‘Missing’ prisoners: SC seeks update on Adiala missing persons

Bench lauds resolution seeking extension of apex court’s jurisdiction to the tribal areas.

ISLAMABAD:

Resuming hearing of the case of 11 “missing prisoners” of the Adiala jail, the Supreme Court on Monday lauded Khyber-Pukhtunkha (K-P) provincial assembly’s resolution that seeks an extension of the Supreme Court’s jurisdiction to the tribal areas.

Without discussing the merits of the jurisdiction in this case, the Supreme Court sought reasons from the governor of K-P for refusing to entertain the application of two out of the seven surviving Adiala jail’s missing prisoners. Four of them had already died in the custody of the premier intelligence agencies of the country, namely the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military Intelligence (MI).

The prisoners are currently being kept in an internment centre in K-P under Regulations Action in Aid of Civil Powers 2011. The court observed that although the Regulations Act was introduced in 2011, the 11 missing prisoners issue was pending since 2010, which meant that that law did not apply to the case. The 11 missing persons were kept under custody for 18 months but were not tried under the Army Act.

Advocate Tariq Asad, the counsel for two missing prisoners Abdul Majid and Abdul Basit, told the court that they had filed an application on April 25 before the internment authority (in this case the governor of the province) but to date no action has been taken.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked K-P Advocate General Waqasullah Chamkani to submit a comprehensive reply after seeking instructions from relevant authorities in this regard.

Advocate Asad also submitted before the court that there was no jurisdiction issue, since the prisoners were arrested from the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

The court observed that if the forum was specifically established to entertain the applications of prisoners’ relatives, then why the concerned internment authority was not responding to their pleas.

“Why don’t you people implement those laws, which are framed by you,” the chief justice asked the advocate general.

The court also directed him to submit a reply regarding the matter on May 24.

The eleven civilians were picked up from Adiala Jail by intelligence agencies after they had been acquitted of the charges of attacking the General Headquarters (GHQ) and ISI’s Hamza Camp base by a court.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2012.