The top court on Wednesday has decided to deal with missing persons' 97 pending pleas expeditiously while asking its fixation branch to constitute four benches of three-judges every month to hear the matter.
A 5-member larger bench led by the Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, comprising Justice Amir Hani Muslim, Justice Azmat Saeed Sheikh, Justice Manzoor Ahmad Malik and Justice Faisal Arab made the decision in response to the pleas seeking enforcement of fundamental rights in various matter of missing persons, discovery of mass graves in Khuzdar and alleged involvement of Agencies in disappearances of citizen of Pakistan.
During the course of proceedings, the Chief Justice Jamali observed that it would be impossible for a bench to conduct hearing of all 97 cases in a single day. He further remarked that litigants comes from different parts of the country for remedy in the apex court so it would be injustice to them if they return home with great disappointment when their cases are not taken up.
Additional Advocate General Punjab Razaq A Mirza apprised the bench that cases of Amna Masood Janjua and another were disposed of whereas advocate Tariq Asad requested the bench to grant permission to Ms Abida Malik to meet her husband Tausif Ali in the internment center. To which the court asked the Additional Advocate General (AAG) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) to ensure meeting of the applicant with her husband and submit a report after a week.
Appearing before the bench brother of Fasiullah requested the bench to issue release orders of his brother if found not guilty to which the bench asked the AAG to furnish report about Fasiullah who was detained in an Internment Center of Lakki Marwat. Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti plea was accepted through which he requested the bench to grant time for report submission in response to plea of Ghulam Muhammad.
Submitting report about an individual missing person before the court in response to a CMA 2193/2013, Additional Advocate General Balochistan informed that the accused person was involved in kidnapping for ransom and was produced before an Anti-Terrorism Court. However, the bench said that the petition has become infructuous.
Asma Jahangir has filed 38 petitions on behalf of the missing persons from which the court has fixed 36 pleas for hearing. Federal government submitted report in 05 cases of Asma Jahangir saying that Nasir Khan was detained in Internment Center Kohat, Umara Khan in Patham Internment Center Swat, Muhammad in Lucky Marwat Internment Center and Muhammad Tayyab was nabbed in Malakand Internment Center. The DAG said that according to JIT report Aslam Khan has been gone somewhere else by his own will so he does not fall in the missing person list. The bench asked AAG KPK Mian Arshad Jan to verify presence of all the four persons in the Internment Center and submit report before the court.
The Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali said that there is a commission on missing person, headed by a former judge of the Supreme Court so he should inquire and record evidences for the conclusions of the cases saying, "So isn't it appropriate to refer the cases to the Commission for finding on merit".
Asma Jahangir urged the bench to give guideline to the Commission in the matter, alleging that applicants who intended to appear before the Commission were stopped by spy agencies from appearing before the Commission. The Chief Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali while addressing Asma Jahangir said that a retired judge of the apex court is the head of the Commission and doesn't need any guidelines. Later, hearing of the matter was adjourned for date in office.