ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was told on Tuesday that two missing persons, Mohammad Ibrahim and Hidayat Shah — earlier believed to have been ‘disappeared’ but later found incarcerated at an internment centre — have since died of cardiac arrest.

Mohammad Ibrahim was shifted to Saidu Sharif Hospital in Swat where he died of cardiac arrest on Oct 16, 2014, whereas Hidayat Shah — who was transferred to the Kohat Internment Centre from the Malakand Internment Centre in Batkhela — also died of cardiac arrest on Aug 20, 2014, Additional Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Mujahid Khan told a three-judge Supreme Court headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja.

The bench had taken up a petition moved by rights activist Asma Jehangir on behalf of the two detained men.

Take a look: Court disposes of case as ‘missing’ person found dead

Mohammad Ibrahim was arrested on Sept 11, 2010 from Batkhela, whereas Hidayat Shah was arrested on Dec 23, 2009. Both were sent to the internment centres set up under the Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulations (AACPR) 2011, promulgated by former president Asif Ali Zardari in exercise of his powers under Article 247 of the Constitution.

The AACPR, which allows the civil government to confine persons accused of terrorism, was promulgated on June 27, 2011 with retrospective effect from February 2008.

According to the prosecution, both the accused were residents of Batkhela, which is a part of the Provincially Administered Tribal Areas.

The two detained men who were allegedly picked up by intelligence agencies were produced before the Supreme Court for the first time on May 3, 2013 before a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by then chief justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry.

On Tuesday, Mujahid Khan told the court that the bodies were handed over to their legal heirs after they refused an autopsy.

Justice Ejaz Afzal, a member of the bench, however, regretted that Ibrahim had complained of wheezing when he was taken to hospital, which meant he must have been exposed to the cold.

“This is a death in custody,” observed Ms Jahangir, but was told that the court was examining the law officer.

“I will not speak if not allowed,” she retorted, but was told that she could speak on her turn.

She, however, said that the authorities should have told the relatives of the deceased that the detainees were sick and recalled that the former attorney general in March 2013 had assured the court that the family members of the two detained men would be allowed to meet them, but this never happened.

The proceedings also witnessed a bitter disagreement between Ms Jahangir and the bench, when, before the commencement of the case, the senior counsel told the court that she knew the court had a lot of sympathy for the causes of the general public, but it should also reserve one per cent of its sympathy for the lawyers who had to wait quite some time for their cases to be heard.

The court, however, replied that it was not there to hear lectures but decide cases.

Later, during Tuesday’s proceedings, Ms Jahangir requested the court to shift the case to another bench, failing which she will not appear before the court, but the court turned down her request.

Published in Dawn March 18th , 2015

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