The government has been given two months by the Islamabad High Court to take action in order to find those who have gone missing.
IHC Says Government:
The court was given the assurance by the prime minister, Shehbaz Sharif, that the matter of missing persons will be seriously resolved.
The case of abducted blogger and journalist Mudassar Naro as well as other cases involving missing people was handled by IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah.
In the courtroom was the attorney general of Pakistan (AGP), the interior and justice ministers, and the head of state.
The State’s obligation, according to Justice Minallah, is not something he could envision happening.
He said, referencing to ex army dictator Gen. (retd) Pervez Musharraf, that the country’s previous nine-year leader had openly acknowledged in his book that he had sold civilians overseas.
According to the judge, this implied that the state may have had a policy of forcibly taking citizens hostage.
According to the IHC CJ, there cannot be a state inside a state, and forced disappearances are against the law.
The prime minister retorted that he will investigate every possibility to find those who were missing. He continued by saying that a child of a missing individual had urged him to reconcile him with his father.
“I found this line to be really unsettling. I won’t miss a chance to carry out my obligation, he said.
The court was also informed by PM Shehbaz that a committee for missing individuals has held six meetings.
“I’ll keep an eye on every meeting and report back to the court. The report would be based on facts rather than a tale, he emphasised.
The court stated that the missing persons commission’s findings were extremely upsetting. He stated that “it is the State’s responsibility to solve their [missing individuals] problems.”
The IHC CJ noted that although holding facilities had been established from which individuals had been rescued, no action had been taken.
The idea that law enforcement authorities round up civilians should not exist. This notion compromises our sense of security, he said. Justice Minallah added that this was a problem that the political establishment needed to address issue.
When the judge mentioned the book, PM Shehbaz responded that Musharraf was a dictator since he began rounding up people. He continued, “The actions of the despot also affected my brother and I.
According to Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar, this issue has existed for 21 years and cannot be resolved in 10 days. He continued by saying that only through conversation was a lasting resolution conceivable.
Farhatullah Babar of the PPP informed the court that parliament had completed its task in December 2015 and that it had concluded that spy agencies were responsible for the kidnappings.
The IHC CJ wanted to know who controlled the intelligence services. “Assigning blame to others has simply made things worse. According to the Constitution, everyone should fulfil their obligations.
The wife of missing internet technology expert Sajid Mehmood, Mahira Sajid, was handed a favourable ruling by the court, according to human rights advocate Amina Masood Janjua. She did, however, clarify that the previous administration had filed an appeal. She insisted that things might get better if the administration dropped such appeals.
In response, the IHC CJ said that the Constitution would guide the court’s decision. The prime minister was then given permission to leave by the judge.
Following his departure, the AGP said that although the prime minister had been given the task of discovering the missing people by the court, it was truly they who would try to make this happen.
The hearing was postponed by the court until November 14 in response to a request from the law minister, allowing the government two months to search for the missing people.
