Enforced disappearances: Balochistan govt agrees to military trial of two officials, SC told

Judicial commission asked for two more months to probe Khuzdar mass grave.

ISLAMABAD:

The Balochistan government has agreed to refer cases of two military officers allegedly involved in missing persons’ cases to the army for holding their trial under the Army Act 1952, the Supreme Court was informed on Tuesday.

On March 7, the top court had sought reply from the Balochistan government on whether it would proceed against Major Saif and Major Moeen, who are associated with a spy agency, under the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) or refer the matter to the army.

The court was told that the military authorities had decided to take over the cases from any civilian department under Army Act’s section 94, read with Army Regulation (Rules) 373. To this, the court had directed the Balochistan chief secretary and Crime Investigation Department’s (CID) DIG to meet the counsel for Frontier Corps, Irfan Qadir, in connection with the accused personnel.

On Tuesday when a three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Nasirul Mulk resumed hearing of the missing person’s case, Qadir told the court that on the requisition of the federal government, the Balochistan government has agreed to refer the cases to the army.



Balochistan’s Advocate General Nazimuddin Baloch, who was also present in the courtroom, did not contradict Qadir’s statement and submitted that he, along with the home secretary, had held three meetings with the FC’s counsel in view of the court’s March 7 order.

Baloch, however, could not satisfy the bench regarding the resolution of the missing persons issue as well as provincial government’s decision on other military officials who are allegedly involved in enforced disappearances.

“It’s mean our directive has not been complied with,” Justice Amir Hani Muslim, a member of the bench, said, adding that if the provincial government was not interested in pursuing the cases, then it should inform the court in writing.

Justice Nasir ul Mulk said that the court had adjourned the matter time and again to give an opportunity to the provincial government to solve the missing persons issue but in vain.

The AG Balochistan told the bench that the provincial government was trying hard to tracing the missing persons and take action against the responsible officials.

Earlier, on March 20, 2013, the DIG CID Feroze Shah had submitted a report in the Supreme Court, nominating in the case army men – including two Lt Cols, six majors and two subedars.

Sources told The Express Tribune that there were 12 cases of enforced disappearance wherein army officials were allegedly involved, adding that the provincial government was likely to submit its written stance over the trail of military officials in the top court very soon.

They said the provincial government was still indecisive to refer all military officials’ cases to the army for their trail under the Army Act and there were suggestions to try these officials under the CrPC.

Mass grave in Khuzdar

The bench was told that a commission – headed by Justice Muhammad Noor Meskanzai of the Balochitsan High Court – had sought two more months to probe into the grisly discovery of a suspected mass grave in Khudzar district.

The bench was surprised to know that the provincial government did not receive report of DNA test and directed the AG to submit reply regarding the DNA report today (Wednesday). On March 7, Balochistan Home Secretary Asad Rehman Gillani had submitted that the Lahore Laboratory would take five months for matching the DNA samples of 11 bodies exhumed from the mass grave with 44 people’s samples.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 26^th, 2014.