PHC learns long-term inmate not charged despite evidence

Asks why no formal accusation was formulated against Zahid who allegedly made suicide jackets

PESHAWAR: It doesn’t happen often that the Peshawar High Court hears a missing person’s case where the prosecution has evidence of alleged wrongdoing. On Thursday, while hearing the petition filed by Gul Nawaz about his son Zahid Khan being picked up from Swabi in May 2010 and interned at a centre in Kohat, the bench of Chief Justice (CJ) Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Manzoor Hussain got the opportunity to finally hear proof of connecting dots.

Additional Advocate General (AAG) Qaiser Ali Shah produced the Kohat internment centre report on Zahid which stated the latter was associated with militants.



Shah said Zahid used to stitch suicide jackets for anti-state elements when the chief justice pointed out if there was sufficient evidence against the accused why not use it to book him?

CJ Miankhel enquired why Zahid had been kept at the centre since May 2010 when there was evidence.

The AAG sought some more time to submit a complete report on the detainee, which was granted by the court and the hearing was adjourned till October 29.

The bench had been hearing about 10 petitions filed by family members of those who were whisked away, allegedly by intelligence units aided by local law-enforcement.

Death of an inmate

Kohat Commissioner Jamaluddin Shah also appeared before the court to say authorities were complying with the orders of the court and have arranged for a doctor to treat inmates at the internment centre. However, the chief justice was not satisfied as some replies sought were yet to be submitted.

CJ Miankhel added, “Handing over of detainees’ bodies to their families without conducting a post-mortem is against the law.” The chief justice was referring to a statement made at Tuesday’s hearing about an inmate’s death and the subsequent handover of his remains to his family by the Kohat internment centre.

Roohullah’s case

The court also heard the case of Roohullah, who was picked up from the jurisdiction of Chamkani police station on May 24, 2013 and was then granted bail by an anti-terrorism court. When Roohullah left Central Prison Peshawar on September 6, 2013, he was picked up by ‘unidentified persons’. His body was found in Takhta Baig, Khyber Agency on November 20 after which the family protested outside Peshawar Press Club and the high court.

On Thursday, the court was told the East Cantonment SHO that the deceased was not picked up by them. The SHO of Chamkani police station, who had been summoned, could not be present as he had not returned from Hajj.

The court then gave the government more time to submit their complete report on Roohullah and seven others who were in internment centres in Malakand and Kohat.

No show

On September 30, the same bench had ordered the Lakki Marwat internment centre in charge to produce two detainees in court on October 16. However, the in charge failed to do so.

The court had ordered that Qadar Shah and Asghar Shah, sons of Nargis Bibi, be produced in the court. Their family has claimed the two had been picked up allegedly by security forces during the military operation in Swat around five years ago. After the no show on Thursday, the court asked for a complete report of inmates at the internment centre in Lakki Marwat.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2014.