was later handed over to Military Intelligence officials and since then his whereabouts are unknown.
The court directed the AAG to produce the entire record of Tariq’s case on the next date of hearing.
The AAG also informed the court that no information is available regarding the deaths of detainees and reports of oversight boards are confidential but would be discussed in court. He also said the release of internees is a continuous process. Waqar added there are 642 cases pending before the commission on enforced disappearances.
The court then ordered that the replies of all relevant parties must be submitted within 15 days and in the same period, reports of meetings of the oversight boards of various internment centres also be provided. A ‘last chance’ was given to the authorities to submit the reports as internees have been under detention for several years.
The PHC bench was informed that Haji Muhammad Gul has been detained at the internment centre in Malakand and his relatives filed an application for visitation to the relevant official who then forwarded it to the head of the army’s 17th division in Swat but they were not allowed to meet their loved one.
The chief justice expressed displeasure as earlier the court was informed that the army is only providing external security to the internment centres and has no administrative control.
In its order, the court states that the photocopy of a letter dated March 3, 2014 by the Malakand commissioner to the 17th division commander was produced for granting visitation rights to the detainee kept at the Pak-Austrian Institute of Tourism and Hotel Management which serves as an internment centre but he was refused that right.
The court also said that in similar cases, it was told that on paper such centres are looked after by the provincial government but practically it is under the control of army officers. Major Ali informed the court that he would confirm the report, saying to his knowledge the army provides security to the interment centres.
The court ordered that a visitation facility be provided to the intern and protection should be provided to the petitioner. Major Ali was directed to submit a report in this regard, including the version of the relevant army official.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 21st, 2014.
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