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Published 09 Apr, 2014 07:16am

BHC order in missing person case challenged

ISLAMABAD: The sister of a missing Baloch student leader filed a petition in the Supreme Court on Tuesday, challenging the Balochistan High Court (BHC)’s order to reject her earlier petition seeking recovery of her brother.

The petition of Farzana Majeed was dismissed by the BHC on Oct 22 last year on the ground that her brother Zakir Majeed had not been kidnapped but had intentionally disappeared to avoid facing legal action. He was booked in a case registered at the Khuzdar police station in Nov 2008 and disappeared after being granted bail by a court in Oct 2009.

On the other hand, Farzana Majeed had pleaded that the allegations against her brother were false and there was ample evidence to prove that he had been picked up by intelligence agencies without disclosing allegations against him.

Farzana Majeed was one of the participants of the 3,500-km long march from Quetta to Islamabad spearheaded by Mama Qadeer Baloch to highlight the plight of missing persons of Balochistan. Earlier she had been taking part in demonstrations outside the Quetta Press Club.

On Tuesday, she told reporters that her brother should be tried in a court if he had committed a crime.

Mama Qadeer said he had no hope of justice from the judiciary but still he had come there in the hope of justice.

He said he was planning to launch a march to Geneva -- a city which hosts several international organisations, including the United Nations -- on the pattern of their Quetta-Islamabad march to protest against alleged highhandedness and injustices being meted out to the Baloch people.

A Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk is seized with a case relating to Zakir Majeed but the Balochistan government had informed it in a hearing about the BHC order.

In the petition filed through her special attorney Shah Khalid, Farzana Majeed has requested the Supreme Court to set aside the high court’s order. She has named the interior ministry, the commandants of Inter Services Intelligence, Military Intelligence, Federal Investigation Unit, Kulli Camp in Quetta, Frontier Corps in Kalat and Mastung, DPO of Mastung and home secretary of Balochistan as respondents.

She has argued in the petition that her earlier petition was dismissed because she was not aware of latest developments related to the case and was not represented by a counsel in the high court.

The petition says that the BHC order is contrary to the facts, law and justice and therefore liable to be overturned because the court has made adverse observations in the absence of Zakir Majeed.

It says that the rights of life, liberty and fair trial are basic, human and fundamental rights and the courts are bound to inquire about the whereabouts of missing persons.

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