Snail’s pace: Missing persons’ cases constantly delayed, says CJ Miankhel

Despite written orders to many senior officials, none showed up in court.

PESHAWAR:

Peshawar High Court (PHC) Chief Justice (CJ) Mazhar Alam Miankhel on Wednesday said petitions of enforced disappearances are being constantly delayed as the government continues to seek more time under the pretext of fact-checking.

While hearing 22 petitions of missing persons, the division bench of CJ Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain showed displeasure over the absence of secretaries of interior and defence, and the attorney general (AG) who were summoned by the PHC.

On April 22, a division bench issued notices to the AG, secretaries of defence, interior and the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs department to appear in person on May 14.

Additional Attorney General (AAG) Syed Attique Shah presented a report of 484 missing persons’ petitions, which he said was shared with ministries of defence, interior and other agencies. He added the report consists of the missing persons’ names, the date and place of the incident, and the agency administration accused of the incident.

Shah explained the defence secretary is busy with an operation, while the interior secretary is in Karachi.

He said a meeting of representatives of the AG office and other agencies was held, and court orders had been complied with. The AAG added that when detainees are shifted to internment centres, their control is given in the hands of the provincial government and officials of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas.

Ministry of Defence Director Legal Wing Commander Muhammad Irfan told the bench that they had informed the office of deputy attorney general in writing a few days before the hearing.

CJ Miankhel said they wanted the implementation of law and order, since the petitions have been pending before the court since 2008.

The cases were then adjourned by the court till Thursday (today).

Published in The Express Tribune, May 15^th, 2014.