Secretary Defence asked to file affidavit

MoD directed “to swear an affidavit” regarding the whereabouts of missing Baloch leader Abdul Ghaffar Lango.

KARACHI: A division bench of the Sindh High Court (SHC) headed by Justice Amir Hani Muslim directed the secretary of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) “to swear an affidavit” regarding the whereabouts of Baloch leader Abdul Ghaffar Lango. Lango has been missing since December 11, 2009.

The bench rejected comments filed by the director legal of the MoD, in which he said they did not know where the Balochistan National Partys’ central leader was.

According to witnesses, Lango had just come out of a hospital, where he had been visiting his sick wife, when he was whisked away by men in civilian clothes, who were riding in two Vigo double-cabin pickups.

The court asked that the affidavit be submitted at the next hearing of the case or else the secretary MoD should present himself in court with an explanation as to why the affidavit was not sworn.

The case was adjourned for three weeks.

Earlier, the federal interior secretary appeared on court notice and swore a required affidavit, in which the custody of the missing politician was denied by the FIA, Islamabad police and Pakistan Rangers. The petition was filed by Muhammad Niaz, who had cited the federal authorities as respondents. Niaz had alleged that Ghaffar Lango is being illegally detained and being subjected to political victimisation.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 14^th, 2010.