Daily Times

The Supreme Court directed the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances on Wednesday to submit a ‘comprehensive report’ on the matter along with all production orders issued for missing persons.

The case is being heard by a three-member bench comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali. The court asked the commission, headed by Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, to submit its report to the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP) within 10 days.

During the proceedings, Shaheen read out previous judgements issued on the matter in court and when he mentioned the Faizabad sit-in case, the CJP inquired on the relevance of the reference. Justice Isa then asked the counsel to only provide details of Baloch protesters who faced the police crackdown in Islamabad. He also mentioned the abduction of journalist Matiullah Jan and was asked by the CJP if the government of the time accepted responsibility.

When the lawyer stated that the government did intervene, Justice Isa express his displeasure and said that he was “surprised that not a single head rolled as a consequence”. Shaheen then mentioned the case of anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan and said footage of his abduction was available and also referred to cases of other political activists being “picked up”. At this, the court asked why were they not saying it themselves and approaching the court. “Please don’t start pleading cases of powerful people who are well-settled and have all the resources in the world and when they want they can come to court. And when they don’t want they don’t come to court. Don’t become their spokesperson,” said the CJP.

Amina Masood, the chairperson of Defence of Human Rights, was then called to the rostrum. She stated that her husband was “forcefully disappeared” during the regime of army dictator Pervez Musharraf in 2005 and the then chief justice had taken suo motu notice of the incident. She stated that her husband was declared dead by the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in 2013 and till date, she does not know when he was picked up. She further said she wanted to know the truth for the sake of herself and her children regarding what happened to her husband. Justice Isa then instructed AGP Mansoor Awan to present a report on the matter and added that the concerned ministries in the matter would be the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence.

During the hearing, the chief justice asked the AGP if he was prepared to state on behalf of the government that no individual would be picked up illegally without due process of law, to which he replied in the affirmative.

“We want it in writing,” said Justice Isa, observing that the apex court wanted people on the highest level of government to give the statement and added that the court wanted it on “behalf of the Government of Pakistan”. “In Balochistan, missing persons are a separate issue. In KP, it is slightly different […] there is also very horrible other element: people are being killed for ethnicity, people are being killed for sectarian reasons,” the CJP remarked. The representative of the commission informed the court that 46 missing persons had been recovered during the month and replied in the affirmative when asked if missing persons were still being reported to the commission and added that a joint investigation team is formed when a case is reported.

The petitioners expressed dissatisfaction with the commission and its replies on the matter. The CJP then narrated the order of the day and said the court will only hear cases related to those individuals who are still missing and appointed Faisal Siddiqui an amicus curiae of the court. Referring to the Baloch protesters in the capital and the police crackdown they had to endure, the CJP said that the court does not want such tactics employed by the state. “If someone wants to protest, let them protest to their heart’s content.” The hearing was then adjourned for two weeks.