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| February 05, 2007 | Monday | Muharram 16, 1428 |
Missing people’s case hearing tomorrow
ISLAMABAD, Feb 4: A full bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, will resume hearing of the missing people’s case on Tuesday.
Relatives of the missing people have accused intelligence agencies of arresting their family members for alleged links with Al Qaeda and other militant organisations.
The SC had earlier directed the government to expedite recovery of missing people, saying it was the government’s responsibility to locate the missing people and inform their relatives about their whereabouts.
The court had sent notices to the Ministry of Interior and the attorney-general and had sought a detailed report. The government had claimed that it had found 25 out of the missing people.
A petitioner, Amina Masud Janjua, whose husband Masood Janjua is also missing, claims that some 100 people have been reported missing by their relatives and many people released from the custody of intelligence agencies claim to have seen them in detention.
On last hearing, the SC had expressed disappointment over the government’s failure to trace 18 people missing for many years and had summoned the chief government lawyer for Feb 6 to explain his position.
Deputy attorney-general Nasir Saeed Shaikh had admitted that the government had not been able to locate the 18 people. He said the government had sought the help of the Inter Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau, besides approaching jail authorities in Afghanistan, but to no avail.
He could not give a satisfactory answer when the court enquired about the government’s response over affidavits filed by those released people who claimed to have seen a number of people in the custody of intelligence agencies.—PPI
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