Supreme Court instructions: Govt told to identify men traded for bounty

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Friday asked the government to share the names of 369 Pakistanis who were handed over to the United States for bounty, as claimed by former army chief General Pervez Musharraf in his 2006 book. A three-judge bench – headed by Justice Jawwad S Khawaja – ordered Additional Attorney General for Pakistan (AAGP) Tariq Khokhar to identify the people from relevant quarters and submit a report on March 6. Earlier in compliance with the court’s February 18 order, the AAGP submitted the relevant portions of Musharraf’s book ‘In the Line of Fire’ before the bench. Referring to the chapter 23 titled ‘Manhunt’, Khokhar presented the passage which said: “We have captured 689 and handed over 369 to the United States. We have earned bounties totalling to millions of dollars.” Citing the Council of European Union (EU) 2006 report, the AAGP told the bench that the CIA had kidnapped people from Afghanistan and Pakistan and they were detained in different internment centres, which were known as ‘black sites’. “According to the EU Parliament’s report 2007 about torture flights, the CIA has conducted 1,245 flights, many of them to destinations where suspects could face torture, which is the violation of United Nations (UN) Convention,” he further stated. Khokhar said people were transferred from one country to another country through extra ordinary rendition, which was illegal. “Enforced disappearance is a crime against humanity”, he added. The bench asked him to tell the court from where the names of these persons, handed over to USA, could be got. “My understanding is that the author of the book (Pervez Musharraf) claims these names were given to him by an institution and this institution should have the particulars of these people,” Khokhar replied as he assured the bench he would contact the concerned authorities to acquire the names. Meanwhile, the court also directed the defence ministry to submit till March 6 the affidavits of Colonel (retd) Habib and two retired Lieutenant Generals Shafat Ahmad and Nadim Taj regarding the enforced disappearance of Masood Janjua. Earlier, the AAGP told the bench that the defence ministry has submitted that these three officers had retired and it was not its responsibility to find out their whereabouts. The bench, however, rejecting the ministry’s reply and directed it to file affidavits of three army officers, warning that otherwise the pension of these army officers would be stopped For recording the statement of Imran Munir in Masood Janjua case, Advocate General Punjab Mustafa Ramday said Punjab government had decided to depute SP Potohar Town Haroon Joya for recording the statement of witness, who is living in an UNHCR camp in Sri Lanka as an asylum seeker. Dr Imran Munir, in his statement to Joint Investigation Team (JIT) on December 5, 2009, claimed that he had seen Janjua under the custody of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI) Brigadier Mansoor Saeed Sheikh during the period between July 28, 2006, and second week of March 2007 in a cell near Zakria Masjid, Rawalpindi. Meanwhile, Khokhar told The Express Tribune that the ministry of defence had sent him a fresh report on two missing brothers – Mulazim Hussain and Obaidullah –who have been traced out to be detained in Lakki Marwat Internment Centre. These brothers were allegedly picked up by intelligent agencies. “Five persons namely Atiq ur Rehman, Khawar Mahmood, Hamad Aamir, Hafiz Muhammad Jamil and Hadaitullah have already been traced in the last ten days,” he added. Published in The Express Tribune, February 22nd, 2014.