‘Ministry recycled old letters to US as reply’
Judge says govt has ‘done nothing’ to aid repatriation of Pakistanis.
LAHORE:
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Lahore High Court on Tuesday that it had sought permission from the US embassy in Kabul for Pakistani officials to visit Pakistani citizens detained at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, but not received an answer.
Justice Muhammad Khalid Mehmood Khan, however, was not satisfied by the reply, remarking that the ministry had filed a report which merely reiterated the American line of argument and was doing nothing practical to aid the safe repatriation of the Pakistani citizens.
Barrister Sarah Belal, representing the petitioner, said the ministry’s reply was simply a regurgitation of old information. She said the court had directed the ministry to order a delegation from the Pakistan embassy in Kabul to visit the seven Pakistanis the petitioner says are detained at Bagram Air Base and to interview them. But the ministry did not follow the court’s directions and filed copies of two letters sent to the US embassy in Kabul during October as its response, she said.
The judge asked the counsel to file her written rejoinder and adjourned till January 16.
The petition was filed by the Justice Project Pakistan, which is allied with UK-based NGO Reprieve. The petitioner submitted that seven Pakistanis had been detained at Bagram without charge or trial since 2003.
The seven prisoners – identified as Awwal Khan, Hamidullah Khan, Abdul Haleem Saifullah, Fazal Karim, Amal Khan, Iftikhar Ahmad and Younas Rehmatullah were being held without access to lawyers and without having been informed of the evidence against them, said the petitioner.
“Some have been abused. One prisoner was merely 16 years of age and was seized two years ago at the age of 14. Another was not permitted to speak to his family for six years, and was believed to be in a grievous physical and psychological condition,” said the petition.
Press conference
Later on Tuesday, Barrister Belal addressed a press conference at the Lahore Press Club alongside a relative of Rehmatullah.
She said that US authorities had already cleared Rehmatullah of all charges, but he was not being released.
She said an Indian court had issued production orders for Rehmatullah on Dec 21 (today). “But Pakistani authorities have not taken any serious step for the repatriation of innocent citizens detained in Bagram,” despite the LHC’s orders, she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2011.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Lahore High Court on Tuesday that it had sought permission from the US embassy in Kabul for Pakistani officials to visit Pakistani citizens detained at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, but not received an answer.
Justice Muhammad Khalid Mehmood Khan, however, was not satisfied by the reply, remarking that the ministry had filed a report which merely reiterated the American line of argument and was doing nothing practical to aid the safe repatriation of the Pakistani citizens.
Barrister Sarah Belal, representing the petitioner, said the ministry’s reply was simply a regurgitation of old information. She said the court had directed the ministry to order a delegation from the Pakistan embassy in Kabul to visit the seven Pakistanis the petitioner says are detained at Bagram Air Base and to interview them. But the ministry did not follow the court’s directions and filed copies of two letters sent to the US embassy in Kabul during October as its response, she said.
The judge asked the counsel to file her written rejoinder and adjourned till January 16.
The petition was filed by the Justice Project Pakistan, which is allied with UK-based NGO Reprieve. The petitioner submitted that seven Pakistanis had been detained at Bagram without charge or trial since 2003.
The seven prisoners – identified as Awwal Khan, Hamidullah Khan, Abdul Haleem Saifullah, Fazal Karim, Amal Khan, Iftikhar Ahmad and Younas Rehmatullah were being held without access to lawyers and without having been informed of the evidence against them, said the petitioner.
“Some have been abused. One prisoner was merely 16 years of age and was seized two years ago at the age of 14. Another was not permitted to speak to his family for six years, and was believed to be in a grievous physical and psychological condition,” said the petition.
Press conference
Later on Tuesday, Barrister Belal addressed a press conference at the Lahore Press Club alongside a relative of Rehmatullah.
She said that US authorities had already cleared Rehmatullah of all charges, but he was not being released.
She said an Indian court had issued production orders for Rehmatullah on Dec 21 (today). “But Pakistani authorities have not taken any serious step for the repatriation of innocent citizens detained in Bagram,” despite the LHC’s orders, she added.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 21st, 2011.