PESHAWAR, March 14: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday summoned the regional in charge of Pakistan Army’s judge advocate general (JAG) branch to report compliance with its orders for inquiry into the killing of a missing person allegedly while trying to escape from the custody of an intelligence agency.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Irshad Qaiser fixed the next hearing on April 17 asking the in charge of JAG branch to inform what action the General Headquarters (GHQ) or the Corps Headquarters had so far taken in the case.

It also issued show cause notices to the provincial police officer and the Peshawar capital city police to explain why they had not conducted proper inquiry after the body of the detainee was found.

The detainee, Abdul Samad, was killed along with two other suspects in an alleged encounter with security forces in Peshawar cantonment areas.

The FIR of the said encounter was registered at West Cantonment Police Station on Aug 7, 2012, on the complaint of Captain Tahir Hafeez of Intelligence Battalion.

He said the detainees were kept in temporary detention for their onward transportation to notified internment centre. He alleged that the detainees had snatched rifle from a guard and started firing.

The bench put several queries to additional advocate general Naveed Akhtar and an official of the interior ministry observing that in a habeas corpus petition filed by Mir Rehman, father of the detainee, regarding his illegal detention, the defence ministry and the intelligence agencies had given affidavits that the detainee was not in their custody.

The bench observed that submitting false affidavits by those officials amounted to penal offence under Pakistan Penal Code. The chief justice inquired how it was possible in such a well-guarded area where no civilian could enter that unarmed detainees had snatched a gun and started firing.

AAG Naveed Akhtar produced some confidential documents to the bench saying the three suspects were in proper custody in connection with a case registered under the Army Act.He said the suspects were also produced before a judicial magistrate for recording their confessional statements. Advocate Razaullah Khan appeared for the petitioner and contended that the detainee was picked up by the security agencies on Oct 3, 2011, from the jurisdiction of East Cant police station and few months before his death the petition regarding his detention was filed wherein the agencies had expressed ignorance regarding his whereabouts. He pointed out that on Dec 11, 2012, the court had ordered the principal staff officer at the General Headquarters (GHQ) to constitute a board for inquiring into the suspected custodial killing of the detainee and if any official of armed forces or intelligence agencies was found involved he should be tried by a court martial.

The bench regretted that none of the concerned official had turned up and it would be appropriate to summon the in charge of JAG branch to ascertain what was the fate of that inquiry and what action the GHQ had taken against the responsible officials.Meanwhile, the bench directed the federal and provincial governments to pay compensation equivalent to diyat to an old woman whose only son had gone missing a year ago and was later found dead in a gunnysack along Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway.

The bench observed that it was the responsibility of the state to protect life and property of its citizens and as it had failed to fulfil that responsibility, therefore, it was bound to pay compensation to the lady, Hamida Bibi, whose son Farmanullah was killed under mysterious circumstances.