The bench will take up the case again on Thursday (today), and the AGP is to apprise the bench of the details of the FIR against army officials. PHOTO: AFP/FILE
Caving in to mounting pressure from an unrelenting top court, the government on Wednesday decided to register a case against army officials allegedly involved in the illegal removal of 35 undeclared inmates from an internment centre in Malakand.
A day earlier, the Supreme Court stopped short of issuing an order and instead gave the federal and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa governments 24 hours to implement its December 10, 2013, judgment in a case involving 35 missing persons.
When a three-judge bench – headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja – resumed the hearing in the second half of the day on Wednesday, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Salman Aslam Butt came to the rostrum and said that he wanted to make one submission.
“It was the K-P government’s responsibility to lodge an FIR – but since it hasn’t done that, the federal government has decided to register the FIR today (Wednesday) in view of the Supreme Court’s judgment,” AGP Butt submitted.
“This is a significant development. Now, there will be no immunity for anyone,” Justice Khawaja said in his remarks.
He referred to the Abida Malik case in which military authorities had objected to the registration of an FIR by the police against army officials. Justice Khawaja, while addressing Amina Masood Janjua, who was present in the courtroom, said that she has been pursuing the case of her husband’s enforced disappearance since 2005.
“It should be clear that everyone will have to submit to the law,” he added. “Now the country will be governed according to the Constitution and no one should have any doubt about that.”
On November 26, 2013, the Malakand jail superintendent had submitted before the top court that army authorities, through Naib Subedar Amanullah Baig, had taken away 35 internees on February 4, 2012.
On December 10, the apex court also declared that the army authorities had removed 35 persons illegally from the Malakand internment centre two years ago. It ordered the prime minister and K-P’s governor and chief minister to present the missing persons within seven days and initiate action against those responsible. The government, however, has been reluctant to take action against the army officials.
When the bench took up the case in the first half of the day on Wednesday, AGP Butt submitted that the additional defence secretary was present in the courtroom and wanted to say something.
“We do not need the defence ministry as the court wants assistance from the attorney general,” the bench observed. It also refused to give ear to the defence ministry’s counsel Raja Irshad Kayani.
“The court cannot show restraint anymore,” Justice Khawaja said, adding that eight months have passed but no one implemented the court’s rulings. He asked AGP Butt to tell the court even if the 35 missing men had been killed.
“The court is concerned with the enforcement of fundamental rights as no one is above the law,” he said. “We have passed three orders after the December 10, 2013, ruling but now we will ask the PM, and K-P’s CM and governor regarding progress of the case.”
The bench will take up the case again on Thursday (today), and the AGP is to apprise the bench of the details of the FIR against army officials.
Defence ministry counsel Raja Irshad strongly objected to the government decision to register an FIR against military officials. This would demoralise the army officials who have been fighting against terrorists in the conflict zone, he added.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2014.
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Last night there were 16 comments on this news item and all less two were supporting this decision. Is the policy that if public opinion if negative against decision will not be published. On the obverse, every thing that bring defamation to Armed Forces of Pakistan is given hours for propaganda.