SC grants more time intelligence agencies to produce missing prisoners

In quite an unparallel way, the Supreme Court granted more time to Military Intelligence and Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) to produce the missing prisoners before the court by Monday, February 13.

Earlier, the apex court on Friday directed the country’s powerful intelligence agencies to present seven prisoners, who went missing from Adiala Jail, before the court by 5pm the same day.

Not unexpectedly, however, the court, along with the families of the missing persons present on the day, was left in the offing. Not only were the prisoners not produced, the counsel for the powerful secret services, Raja Muhammad Irshad, also failed to appear before the court, later in the day.

The three-member bench adjourned the hearing, before issuing a strong order to the ISI and MI chief, and the Defence Secretary to produce the missing prisoners safely before the court on mext hearing.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed, “Our order has not been complied with. The missing prisoners are in custody of the intelligence agencies”.

The counsel of the secret services submitted a letter to the court, giving details of the prisoners’ medical condition and stating that they could not be moved out of the hospital. On which, the CJ commented, “Bring them (the patients) in helicopters, if they cannot be brought in cars”.

Chaudhry was of the opinion that if prime minister of Pakistan could be summoned to the court for not complying orders, it does not leave room for anyone else to not obey court rulings.

The bench in its ruling observed that detainees including Dr Niaz Ahmad, Abdul Maajid, Gulroze and Abdul Basit, who were reportedly admitted in the Lady Reading Hospital Peshawar, while Mazharul Haq, Shafiqur Rahman and Muhammad Shafique were stated to be in the Internment Centre, Parachinar, had not been produced before the court.

At the 5pm hearing, the attorney general informed the court that at around 3.30 pm, counsel Irshad had informed him that the detainees in Parachinar could not be brought to Islamabad owing to the long distance, and added that the prisoners in Peshawar will present together with the ones in Parachinar.

Eleven civilian suspects had been facing a court martial under the Army Act on charges of attacking the General Headquarters (GHQ) and ISI’s Hamza Camp base. They were picked up from Adiala Jail by intelligence agencies after they had been acquitted of charges by the court.

Four of the 11 detainees – Muhammad Amir, Tahseenullah, Said Arab and Abdul Saboor – died in the custody of the ISI and MI.  According to counsel Irshad, they died under ‘natural causes’.

The CJ stated, “Right now, we want to see the surviving prisoners. Later, we will investigate the circumstances in which four prisoners died and also fix responsibility”.

It is yet to be seen that the apex court will issue the contempt of court notice to heads of powerful intelligence agencies if they fail to present the abducted prisoners.

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Posted by Faisal Farooq on Feb 11 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.