IHC summons AGP in missing persons case

A larger bench of the Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday summoned the attorney general for Pakistan (AGP) on March 6 in a case relating to the missing persons, saying that there was no progress from the government side on this lingering issue.

Heading the bench, IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani remarked that it was the responsibility of the government and the law-enforcement agencies to respond to the families of the missing persons. He added that the state had failed in rescuing the people, as the case stood from where it started.

Justice Kayani stated that the case pertained to the violation of human rights and it was creating a bad image of the country internationally. He added that the court was trying to end the missing persons issue, but the matter would end only when all the missing persons were recovered.

During the hearing, the bench inquired whether there was any recovery of a missing person since the last hearing of the case. In response, Additional Attorney General (AAG) Munawwar Iqbal Duggal and a representative of the defence ministry expressed their unawareness.

AAG Duggal requested the court to allow some more time to the government to inform the court about the progress. However, the lawyer for the missing persons families, Advocate Iman Mazari, opposed further time to the government, stressing that the court should determine those responsible.

Sitting on the bench, Justice Arbab Muhammad Tahir said that actions were being taken to determine those responsible for the missing persons. Mazari said that the previously the AGP gave assurances that there would be no enforced disappearances, but his assurances were repeatedly violated.

Justice Kayani remarked that the state had failed to rescue the people. He asked whether there was any data to show that a missing person had died in a terrorist attack. He further remarked that the Missing Persons Inquiry Commission and the federal government were not doing anything.

Justice Kayani said that operations against Fitna al-Khawarij were ongoing on a daily basis, which were commendable, adding that it was the fact that if there were no law-enforcement agencies, then "we cannot be protected at all".