ISLAMABAD, June 29: The government informed the Supreme Court on Wednesday that the long missing Masood Janjua had been killed by Al Qaeda men but Mrs Amina Masood Janjua, who is campaigning for the release of disappeared persons for several years, said she did not believe in the government claim.

Additional Attorney General K.K. Agha claimed before the Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Javed Iqbal that Mr Janjua and Faisal Faraz, both missing since long, had been killed by members of Al Qaeda.

“A retired major-general of the Pakistan Army who was then serving as director-general of the Inter-Services Intelligence had given a statement on oath before the Commission of Inquiry on Disappeared Persons that he had received information from a source that Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz had been killed by members of Al Qaeda because they thought both were double-crossing them,” Mr Agha said.

Mrs Amina Janjua, who is also chairperson of the Defence of Human Rights, refused to accept the claim insisting that her husband, according to her knowledge, was alive but detained at some safe house or special premises. At this Justice Iqbal assured her that the matter would be looked into and offered her to send a court bailiff for the recovery of her husband provided she had authentic information regarding the whereabouts of Mr Janjua.

After the court proceedings, Justice Iqbal also invited Mrs Amina Janjua for a chamber hearing for some time.

Mr Agha informed the court that a sub-committee of the ministry of defence had taken up at least 10 chronic cases of missing persons and reported that the cases of six people had been traced and all of them had returned to their homes.

They are: Chakkar Khan Marri, Hafiz Mohammad Ibrahim Khalil, Qaiser Iftikhar, Inayatullah, Dr Kashif Iqbal and Haji Attaullah Jan.

At this the court observed that good progress had been made.

During the proceedings Supreme Court Bar Association president Asma Jehangir indicated that she was in the knowledge of a special law being drafted by the government to detain militants from Fata as well as Pata areas. “I hope that such law would be in conformity with the Constitution,” she said.

Ms Jehangir complained that cases were still not being registered against the personnel of FC despite the fact that the commission of inquiry had nominated a number of such personnel for strict action in different cases.