PHC issues notice to interior, defence ministries

Missing Afghan national

PESHAWAR: Observing that the Afghan nationals have equal fundamental rights during their stay in Pakistan, the Peshawar High Court (PHC) here Thursday issued notice to the ministries of defence and interior in a habeas corpus petition of missing Afghan national. 

A two-member bench comprising Justice Yahya Afridi and Justice Ikramullah Khan issued notice to the ministries with the direction to submit the intelligence agencies’ report regarding the whereabouts of the Afghan national before the next hearing in the case.

During hearing of the petition, Deputy Attorney General Musarratullah Khan raised a point before the bench that as the missing person is an Afghan national so can the court direct the agencies concerned to submit report regarding his whereabouts. 

The bench turned down the objection raised by the law officer, who is representing the federal ministries and intelligence agencies, and told him that the Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan have the same fundamental rights as citizens of Pakistan. The court issued the directions in the writ petition of Abdul Nabi, a relative of the missing Afghan national, filed through his lawyer Muhammad Asif Khan. He claimed that Janan, son of Haji Talib, was missing in Pakistan. 

The court also issued notice to the ministries of defence and interior and commissioner Malakand division in another missing person case. During the hearing, the petitioner’s counsel Shah Nawaz Khan submitted that the court had issued orders to the commissioner Malakand to check the presence of Waqar, the missing person, in the internment centre at Malakand, but in the report submitted before the court it was found that he searched out another missing person Sherzaman instead of Waqar. 

At this, the court directed the Malakand commissioner and intelligence agencies to submit fresh verification report before the next hearing regarding the whereabouts of the missing person. 

In another case of a missing person, the law officer stated that as per the report the missing person in Mujeebullah’s writ petition was found in internment centre at Paitham in Swat district. The bench then directed the provincial government to submit oversight board’s report about the charges under which he was kept in the internment centre. The court issued directions that his family members can meet him in the internment centre.

In a writ petition filed by one Khalilur Rehman, all the intelligence agencies including ISI and MI denied presence of the missing person in their custody. The court disposed of the petition after denial by all the law-enforcing agencies about the whereabouts of the said missing person. The high court had disposed of many missing persons’ cases after the police, ISI, IB and MI denied presence of the missing persons in their custody.