In custody: 331 of the 643 detainees in K-P are in Lakki Marwat. PHOTO: PPI/FILE
While hearing 425 petitions of enforced disappearances, a two-member division bench of Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk and Justice Musarrat Hilali was informed by Deputy Attorney Generals (DAG) Muzamil Khan and Farooq Shah that members of the force had visited various centers and identified these persons. DAG Khan said the bench that the task force chaired by the additional secretary for the Ministry of Interior and its members, home secretaries, IGPs and representatives of the Attorney General of Pakistan, had identified 643 missing persons detained in K-P and 64 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata).
Justice Mulk asked the DAGs what specific progress the task force had shown since it was formed. DAG Khan suggested that the PHC should follow the Sindh High Court and form a commission which included members from the offices of the Attorney General, lawyers dealing with the missing persons cases and the members of detainees’ families.
Justice Mulk said the task force’s report should be paired with the petitions so they could start disposing petitions. He stated that one of the main problems they need to address is when the families of the detainees want to meet them in internment centres. Justice Musarrat Hilali remarked that the court had been told many times that the missing persons were at internment centres but when the families showed up there, they were told that the detainees were not in their custody.
After hearing the arguments, the court ordered a comprehensive report to be submitted at the next hearing. The next hearing for the missing persons case will be held on January 14. In Islamabad, the Supreme Court of Pakistan announced the final verdict on the missing persons case on Tuesday. The three-member bench led by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry declared that the secret detention of 35 people was illegal.
According to the report, a copy of which is available with The Express Tribune, out of 64 detainees in Fata, 27 are in Ghallanai, Mohmand Agency, 10 in Fort Slop in Khyber Agency, six in Landi Kotal, Khyber Agency, three in Alizai in Kurram Agency, one in Parachinar, three in Khar, Bajaur Agency and 14 are detained in Miranshah, North Waziristan Agency.
It shows the medical condition of the detainees as satisfactory. It revealed that those detained at various centres in K-P included 195 at Paithom, 72 in Fizaghat in Swat, 331 in Lakki Marwat, 35 in Kohat and 10 detainees in Malakand.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 11th, 2013.
COMMENTS (1)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
It's interesting that while the great Khan makes such hue and cries over the drone strikes, over something that the institutions in Pakistan have little leverage, he maintains an almost studious silence over the missing persons case. Shouldn't he be raising his voice as forcefully over these missing persons as he does against the drones? Or is it that one helps him garner more votes without any consequences, whereas for the other he will have to challenge the powerful establishment with much graver consequences to his pursuit for power?