Relatives worried over disposal of cases by PHC

PESHAWAR: The relatives of missing persons have expressed concern over disposal of their cases by the Peshawar High Court (PHC) without informing them about the charges on which they were detained at the internment centres for years.
The PHC has started disposing of the cases of the missing persons in recent months after receiving the reports of the oversight boards declaring the missing persons ‘black’ or hardcore militants.
The PHC division bench headed by Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel has disposed of the case of dozens of missing persons as they have been judged ‘black’. The bench observed that the detainees would be dealt with as per the Action (in Aid of Civil Power) Regulations 2011 for Fata and Pata.
The chief justice also observed that the family members could meet the detainees as per their visitation right under the law. The PHC had also directed the authorities concerned to provide proper medical facilities to the internees and visitation rights to the families.
The court told the family members that they can file petitions if the authorities concerned didn’t provide the visitation right and proper treatment to the internees. However, the court didn’t inform the petitioners after receiving the reports about the charges on which the prisoners had been held in custody for years.
On January, 15 the PHC disposed of four more cases of missing persons after the oversight board termed them hardcore militants. They were being held at the Paithum and Fizzagat internment centres in Swat district.
Additional Advocate General Qaiser Ali Shah submitted the oversight board reports of the four missing persons detained at Paithum and Fizzagat internment centres. The internees Akbar Khan, Abdur Razzaq, Saleem Khan and Abdul Qadir have been declared ‘black’.