The Peshawar High Court (PHC) reissued notices to security agencies after they failed to submit their replies in several missing persons cases on Tuesday.
The court also sent fresh notices to the Ministry of Defence, the director general of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) home department and the K-P Police to submit replies against the allegations levelled against them by relatives of missing persons.
Two PHC division benches, the first comprising PHC acting Chief Justice (CJ) Miftahuddin Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth and the second comprising Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk and Mrs Justice Irshad Qaisar, were hearing 54 habeas corpus petitions in which the petitioners have accused the security agencies of abducting their relatives and keeping them in illegal detention.
A majority of the cases were adjourned for November 29.
Case 1
The first PHC bench reissued notices to the director general of the ISI and the K-P home department while hearing a petition filed by Haji Mir Aslam Khan, a resident of Mattani.
Khan’s son Zahurrullah was allegedly picked up from his guest house by the security agencies and the K-P Police on August 24. Zahurrullah was later found dead and his father filed a petition with the PHC’s human right cell, seeking action against the security agencies and the police.
Case 2
The same bench summoned K-P Deputy Superintendent of Police Shahnawaz Khan while hearing a missing persons case filed by Haji Fazal Khan, a resident of Peshawar.
Fazal maintained in his petition that DSP Khan borrowed Rs0.7 million from his son, Fazal-e-Amin, but was reluctant to return the money.
He claimed that the DSP called his son over to a local bakery to collect the amount. But when his son and grandson went to the bakery, the DSP abducted Amin, who remains missing to this day, Fazal added.
Case 3
Counsel of the Ministry of Defence, Jamil Warsak, sought further time to reply to allegation levelled against the ministry by Lal Mast Khan, a resident of Shabqadar Tehsil who claims that his brother, Gohar Ali, is being illegally detained by security forces.
Mast maintains that the political administration of Mohmand Agency picked up his brother, a taxi driver, from Yakka Ghund area and later handed him over to Mohmand Rifles.
Mohmand Rifles in its written reply has denied keeping Ali in its custody.
Published in The Express Tribune, October 31st, 2012.
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