January 18, 2007	Thursday	Zilhaj 27, 1427

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ISLAMABAD, Jan 17: The family members of the victims of enforced disappearances again staged a hunger strike in front of the Supreme Court on Wednesday seeking an early recovery of their loved ones.

As the affected families joined together for another wave of protest, they demanded that Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry should take action against the intelligence agencies for failing to inform the court about the missing persons despite express orders.

The protesters were carrying placards inscribed with different slogans criticizing the government and urging the apex court to deliver them justice.

Addressing the protesters, Ms Janjua said that no government official or army general was ready to address their issue. She said in most cases the high courts had failed to give any relief to the families of the missing persons.

Khalid Khawaja said it was a unique incident in the country’s judicial history that 116 habeas corpus petitions were pending with the Supreme Court since December 2006 and no government institution or intelligence agency had bothered to respond to the Supreme Court queries.

Speaking on the occasion, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf Chairman Imran Khan condemned the large scale human rights violations being committed by the intelligence agencies and urged the chief justice to take immediate steps for the recovery of the missing persons.

Imran Khan assured the aggrieved families that he would discuss the issue with the opposition parties and try to discuss it on the floor of the house. He said intelligence agencies were killing their own people at the behest of General Musharraf to please US President Bush.

It was most unfortunate that Pakistan Army was assisting the US in its losing war on terror, he said, adding that about 80,000 Pakistani troops deployed in Waziristan and other tribal areas were killing their own countrymen, which was brining a bad name to Pakistan Army.

Chief Coordinator Defense of Human Rights Khalid Khawaja and Amna Masood Janjua briefed Imran Khan on the ordeal the families were undergoing due to absence of their loved ones. They also handed a list of 116 missing persons over to Imran Khan.