Passing the buck: 35 ‘missing’ men handed over to military, SC told

K-P inquiry committee submits report in apex court with details from Malakand’s internment centre.

ISLAMABAD:

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa inquiry committee on Tuesday informed the Supreme Court that 35 ‘missing’ persons from the Malakand internment centre have been handed over to military authorities at the end of 2012.

The apex court was told that the Malakand centre’s register maintained that the administrator Ataullah Khan had handed over 35 missing persons to the Army authorities on December 4, 2012.

The province’s Home Department has also written a letter to intelligence agencies including ISI, MI and IB for an immediate assessment of the whereabouts of these ‘missing’ persons and asked them to submit a report in this regard immediately, the court was told.

Advocate General K-P Latif Yousufzai on Tuesday submitted the inquiry committee’s report before the three-judge bench headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, regarding the implementation of its order in the 35 ‘missing’ persons’ case.



The bench on December 10, 2013 ordered the K-P government to facilitate the recovery of these people and take strict action against those responsible for these enforced disappearances.

The provincial government committee is headed by Home Secretary K-P Syed Akhtar Ali Shah, Commissioner Malakand Division Muhammad Afsar Khan and Inspector General of K-P Prisons Kifayatullah Khan.

According to the report, the committee convened a meeting on February 6 and examined all the records of the case, including the statement of the superintendent of the Malakand interment centre.

“Perusal of the register revealed that the in-charge of the internment Centre Malakand had handed over 35 persons to the army authorities. The only evidence which the superintendent of the internment centre could produce to prove his stance was a register maintained in the internment centre. There is no other documentary evidence, ie of formal handing over etc to support his stance,” said the report.

The report further stated, “The committee is of the considered opinion that such matter requires a detailed and in-depth investigation/inquiry, which is in our opinion the job of intelligence agencies, police, IB and the FIA.”

The provincial government, however, contended that due to the ongoing operation in Malakand, the army authorities had no other place to confine suspects that were detained in areas where the operations were launched. Therefore, these suspects were temporarily confined on the premises of the internment centre.

“Their initial investigation/verification was done there; if there were charges of their alleged involvement in anti-state activities, they were properly interned. Otherwise all such suspects, after due verification/investigation were released.”

The committee also said that policing in Malakand is done by levies personnel, where the commandant is the deputy commissioner of Malakand, and is assisted by a subedar major of the levies force. It added that they have interviewed the deputy commissioner about the 35 persons but that he was unable to assist them to determine their whereabouts.

Meanwhile, the court has refused to allow the Additional Attorney General for Pakistan Shah Khawar to argue a review petition of the defence ministry against its December 10, 2013 judgment in this case.

The bench observed that AGP Munir Malik appeared on the court’s notice in this case as he has now been replaced by Salman Aslam Butt, therefore, he should argue the review petition in view of the Supreme Court 1980 Rules.

The hearing of the case is adjourned for 10 days.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 12^th, 2014.