Missing Adiala prisoners: Supreme Court seeks record of trials by May 22
Top court points out various irregularities with conviction of the missing men.
The seven men, presented before the bench by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities, looked healthy, but complained that their plight was being completely ignored. DESIGN: SIDRAH MOIZ KHAN/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court raised serious objections on Tuesday over the process adopted by Orakzai Agency’s political administration for the trial of seven men allegedly picked up by intelligence agencies outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail in May, 2010.
“The detained men stated that they were never produced before any court of law, either for remand or for trial,” noted the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. “However, a tehsildar informed them in [the] district jail [of] Kohat that they had been convicted and sentenced.”
The seven men, presented before the bench by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities, looked healthy, but complained that their plight was being completely ignored.
The assistant political agent (APA) of Lower Orakzai Agency, Mawaz Khan, convicted the seven men on May 2, 2013. Five of the men – Dr Niaz Ahmed, Muhammad Shafique, Gulroze, Shafique ur Rehman and Mazarul Haq – were sentenced to a 14-year-long jail term, while the other two – Abdul Basit and Abdul Majid – were sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, on the charges of carrying illegal arms and aiding in terrorist attacks on convoys of the Pakistan Army.
The additional political agent, on behalf of the APA, shared the record of the proceedings with the bench. According to the files, the court of the APA had set May 17 as the date of the next hearing for the production of the seven men, but they were sentenced on May 2.
“Your record showed that the APA convicted the men on May 2 and the court of the APA, on same day, directed the concerned authorities to produce the accused persons …before this, the seven men were never produced before the court,” observed Justice Ijaz Afzal Chaudhry.
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, another member of the bench, also noted severe irregularities. “March 22, 2013 is mentioned as date of arrest of these men in your records, but they were being detained long before that,” he said.
Expressing doubts over the trial and conviction, the bench directed the Attorney General of Pakistan to help in determining whether the seven men had been dealt with in accordance with Article 10-A – the right to a fair trial. .
Furthermore, the bench directed Mawaz, who convicted the men, and Shan Zeb, the additional secretary of law and order in K-P, to submit all the copies of the relevant records regarding the trial and conviction of the seven men. Additionally, Peshawar Jail authorities were ordered to allow the families of the detained men to visit them, in accordance with jail manuals.
Responding to a court query, detained Dr Niaz Ahmed said that they had been shifted many times – from the internment centre at Parachinar to Kohat Jail, then to Bannu Jail and now to Peshawar Jail. He categorically stated that they were never given the opportunity to defend themselves.
The additional advocate general of K-P informed the bench that five men were currently being kept in Peshawar central jail and two in the district jail of Haripur.
The hearing was adjourned until May 22.
The story of the eleven, not seven
Talking to media persons after the hearing, the convicts said they were lifted from Adiala in 2010, even after they were acquitted on all terrorism charges registered against them in Rawalpindi and Attock in 2007.
Niaz said that four others, Saboor, Tehseen ullah, Muhammad Amir and Saed Arab, had died in the custody of intelligence agencies. He said he feared a similar fate.
It may be recalled that a lawyer representing the ISI and MI earlier denied that eleven men were taken away from Adiala Jail. Instead, he claimed that they were arrested from the restive areas of Fata for carrying out armed attacks on official convoys.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2013.
The Supreme Court raised serious objections on Tuesday over the process adopted by Orakzai Agency’s political administration for the trial of seven men allegedly picked up by intelligence agencies outside Rawalpindi’s Adiala Jail in May, 2010.
“The detained men stated that they were never produced before any court of law, either for remand or for trial,” noted the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. “However, a tehsildar informed them in [the] district jail [of] Kohat that they had been convicted and sentenced.”
The seven men, presented before the bench by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa authorities, looked healthy, but complained that their plight was being completely ignored.
The assistant political agent (APA) of Lower Orakzai Agency, Mawaz Khan, convicted the seven men on May 2, 2013. Five of the men – Dr Niaz Ahmed, Muhammad Shafique, Gulroze, Shafique ur Rehman and Mazarul Haq – were sentenced to a 14-year-long jail term, while the other two – Abdul Basit and Abdul Majid – were sentenced to 5 years imprisonment, on the charges of carrying illegal arms and aiding in terrorist attacks on convoys of the Pakistan Army.
The additional political agent, on behalf of the APA, shared the record of the proceedings with the bench. According to the files, the court of the APA had set May 17 as the date of the next hearing for the production of the seven men, but they were sentenced on May 2.
“Your record showed that the APA convicted the men on May 2 and the court of the APA, on same day, directed the concerned authorities to produce the accused persons …before this, the seven men were never produced before the court,” observed Justice Ijaz Afzal Chaudhry.
Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, another member of the bench, also noted severe irregularities. “March 22, 2013 is mentioned as date of arrest of these men in your records, but they were being detained long before that,” he said.
Expressing doubts over the trial and conviction, the bench directed the Attorney General of Pakistan to help in determining whether the seven men had been dealt with in accordance with Article 10-A – the right to a fair trial. .
Furthermore, the bench directed Mawaz, who convicted the men, and Shan Zeb, the additional secretary of law and order in K-P, to submit all the copies of the relevant records regarding the trial and conviction of the seven men. Additionally, Peshawar Jail authorities were ordered to allow the families of the detained men to visit them, in accordance with jail manuals.
Responding to a court query, detained Dr Niaz Ahmed said that they had been shifted many times – from the internment centre at Parachinar to Kohat Jail, then to Bannu Jail and now to Peshawar Jail. He categorically stated that they were never given the opportunity to defend themselves.
The additional advocate general of K-P informed the bench that five men were currently being kept in Peshawar central jail and two in the district jail of Haripur.
The hearing was adjourned until May 22.
The story of the eleven, not seven
Talking to media persons after the hearing, the convicts said they were lifted from Adiala in 2010, even after they were acquitted on all terrorism charges registered against them in Rawalpindi and Attock in 2007.
Niaz said that four others, Saboor, Tehseen ullah, Muhammad Amir and Saed Arab, had died in the custody of intelligence agencies. He said he feared a similar fate.
It may be recalled that a lawyer representing the ISI and MI earlier denied that eleven men were taken away from Adiala Jail. Instead, he claimed that they were arrested from the restive areas of Fata for carrying out armed attacks on official convoys.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 15th, 2013.