Adiala jail detainees: Prisoners won’t be held without proof a minute longer, says CJ

No evidence presented at hearing, AG asks for more time.

ISLAMABAD:

Unable to provide evidence against the Adiala jail detainees during Tuesday’s hearing, the counsel for the intelligence agencies pleaded for more time. His request, however, fell on deaf ears, as Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said that he cannot hold innocent prisoners captive without proof for even a minute longer.

Raja Irshad, counsel for the intelligence agencies, argued that those arrested are imprisoned according to the law. However, he was unable to present any evidence to prove his assertion.

The court provided one hour to Attorney General Irfan Qadir and counsel Raja Irshad to submit a written statement on the status of the prisoners.

Following the one-hour interval, Qadir told the court that he was not able to make contact with Army authorities and requested more time. He asked the court to give him until Monday for meaningful consultation.

In response, the chief justice adjourned the case until Thursday (January 24), saying, “Since this is a question of liberty, we cannot hold this issue for a longer time.”

He pointed out, yet again, that the security agencies possess no proof against the accused.  The chief justice reiterated on Tuesday that if the imprisonment is proven illegal, action will be taken against the officials concerned.

In November 2007, 11 men were detained for their alleged involvement in attacks on the General Headquarters (GHQ) and ISI’s Hamza Camp base.



After spending several years in prison on mere suspicion, the Supreme Court ordered their release in May 2010. However, they disappeared from outside Adiala Jail the day they were set free. The court was told last year that four of the eleven men had died.

The Supreme Court took up the matter, asking the agencies to present the men. In February 2012, the men, haggard-looking and barely able to stand or talk, appeared before the court. The counsel for the spy agencies claimed that the men were not picked up from outside Adiala Jail – rather they were detained from the war zone.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd, 2013.