Following suo motu action by the Supreme Court, the government on Tuesday released several 'missing persons' and assured that it believed in the rule of law and supremacy of Constitution. Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum informed the court that Abdul Basit, who had been 'missing' since June 2004, had been located.
He said that he was in the custody of Khyber Agency Political Agent, he would be brought to Islamabad, and Director-General, FIA, Tariq Pervez, would hand him over to his relatives at 8 pm on Tuesday. Basit was arrested reportedly in connection with an attempt on the life of President Musharraf.
Another high profile 'missing' person, Pakistan born German national Alm Nasir, who was arrested at Lahore airport before intended departure for Germany, was produced before the court. Nasir said that he was a gemstones trader and he quite often visited Peshawar, Swat, Wana, and Northern Areas to buy gemstones.
He said tha the intelligence agencies took away his passport, travel documents, ticket and the gemstones at the time of his arrest. The court allowed him to leave, or stay in the country, and ordered Interior Ministry to return his travel documents and other possessions, including gemstones.
Another 'missing' young man, Dr Imran Munir, was also produced before the court. He had been sentenced by a military court on spying charges. Abdul Mujib Pirzada, counsel for Dr Imran, told the court that Imran, who holds Canadian and Pakistani dual nationalities, had married the daughter of a senior army officer and there was a matrimonial dispute between them.
The court gave Imran in police custody from Army and sent him to PIMS hospital for two weeks' medical treatment. Pakistan Human Rights Commission chairperson Asma Jehangir also appeared before the court and submitted that out of 172 'missing' persons there still remained 93 untraced.
The court instructed Deputy Attorney General Naheeda Mehboob Elahi to hold a meeting with Asma and come up with a positive reply, after two weeks. The court appreciated the efforts of Attorney General Malik Mohammad Qayyum in connection with recovery and release of the 'missing' persons.
The five-member bench comprised Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry, Justice Faqir Mohammad Khokhar, Justice Javed Buttar, Justice Nasirul Mulk and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmad.