PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has given a last chance to the ministry of interior to come out with the whereabouts of missing persons.
Despite repeated demands and considerable time given, the ministry has failed to satisfy the court and clear its stance in the missing persons’ case.
PHC Chief Justice Dost Muhammad Khan, while heading a divisional bench with Justice Azmatullah during hearing of the missing person cases, on Tuesday said that the ministry was not replying ‘efficiently’.
The court once again summoned Deputy Attorney General Iqbal Mohmand about the minutes of the meeting of the apex committee which was held to resolve the missing persons’ issue. In reply, the deputy attorney general sought more time for the submission of the sought details.
Justice Khan, while hearing the case filed by Maavia – who, in his petition, alleged that Mullah Tajbar and his son, Hussain Ali, residents of Behraam village of Nowshera – were picked up by security agencies on May 5, 2009 and February 2, 2010, respectively.
However, the Deputy Attorney General Mohmand sought time from the court to further probe the issue upon which, the court gave an ultimatum to the Ministry of Interior to submit a final report regarding the whereabouts of both the missing persons on April 18, 2012.
“You are not replying effectively and could not even produce before the court, the minutes of the Apex Committee meeting held to resolve the missing persons’ issue. If it is something classified, hand it over to me in my chambers,” the PHC chief justice demanded.
He said that the court should also be informed about the future strategy and whether the missing persons were shifted to internment centres or not.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa advocate general informed the court that amendments were being made to laws to handle the issue to which Justice Khan responded furiously and said: “What was the provincial government doing up till now?”
The chief justice said that around 800 to 900 missing persons have reached internment centres and their relatives have finally come to know that their loved ones are alive.
He again voiced his concerns regarding the inability of the families of the missing persons to share information with the court after the return of their relatives.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2012.
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lol...why don’t the courts give notice to those who are really responsible for 'missing' the persons? Court motto appears to be 'Look busy do nothing'.