PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Tuesday directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home department to produce the list of internees shifted to the notified internment centres in the province during the last two months.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain also directed the interior and defence ministries and the provincial home department to produce separate written response to around 18 habeas corpus petitions of the relatives of missing persons.

It observed that it had sought explanations from the interior and defence ministries and home department about several habeas corpus cases, but to no avail.

The bench observed that without an authority letter from a senior officer, the comments filed by a junior officer would not be acceptable to it.

Deputy attorney general Manzoor Khan Khalil and additional advocate general Waqar Ahmad Khan appeared for the federal and provincial governments respectively.

In one case, petitioner Noorullah said his brother, Roohullah, was taken into custody by the law-enforcement agencies on Jul 16, 2010, at the Shabqadar Bazaar in Charsadda district. His lawyer said the whereabouts of his brother had not been known since then.

The bench later adjourned hearing into the case until Sept 16 after asking the then SHO of Shabqadar police station, Ahsanuddin Khan, to appear before it for explaining his position on the said enforced disappearance.

In another case, the petitioner claimed the police had taken Jafar Khan into custody a few months ago and that he had been missing ever since.

A representative of the police department informed the bench that an affidavit was submitted by a subordinate officer to the capital city police officer (CCPO) saying the detainee was not arrested by him or colleagues.

The bench observed that the affidavit produced by a police official officer was not admissible if a letter of the respective CCPO was not attached with it.

In another case, relatives insisted law-enforcement agencies had arrested Zaid Khan on April 14, 2014, in Gadoon area and that they later learned he was kept at an internment centre in Malakand.

However, AAG Waqar Ahmad said as per his information, the internee had been shifted to an internment centre in Kohat.

The chief justice observed that the shifting of internees from one centre to another often caused complications as by and large, their relatives didn’t know about it.

The bench also sought comments in a petition challenging the alleged illegal detention of Fakhre Alam.

Relatives insisted Fakhre Alam was taken into custody on Jan 6 in the jurisdiction of Sro Kalae police station in Charsadda district.

The bench observed that in May and June, the authorities had produced lists of detainees shifted to internment centres.

It ordered the home department to produce a fresh list of internees shifted to the notified centres during the last two months. It observed that relatives of internees had visitation rights under the Action (in aid of civil power) Regulation and therefore, they should be allowed to meet detainees if they applied for it.

Published in Dawn, September 3rd, 2014