‘Missing persons issue created hatred’

Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) remarked on Friday that the issue of missing persons was not creating a love for the state rather it increased hatred, which the policymakers should realize.

Justice Kayani heard the case about the implementation of the recommendations of the commission regarding the recovery of Baloch students. Advocate Iman Mazari, for the petitioner, and an additional attorney general appeared before the court.

Justice Kayani inquired about the work done by a committee, comprising Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI), Intelligence Bureau (IB), Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA).

The additional attorney general requested the court to grant time after Eid. He told the court that 91 out of 95 missing persons had been traced. On that Justice Kayani remarked that those who were still missing also had to celebrate Eid.

Advocate Mazari told the court that a student, Aneesur Rahman, was still missing but the rest had been recovered. She said that first people went missing and then handed over to the CTD, adding that this trend was increasing all over the country.

Justice Kayani remarked that now the issue of long-term missing was taking the form of short-term missing.

He observed that had someone asked policymakers at some level they didn’t realize that the missing persons issue was increasing hatred.

“Every action reacts. Don’t they know that such actions create hatred against the state,” the judge said. He stated that there might be terrorists among them, but everything had to be done by the law.

He also pointed out that the courts also focused on recovery of the missing persons and did not go beyond that. If a person was held by agencies and later the CTD planted 500 grams of explosives on him, then it would waste time of the courts.

The court inquired the additional attorney general about the three missing persons case at the last hearing. The government lawyer replied that efforts were afoot in this regard, adding that there was no malafide intention involved.

However, Justice Kayani remarked that this was not a case of malafide intention rather it was a case against a state institution. He then asked about the committee on the missing persons, saying that the court had allowed change in its composition.

The judge told the additional attorney general that the for missing persons cases had been sent to a larger bench, adding that the Criminal Justice Committee also had a meeting to look at the issues.