Justice Ejaz Afzal on Monday said that the Supreme Court should be informed "in black and white" what the allegations against missing persons are.

A two-member bench of the SC was hearing an application filed by the chairperson of the Defence of Human Rights Organisation, Amina Janjua.

"If anyone has committed a crime, they should be punished," Justice Afzal said. "If an innocent is detained in internment centre, they should be released."

He added that anyone accused of a crime should be punished according to the law.

He also expressed irritation at the orders of the court not being implemented. "A report on missing persons was sought in the previous hearing," he recalled.

Justice Afzal also recalled that he had ordered a meeting to be arranged between a missing individual, Tasif Ali Malik, and his family, but the order had not been implemented. He again asked the authorities to ensure Malik meets his family within a week.

Janjua informed the judge that the Commission on Missing Persons had not provided the families of missing individuals with their report.

Tariq Asad, one of the petitioners' counsel, informed the court that security forces had attempted to frame some people, picked up from Rajanpur, in the Sehwan blast case. However, "Inspector General Sindh A.D. Khwaja saved one person from being framed in the case."

Sajid Ilyas Bhatti, the government's counsel, said that interment camps were a matter relating to the Home Department and the tribal areas. He added that he had not received any official report on the issue as yet.

The hearing was adjourned indefinitely.

Opinion

Editorial

Back in parliament
Updated 27 Jul, 2024

Back in parliament

It is ECP's responsibility to set right all the wrongs it committed in the Feb 8 general elections.
Brutal crime
27 Jul, 2024

Brutal crime

No effort has been made to even sensitise police to the gravity of crime involving sexual assaults, let alone train them to properly probe such cases.
Upholding rights
27 Jul, 2024

Upholding rights

Sanctity of rights bodies, such as the HRCP, should be inviolable in a civilised environment.
Judicial constraints
Updated 26 Jul, 2024

Judicial constraints

The fact that it is being prescribed by the legislature will be questioned, given the political context.
Macabre spectacle
26 Jul, 2024

Macabre spectacle

Israel knows that regardless of the party that wins the presidency, America’s ‘ironclad’ support for its genocidal endeavours will continue.