Detained in FATA: Islamabad High Court reserves judgment in three missing persons’ case

They were detained by intelligence agencies despite acquittal by an anti-terrorism court.

ISLAMABAD:

The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday reserved its judgment in the habeas corpus petition of three brothers who are facing court martial.

Justice Riaz Ahmed Khan of the IHC reserved the judgment after the lawyer representing the petitioners concluded his arguments. The court will announce the judgment on October 13.

Mufti Abdul Bias had filed the petition on August 17 challenging the detention of his brothers — Abdul Saboor, Abdul Majid and Abdul Basit.

The men were detained by the security agencies after an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) absolved them of the charges of their involvement in terrorist attacks.

Judge Advocate General (JAG branch) of General Headquarters told the IHC that the three men were being detained at Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) under the Fata Regulations in Aid of Civil Powers-2011.

“They would be taken to internment centres in FATA under the newly promulgated Fata regulations,” he said.

Col (retd) Inamur Rahim, who is representing the petitioners, said that these persons have nothing to do with FATA as they were hailing from Lahore.

He argued that such laws were contributing to the defamation of Pakistan Army and such internment centres were a grave violation of the fundamental rights. These centres were a violation of articles 4 and 25 of the Constitution, he added.

The lawyer argued that the JAG branch in its reply had told the court that these persons were being tried under Army Act under which no civilian could be tried without being charge-sheeted.

The petition was earlier filed on August 17 by Mufti Abdul Bias through Colonel (retd) Inamur Rahim, challenging the illegal detention of his three brothers. Next day, the court summoned the JAG, interior secretary, Military Intelligence and the ISI’s director generals, the Adiala Jail superintendent and his deputy in August to submit their comments.

On September 21, the federation raised an objection that the petitions were not maintainable in IHC, which was rejected by the court.

The three brothers were acquitted along with eight others by a trial court in four terrorism cases including GHQ and Hamza Camps attacks. Inamur Rahim was of the view that Justice Khawaja Imtiaz Ahmed of LHC Rawalpindi bench set aside their detention orders on May 2010. He said that instead of releasing them, Adiala Jail Superintendent had handed them over to personnel from an intelligence agency.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2011.