ISLAMABAD: A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, directed relevant authorities to submit a report within 30 days on the Malakand missing persons’ case which concerns the disappearance of 35 people from an internment centre in the region, DawnNews reported.

During Friday’s hearing of the case, Advocate General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Abdul Latif Yousufzai submitted a copy of the FIR registered against Naib Subedar Amanullah in the Supreme Court.

The bench was due to rule on the case concerning the unaccounted for persons from the list of 35 missing men yesterday but it postponed the order to today following a disclosure by the KP government that no formal FIR had been registered. The court had then directed the provincial government to ascertain the situation on the ground and inform the court.

Yousufzai told the court that the complaint was moved on behalf of Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif and that it held Amanullah and others responsible for removing the 35 internees from the Malakand internment centre and hiding their whereabouts.

The bench directed authorities to submit a copy of the charge sheet to the apex court once the investigation was completed.

Attorney General Salman Aslam Butt told the court that the one-man commission recently formed by the government in relation to missing persons had begun its work. Responding to which, the bench directed the commission to submit its recommendations as soon as possible to the concerned authorities.

Justice (retd) Mian Muhammad Ajmal was appointed as a one-man commission to ascertain the whereabouts of the unaccounted for persons from the list of 35 missing men after Justice (retd) Sardar Muhammad Raza Khan had declined to head it.

The commission will determine whether any person was detained or removed illegally and, if so, will identify the people responsible for any illegal detention or removal. It is also required to make recommendations to the government for taking action in the light of its findings.