Enforced disappearances: Court orders army officials to submit report

Issues show-cause notices, questions role of agencies.

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday sought a complete report of a missing persons case from three army officials accused by a petitioner from Orakzai Agency.

A two-member bench of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain, which was hearing 25 petitions of enforced disappearances, was informed by petitioner Noor Muhammad that his son, Umer Gul, was picked up by three army officials on May 21, 2013. They were identified as Colonel Zafran, Major Mohsin and Subedar Naeem

Muhammad was in contact with his son for the first six months but after that Gul’s whereabouts are unknown, the petitioner told the bench.

The court then gave the order to list the three officials as respondents in the writ petition, and asked that they submit a complete report in the next hearing.

While hearing another case of petitioner Serat Bibi regarding Muhammad Khan, the court issued notices to Colonel Arshad and Major Dilawar of Baloch Regiment, along with local elders – Muhammad Ali, Shah Zab and Muhammad Zab. The court was told that Muhammad Khan, who is still missing, was handed to the army by the accused elders on suspicion of his alleged links with militants.

The court was informed that a ground check is in progress regarding the case of petitioner Amina Bibi and a report from the Ministry of Interior has been submitted in the court.

CJ Miankhel said around 14 spy agencies are working under the domain of the said ministry and if the report mentioned earlier is from all agencies, then the ministry will be held responsible for the submitted material. The petition in this missing person case was filed in 2009, but the Military Intelligence is still working on a ‘ground check’, he observed.

The chief justice further said every time the secret agencies deny that a missing person is in their custody, the person is later found in a detention centre.

The bench also issued a show-cause notice to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa secretary for Home and Tribal Affairs for not appearing before the court to update the bench on progress in these cases.

During the previous hearing, the government submitted a comprehensive report stating that there are 708 missing persons in eight interment centres in the province and the tribal areas, while the ground check and verification for the rest is in progress.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 28^th, 2014.