IHC decides SOP for prevention, investigation of enforced disappearances

ISLAMABAD: The Chief Justice, Islamabad High Court, Justice Athar Minallah, in a judgment has decided the Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for the Prevention and Investigation of Enforced Disappearances in the Islamabad Capital Territory.

The IHC Chief Justice has addressed those SOPs to be followed in cases of enforced disappearance or missing persons to the chief commissioner of Islamabad Capital Territory as well as the Inspector General (IGP), Islamabad.

The Chief Justice has directed the police and other investigation agencies that enforced disappearance shall be treated as a heinous act and thus dealt with accordingly.

He said that registration of FIR is the basic duty of police and there should be no negligence on the part of Station House Officer (SHO) of the concerned police station in any case. However, before leading to any conclusion about enforced disappearance, the concerned SHO must apply his mind and shall take all factors into account without causing delays in reporting of the case or any investigations, the judgment added.

The judgment further said that the SHO should investigate about other possible avenues of the case which may include possibilities of self-created scene or occurrence due to other motives, or the alleged missing person may be arrested by police of any other province or other jurisdiction, or the persons of proscribed organisation or terrorists may lodge FIRs as a defence for future criminal cases or to build pressure on LEAs for alleged enforced disappearances, or the alleged missing person from his house may be in farari camps or in sleeper cells.

The SOPs/guidelines laid down by the IHC Chief Justice say that where the investigating officer and his supervisor have sufficient reasons to believe that it is a case of enforced disappearance, the case will be transferred to a Special Investigation Unit for Enforced Disappearances (SIU ED) directly supervised by the SSP Investigation, Islamabad Capital Police (ICP).

The SSP Investigation ICP will constitute ED Investigation Team (EDIT) as per the facts and circumstances of the case. The EDIT will take all necessary steps for recovery of the disappeared person which include a countrywide search for the disappeared person.

Other steps to be followed include dissemination of information through notices/posters with necessary information and pictures of the person. All details shall be provided in Lost and Found Centre of Islamabad Safe City headquarters.

EDIT may visit, inspect a place to find out missing person and may call anybody to share information or to assist the EDIT as per the law. The team should communicate with the hospitals dealing with mortuaries and dead bodies of unknown persons.

They will communicate with FIA, NAB, and other such like investigating agencies as the accused may have been arrested by them for being involved in a case as per their

mandate.

They will communicate with Ministry of Defence/officials as accused may be involved in any offence relating to court martial or military jurisdiction. They will coordinate with the other official forums constituted for enforced disappearance. They will coordinate with concerned home ministry or interior ministry through proper channel to keep them informed about disappearance of such a person.

They will make all efforts for recovery of missing persons, timely investigation/prosecution to take the matter to logical and lawful end. They will keep the victim’s family informed about developments of the case.

They will ensure that all steps are taken for witness protection and seek support from the IGP and chief commissioner and higher officers if required in discharge of their duties. They will prepare a database of such incidents accordingly and in case a person is found, he will update the data properly about reasons, causes and profiling of such incidents.

They will submit periodic reports to IGP ICP, the SSP Investigation shall analyse such incidents and suggest how to prevent and pre-empt such incidents that impact freedom of movement of persons and to ensure protection of human rights of citizens of Pakistan as enshrined in the Constitution of Pakistan.