Explain non-implementation of Section 18, PHC directs KP

Trial of ‘black’ militants

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed the Khyber Pakhutnkhwa government to submit reply and explain the non-implementation of Section 18 of the Action (in Aid of Civil Power) Regulation regarding trial of internees declared ‘black’ by the authorities.

A two-member bench comprising of Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan directed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs Department through Additional Advocate General Qaiser Ali Shah to submit reply and explain the government position regarding the implementation of Section 18 of the regulation under which hundreds of internees were kept in various internment centres.

The bench issued direction in the writ petition of one Attaullah, brother of an internee Ataur Rehman, in which he sought medical treatment and trial of the detainee.

The petitioner’s lawyer Taimur Haider Shah submitted before the bench that his client had been declared ‘black’ in March 2015 but the authorities concerned have yet to start his trial. The chief justice expressed his wonder when it was revealed that the trial of the detainee has not been commenced. Earlier, in its reply to the court regarding trial of the detainee, the Home and Tribal Affairs Department Khyber Pakhtunkhwa stated that Section 18 of the Actions (in Aid of Civil Power) Regulation 2011 about prosecution of internees in various internment centres are being complied with in letter and spirit.

The department had submitted the reply in a missing person case in which two detainees, Mulazim Hussain and Obaidullah, were declared ‘black’ due to their alleged involvement in militancy. Muhammad Azam, father of Mulazim Hussain, in his writ petition had sought prosecution of his son under the relevant law. The petitioners had questioned the non-prosecution of their sons under the law as they had been languishing at the internment centre for years without any trial.

Section 18 of the Regulation related to prosecution states that “Whosoever commits or attempts any offence under this Regulation shall be proceeded against under the Frontier Crimes Regulation, 1901, or Code of Criminal procedure, 1898 (Act IV of 1898) or the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997) or any applicable law, as the case may be. And shall be handed over to the prosecuting or investigating agency concerned for effecting formal arrest after his order of internment has been withdrawn.”

An official source said the provincial government had been forwarding the cases of internees declared ‘black’ to military courts. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home and Tribal Affairs department, the sources said, had sent some cases to the ministry and identified many other declared ‘black’ by the oversight boards to be sent to the interior ministry for trial by the military courts.

However, the Home and Tribal Affairs department failed to submit proper reply in many cases that are pending in the high court.