SC asks DGs ISI, MI to explain missing persons' deaths
26 January, 2012
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Wednesday issued notices to the defence secretary, director generals of the ISI and MI, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate general in a missing personsí petition.
The court accepted a plea to inquire about the deaths of four missing prisoners out of 11, who were allegedly picked up by intelligence agencies from outside Adiala Jail following their release in 2010.
The court sought a reply in this regard from the attorney general (AG) by January 30. A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez, was hearing a petition filed by Ruhaifa, the mother of three of the prisoners.
The court issued notices to other respondents, including the defence secretary, ISI and MI director generals, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa advocate general. During the hearing, the chief justice expressed concern over the death of four missing prisoners and asked the AG that the matter be probed keeping in view its seriousness.
Tariq Asad, counsel for the applicant, submitted that he had a video of the prisoners who were killed using torture. He said the bodies of three missing prisoners were found in hospitals but the last one was recovered from a forest near Peshawar. The AG requested the court to give some time to gather details from the relevant authorities. The court adjourned the hearing till January 30.
In the petition Ruhaifa had stated that four of the 11 prisoners allegedly picked up by intelligence agencies, despite their release by the Lahore High Court, died in their custody. She said her three sons ñ Syed Abdus Saboor, Syed Abdul Basit and Syed Abdul Majid ñ along with eight other people were still in the "unlawful" custody of the agencies.
Muhammad Aamir died on August 15, Tashinullah on December 17 and Said Arab on December 18 last year. Their bodies were handed over to their families at the Lady Reading Hospital, Peshawar.
Ruhaifa's lawyer requested the court to direct the respondents to submit a report about the deaths of the three prisoners, and the status of the remaining detainees. The petitioner also said the detention of the prisoners was in violation of Articles 4, 10, 10-A and 14 of the Constitution. "The respondents should also be asked to explain if all the prisoners are subject to the Army Act," Ruhaifa said in the petition.
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