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ISLAMABAD: After their release from Adiyala Jail, the Supreme Court has advised the intelligence agencies to keep the seven detainees of the ‘missing persons’ case at a detention center near Peshawar, and to provide better health care to them, DawnNews reported.
A three-member bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, was hearing the case of the ‘missing persons’ believed to be illegally detained by the intelligence agencies.
Additional Advocate-General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) presented the provincial government’s report in court on Friday. According to the report, three detainees – Abdul Majid, Abdul Basit and Dr Niaz – would be kept for further medical treatment at a hospital. Meanwhile, the other four detainees – Mazhar ul Haq, Mohammad Shafeeq, Shafeeq ur Rehman and Gul Roz – were in considerably better health and, therefore, may be shifted to the detention facility.
“You had picked up these people when they were in good health…look what you have done to them,” Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry remarked, speaking to the agencies lawyer Raja Arshad.
“Why is every blame being put on either the ISI, MI or the Armed Forces?” inquired Arshad. “It is the judiciary and agencies that are the last ray of hope of the country.”
“Four of eleven detainees have died while in your detention. We can not close our eyes to this,” the chief justice replied.
Lawyer for the detainees, Tariq Asad, said that most of the prisoners were still unwell. One of them is suffering from cancer and hepatitis, while three others are diabetes patients, he said.
At which the chief justice ordered the KP government to provide the best possible medical treatment for the detained patients.
The bench also took notice of the reported abduction of Umer Mehmood, the young man known to be providing food and supplies at the Islamabad protest camp for missing persons.
The hearing was subsequently adjourned till March 19.
