Enforced disappearance: Spy agencies told to submit list of all detention centres

PHC division bench orders formation of police team to trace missing persons.

PESHAWAR:

The Peshawar High Court (PHC) has directed security agencies to submit details of all their detention centres.

The court directed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) police to constitute a team of experts including senior police officials to trace out all missing persons and asked secretary home and tribal affairs to give the court “positive results”, otherwise action will be taken against all concerned officials.

A PHC’s division bench, comprising PHC Chief Justice (CJ) Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Shahjahan Akhunzada, gave the order on Thursday during a hearing of 54 habeas corpus petitions filed by relatives of missing persons. The petitioners have accused security agencies, forces operating against militants in tribal areas and police of illegally keeping people in detention centres run by Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the Military Intelligence (MI) and the intelligence wing of Frontier Corps (FC).

The bench also warned of constituting a larger bench for the case hearings if the authorities concerned failed to extend support to the court to resolve the issue.

Case 1

The bench took up a petition filed by Ahmad Sher, whose brother was allegedly picked up by security agencies on November 11, 2009. Spy agencies denied picking up his brother, Sher Muhammad Khan, a local businessman who ran his shop in a market in Mingora.

The petitioner claimed that a local peace militia member, Syed Ahmad Khan, had told him that his brother had been picked up by security agencies. Sher added that the peace militia member had borrowed Rs24,000 from his brother and refused to pay back, suggesting that he peace militia member might be involved in his brother’s disappearance.

Representative of the Ministry of Defence, Wing Commander Irfan Ahmad informed the bench that both the spy agencies were contacted about the whereabouts of the petitioner’s brother; however both denied having Muhammad in their custody.

“A lot of people give false information to spy agencies against their personal rivals so that they can get rid of the blame,” Additional Advocate General Naveed Akhtar told the bench. He said the police have already registered an FIR in this regard.

CASE 2

On a petition filed by Syed Nazeem, whose two school-going sons were allegedly picked up by security agencies in January 2010, representatives of the defence and interior ministries told the bench that they had no information of his sons’ whereabouts. However, CJ Khan questioned their claim and said, “In the past, you denied picking up people who were eventually recovered from your custody: we have enough reason to disbelieve your reply and presume that the minors are in the agencies’ custody.”

CJ Khan gave a final warning to Peshawar-sector commanders of ISI and in-charges of MI to either set free the juveniles or prosecute them if they are involved in criminal activities.

CASE 3

The division bench also gave “the last chance” to the ministry of defence to reply to the court on the whereabouts of Niaz Wali, a resident of Mohmand Agency who was earlier given into the custody of the spy agencies but the agencies denied detaining him.

According to a petition filed by Sanaullah, his brother was handed over by a local jirga into the custody of Mohmand Rifles on July 20, 2010 and then imprisoned in Yakka Ghund Jail. The detainee was later released by Amjad Ali, a political agent of the Mohmand Agency, and handed over to spy agencies on February 7, 2011. However, both the agencies denied having Wali in their custody.

The division bench adjourned all cases for October 23.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2012.