THE foreign ministry has been ordered by the Lahore High Court to take steps within a month to bring back over 30 Pakistanis believed to be detained at Bagram prison in Afghanistan. Setting a time frame was important, since there seems to be no sense of urgency within the administration about the issue. Indicative of the government’s lack of seriousness was the excuse presented by the foreign ministry’s counsel, who claimed that a copy of an earlier court order asking for the prisoners’ nationalities to be confirmed had not reached the ministry. The more serious challenges of the process are obvious. The prisoners will not necessarily possess documents proving their nationality, and some work will have to be put in by the relevant authorities here to establish whether they are Pakistani. There will also be the question of differentiating between those who were simply swept up in the war in Afghanistan and those who might pose a security threat here at home. Despite these challenges, though, the Pakistani government owes it to their citizens to bring them back home.

This is especially true because of the controversial nature of the Bagram prison. While the US administration refuses to use the term for them, many of the men are essentially prisoners of war who have been held without trial and haven’t seen their families for years. Some American military officials have admitted that many Bagram prisoners were simply innocent men or petty criminals that were trapped in the dragnet alongside hardened militants. In a handful of cases the Pakistani government itself stands accused of violating domestic and international law by playing a role in the abduction and rendition of Pakistani citizens to Afghanistan. As important as ceasing such dubious practices is establishing the nationalities of those at Bagram thought to be Pakistani and bringing them back home for either release or a just trial.