PHC orders basic facilities for internment centres inmates

PESHAWAR: A division bench of the Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Tuesday directed the authorities to provide basic facilities to the prisoners at the internment centres.

The bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah Khan dismissed the two writ petitions after deputy Attorney General Mian Atiq Shah and Additional Advocate General Mian Arshad Jan told the court that the Interior Ministry had declared two persons, Ibrahim and Nasim, as ‘black.’

One Gul Manana had moved the court, saying her son Nasim had gone missing for long and later it was revealed that he was at the internment centre in the Mohmand tribal region. The court also dismissed another writ petition after the counsels said that the Interior Ministry had declared Ibrahim as ‘black.’

The court in cases of other missing persons issued notices to the Ministry of Interior and Defence and directed to submit its report on the next hearing. The court directed to provide basic facilities to the inmates in the internment centres, including arranging meeting with family members.

The division bench also issued notices to the Interior Ministry, Ministry of Finance and Commandant of the Frontier Constabulary for not paying Shuhada Package to a soldier of the FC who was killed in Swat in 2009.

Sufia Begum, the widow of the soldier Abdul Rahim, had moved the court. She said the family was paid the initial package but denied the rest of the Rs2.5 million amount. The court issued notices to the relevant persons and sought the report in the next hearing.

Meanwhile, a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah Khan granted bail to contractor Manzoor Ahmad Ghori in the Workers Welfare Board scandal.