July 05, 2007	Thursday	Jamadi-us-Sani 19, 1428

ISLAMABAD, July 4: The Supreme Court was informed on Wednesday that six more missing persons had been traced.

This leaves the number of missing persons at 113, down from 254.

Justice Javed Iqbal, heading a two-member bench, however, said he was still determined to fix responsibility for the disappearances on the authorities involved and added that their mere release was not enough.

Deputy Attorney-General (DAG) Tariq Khokhar informed the bench comprising Justice Javed Iqbal and Justice Falak Sher that Mast Ali, Maingal Qaisrani, Imran Ali Naqvi, Mumtaz Hussain, Khalid Khawaja and Kahlid Mehmud Siddiq had been released.

“It is not enough to say that so and so have been released but the responsible persons or departments will have to face consequences for picking up these persons,” observed Justice Javed Iqbal while hearing the petitions of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and former PPP Senator Farhatullah Babar and the complaints of Amina Masood Janjua, Ms Aisha, Abdul Ghaffar, Amtul Hafiz, Ms Fatima, Mohammad Ikram Alvi, Arif Abbasi and Syed Babar and many others for the recovery of missing persons.

During the hearing, the DAG also presented the medical report of Imran Munir, who had been sentenced to eight years imprisonment under Field General Court Martial (FGCM) on spying charges. The report suggests that Mr Munir, presently detained in district jail Jhelum, was suffering from cardiac problems, though his condition was stable. The court suggested shifting him to a hospital.

Syed Iqbal Haider, the legal counsel for the HRCP said three persons, including Ghulam Qadir Mari, Khan Mohammad Mari and Luqman had been picked up in Karachi and remained untraceable.

Families of these missing persons had shifted their residences to unknown places due to threats of the intelligence agencies.

He requested the court to form a special bench to conduct hearings on a day-to-day basis.

Meanwhile, wife of Khalid Khawaja, who was released recently, complained before the court that her husband was still receiving threats from the intelligence agencies. Justice Javed Iqbal directed the DAG and the NCMC director to ensure that no released person was further harassed.

Regarding Faisal Faraz and Masood Janjua, the DAG admitted that there was no development in their cases and despite hectic efforts they were clueless about them.

Amina Masood Janjua told the bench that a high-ranking army official had informed her husband Mr Janjua’s father last year that he was still alive and in custody. This disclosure was an admission of the fact that he was being held by intelligence authorities, she said.

About Attiqur Rehman, Naeem Noor Khan and Atif Javed, the DAG said that they were not in the custody of any intelligence agency and their whereabouts could not be ascertained. Abdur Rahim Muslim Dost, the political agent of Khyber Agency appeared in the court and said he was arrested because he could not prove his identity. He said he was a national of Afghanistan and was visiting the tribal areas without any legal documents.

Justice Javed Iqbal took notice of Director-General NCMC Brig (retd) Javed Iqbal Cheema’s absence who was earlier directed to attend each hearing of the case. The DAG clarified that Mr Cheema was abroad on an official visit and would be present on the next date of hearing.