ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday disposed of a contempt petition filed against retired Justice Javed Iqbal, who is heading the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, after directing the commission to address the grievance of the relative of a missing person.

Sakina Begum had filed the contempt petition against Justice Iqbal for not complying with an order of IHC Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani passed on May 11, 2017, for the provision of record of the commission’s proceedings about the missing person, Khalid Mehmood.

The petitioner wanted contempt of court proceedings against the commission’s chairman as well as secretary Fareed Ahmed Khan.Earlier, the petition was fixed before Justice Athar Minallah. However, since the order of May 11 was issued from the court of Justice Kayani, Justice Minallah referred the petition to Justice Kayani.

When the counsel for the petitioner, Abdul Sattar Agha, appeared before Justice Kayani on Monday, the judge asked him about the respondents.

The lawyer said one of the respondents was Justice Iqbal who was a former judge of the Supreme Court and after retirement was appointed as the chairman of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances in February 2011. In October last year, the government appointed Mr Iqbal as the chairman of NAB as well.

“Do you want contempt proceedings against a former judge of the Supreme Court,” asked Justice Kayani.

The lawyer responded that he wanted implementation of the IHC order of May 2011 only in which the court had directed the commission to provide a copy of the proceedings.

Subsequently, IHC Justice disposed of the petition asking the missing persons commission to provide the relevant record to the petitioner. The petitioner stated before the court that on March 21, 2015, about 20 officials wearing military and police uniforms trespassed into his resident in Ferozpura Rawalpindi and abducted Mr Mehmood.

The matter was taken to the missing persons’ commission where the spy agencies stated that Mr Mehmood had been detained for anti-state activities and was in the custody of law enforcement agencies. The petitioner then requested the commission to provide certified copies of the entire proceeding which was denied.

“Non-implementation of the direction dated May 11, 2017, passed by this court tantamount to committing contempt of the court,” the petition stated.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2018