ISLAMABAD, Feb 6: The Supreme Court on Tuesday took notice of the stripping and beating of a young man who was protesting along with other people against the disappearance of their family members.

On Dec 28, a heavy contingent of police, led by superintendents of police Yasin Farooq and Mohammad Azam, had beaten family members and relatives of missing people and had stripped 17-year-old Mohammad bin Masood, son of missing Masood Janjua, when they tried to march to the GHQ to present a memorandum to the Vice-Chief of the Army Staff.

Deputy Attorney-General Nasir Saeed Shaikh told the apex court that a detailed report on missing people could not be prepared by the authorities because they were busy taking security measures during Muharram, adding that the attorney-general could not appear before the court on Tuesday due to his professional commitments.

The court took up the matter on Mrs Amina Masood Janjua’s application regarding the missing people, including her husband, whose unexplained incarceration for one and a half years is believed to have been caused by their suspected links with Al Qaeda or other militant outfits.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry asked the federal government about the notice it had issued against the incident of stripping Mohammad bin Masood.

The deputy attorney-general sought adjournment of the proceedings, stating that as per court’s earlier directive, Attorney-General Makhdoom Ali Khan would present a comprehensive report on efforts made by the government in locating the 18 missing people out of a total of 41.

At the last hearing, the apex court had expressed disappointment over government’s failure to trace all the missing people and had summoned the attorney-general.

On Tuesday, the court deferred further proceedings for Feb 14 as Mrs Janjua did not object to government’s request for adjournment.

The aggrieved families have been constantly holding protest demonstrations ever since their relatives have disappeared.