News
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Missing persons’ casePunjab announces to try ISI brigadier
* AAG informs SC Dr Imran had told JIT Masood Janjua remained in illegal custody of Brig Mansoor Saeed of ISI from July 28, 2006 to March 2007
By Hasnaat Malik
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court was told on Tuesday that the Punjab government had decided to initiate legal proceedings against army officers, including an ISI brigadier, in the missing persons’ case.
During the hearing of the missing persons’ case, Punjab Additional Advocate General (AAG) Faisal Malik told the three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, that there is no need for further investigation in this matter and the provincial government has decided to submit challan against the nominated persons in the light of statements of Dr Imran Munir and former Rawalpindi CPO Rao Iqbal.
Upon this, Justice Ejaz Ahmad asked who would be tried and whether anyone was nominated in the challan. The AAG replied that according to Imran Munir’s statement, which he had given before a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on December 5, 2009, he had seen missing person Masood Janjua in Westridge, Rawalpindi, while he was illegally in the custody of ISI’s Brig Mansoor Saeed Sheikh during the period from July 28, 2006 and second week of March 2007. He said that the challan would be submitted in this matter according to the available evidence.
Justice Jawwad lamented that army officers do not respond to the court’s notices, but when the law would take its course they would be forthcoming. He also referred to the case of another serving army brigadier, who was accused in the missing persons’ case in Balochistan, but despite the court’s observations, he did not reply. The court sought a progress report from the Punjab AAG regarding the Masood Janjua case on July 15.
Meanwhile, after receiving the list of 516 missing persons who are being held in five internment centres of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Supreme Court directed the office of the attorney general of Pakistan to bifurcate the names of the interment centres and explain by Wednesday (today) the status and details regarding pendency of the disappeared persons’ cases provided by Amina Masood Janjua as well as by the commission on missing persons.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa DAG Dil Muhammad Alizai submitted the list of internment centres, notified by Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, wherein 516 disappeared persons are being held. According to the list there are seven interment centres in Sub-jail Palthom, Swat, Sub-jail Fizaghat, Swat, Sub-jail Malakand, District Jail Timergara (not functional), Frontier Corps forts of Chitral, Drosh, Mirkhai and Timergara (not functional), District Jail Lakki Marwat and District Jail Kohat.
The DAG also submitted the names of the officers who are in charge of these interment centres. They are: Rizwan Shah, incharge interment centre Malakand; Ayyub Bacha, Palthom; Yousaf Gull, Fizagat, Swat; Sabz Ali, Lakki Marwat and Muhammad Irshad, in-charge of interment centre Kohat. The court was further informed that a reply regarding the commandant responsible for the security of the interment centres be sought from the Ministry of Defence.
The DAG told the court that the AGP had constituted a three-member committee to assist the court in matters related to the missing persons. Ali Zai said that the Punjab additional advocate general, Faisal Saddique and he would be the members of the committee. Justice Jawwad warned that now there should be no laxity of law. He stated that when the federal government does not make any progress then the Supreme Court has to issue orders.Courtesy www.dailytimes.com.pk