After consistent failure of successive governments to clear the controversy about missing persons, the Supreme Court on Monday sought details of missing persons detained at internment centers across the country.
A three-judge bench headed by Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan while hearing missing persons' cases, categorically stated that there is a dire need to know under which law, these people have been kept at internment centers.
The bench questioned Registrar of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED) about the controversy, but he failed to give a satisfactory answer, forcing the bench to direct him to come with a detailed report within three weeks.
Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan inquired, "How does the commission decide whether a person has gone missing due to enforced disappearance or any other reason?" To which the registrar responded, "We are provided reports by various agencies and institutions."
The registrar said that the commission has solved up to 3,219 cases, to which Justice Ejaz remarked: "You might have done your job but the court's job is yet to be finished." To this end, the CIED representative said, "Our job is only to trace the missing persons."
Earlier on March 27, the Supreme Court was displeased at the absence of a government law officer during the hearing of the missing persons' case
"We suspend routine work to give priority to such cases by taking up petitions for securing the release of persons if they are in illegal detention," said Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan.
This was observed by the judge as no law officer from the government's side turned up in the court when the case was taken up.
The bench then ordered the court's assistant to call someone from the attorney general's office.
The head for Commission on Enforced Disappearance Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal offered to brief Supreme Court judges in their chambers on missing persons' cases, particularly those belonging to Balochistan.
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