Roll call: Four ‘missing’ persons presented in court

PHC bench hears 27 petitions of enforced disappearances.

PESHAWAR: Six missing persons have returned home, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) was told on Tuesday, while four of them who had been in custody for 26 days were also presented in the court.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain heard 27 petitions of enforced disappearances on Tuesday wherein families accused various agencies and the police of being involved in picking up their family members from Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and the tribal areas.

Additional Advocate General Waqar Ahmad Khan informed the court that four people who were picked up from Hayatabad earlier this year have returned home and were present in the court.

The men present in court were identified as Fazlullah, Mehmood Khan, Manzoor Shah, who were serving in levies force in Khyber Agency, and their brother Mohibullah, a student.

Khan said, the four were picked up from Hayatabad in February and handed over to the political administration of Khyber Agency, “They spent 26 days in captivity after which they were released,” said the additional advocate general.

Advocate Fazal Elahi said Muhammad Naeem and Qasim Jan were picked up from Pajagi Road, Peshawar. The former was released but the latter is still missing. “Jan is aged and suffers from physical disabilities,” said the lawyer.

The bench remarked that as per the reply of the Ministry of Defence, both Naeem and Jan were not held by agencies working under its domain, thus the petitioner should register an FIR against whoever they suspect of being involved in the disappearance.

Furthermore, the court was also told that another missing person, Shamsher Ali, had also returned home and a police report regarding that was presented. However, the court directed the SHO of the concerned police station to appear in person accompanied by a member of Ali’s family at the next hearing.

The bench was also informed an FIR had been lodged in the case of Mujeebur Rehman, who is allegedly being held by officials of a secret agency in Quetta.

In response, the court told the relatives of the detainee that they were at liberty to nominate anyone they suspect.

At the moment, there are 708 detainees in the eight internment centres of K-P and Fata, while on the directives of the high court a ground check is in progress for remaining missing persons whose cases are pending in court.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 18^th, 2014.