Court accepts GHQ inquiry into missing person’s killing

PESHAWAR: A Peshawar High Court bench on Wednesday disposed of a petition about a missing person’s death after accepting a confidential report of the General Headquarters inquiry, which stated the man died in an encounter when he tried to escape from the custody of an intelligence agency. However, Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Malik Manzoor Hussain directed petitioner Haji Mir Rehman, father of deceased Abdus Samad, that he had the legal right to book the suspected official(s) for the son’s killing. It observed that the inquiry report proved that Abdus Samad and two other persons detained by the Military Intelligence were killed in an encounter after they snatched a gun from a personnel, which also led to the death of two personnel. Representative of Judge Advocate General Branch of Pakistan Army Brigadier Nobahar and that of defence ministry Captain Irfan said the deceased was also produced before magistrate Zafarullah Mohmand on April 4 in 2012 when he was in the custody of an intelligence agency and that he had confessed to involvement in anti-state activities and acts of terrorism. The petitioner alleged that his son was taken into custody by security agencies from the jurisdiction of East Cantonment police station on Oct 3, 2011. Few months after his son’s disappearance, the man lodged the petition. Later in Aug 2012, the body of his son was handed over to the family. Deputy attorney general Kifayatullah Khan and Brigadier Nobahar informed the bench that in accordance with an earlier order of the high court, they had brought report of an inquiry conducted by the GHQ but as it was confidential and therefore, it would be appropriate to examine it in the chamber. The bench decided to examine the report in open court but not to put it to discussion. The petitioner’s lawyer contended that the intelligence agencies had expressed ignorance regarding the detention of the detainee but later on he was killed in their custody. Brigadier Nobahar stated that the affidavit wherein ignorance was shown regarding the said detention was submitted on behalf of the Inter-Services Intelligence, whereas Abdus Samad was in custody of MI. Additional advocate general Mian Arshad Jan said the provincial government had also conducted an inquiry in this regard. He stated that the FIR of the said incident was registered at West Cant Police Station on Aug 6, 2012, on the complaint of Captain Tahir Hafeez of Intelligence Battalion. He had stated that the detainees were kept in a temporary detention facility and had to be subsequently transferred to a notified internment centre. The AAG stated that the complainant alleged that the detainees named Muhammad Haroon, Waliur Rehman and Abdul Samad snatched rifle from the guard and started firing. He added that during encounter two officials named Nadir Court accepts GHQ inquiry into missing person’s killing Ali and Sajid Farooq were killed whereas the three detainees were also killed. GROUND CHECK ORDERED: The bench also adjourned hearing of 10 habeas corpus petitions with the direction to the defence ministry and provincial home department to conduct proper ground check for tracing the detainees mentioned in the petitions. The chief justice observed there should be a proper and effective procedure of conducting ground checks regarding the missing persons so that reports could be submitted to the court at the earliest. He further observed that from now onwards affidavits in habeas corpus petitions expressing ignorance about a missing person should be submitted by the official charged in the petition and not by any other official of the concerned department. The chief justice made the observation while hearing a petition filed by Abida challenging disappearance of her close relative, Noorul Haq. The woman alleged that the man was taken into custody by officials of Topi police station in Swabi following which his whereabouts were not known. The AAG informed the bench that the district police officer Swabi and the SHO of Topi police station had expressed ignorance about the said arrest and that an affidavit in this respect was produced by the superintendent (legal) of the DPO office. The bench ordered the production of the affidavit by the two relevant officers. The bench also ordered the AAG to verify the presence of Jandoor Khan at an internment centre in Lakki Marwat and ruled that if the said person was there, then relatives should be permitted to meet him.