Missing person case: IHC withdraws summons against spymaster

Court learns missing person Muhammad Arif was involved in high-profile cases.

ISLAMABAD: After going through the Inter-Services Intelligence’s (ISI) confidential report on a missing person, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has withdrawn a notice summoning the agency’s director general (DG) for explanation.

Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar on Wednesday submitted a two-page confidential report on the enforced disappearance of Muhammad Arif before Justice Riaz Ahmad Khan on behalf of the ISI. After going through the classified report, the judge learnt that Arif
was involved in high profile cases and disposed of the matter.

Last week, the IHC summoned ISI DG Lt-Gen Zaheerul Islam to respond to a petition filed by Arif’s wife, who had moved the court for his recovery.

According to the petitioner, her husband was picked up by ISI officials along with three other associates last year while they were visiting Khushab to offer condolences for a deceased friend. She said the agency later released two of them, but kept her husband and another man in custody.

On the first hearing of the petition, Justice Riaz directed the spy agency to trace the whereabouts of the missing person and ordered the ISI DG to depute an official to apprise the court of progress in the matter.

When standing counsel Raja Khalid sought six weeks time on behalf of the defence ministry to submit a report on the whereabouts of Arif, the judge observed the matter was related to the liberty of a citizen and directed the ISI DG to appear before the court in person on April 2 (Wednesday).

Published in The Express Tribune, April 3^rd, 2014.