Terror suspects being dealt with as per law, PHC told

PESHAWAR: The Home and Tribal Affairs Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa informed the Peshawar High Court (PHC) that Section 18 of the Actions (in Aid of Civil Power) Regulation 2011 about prosecution of internees in various internment centres are being complied within letter and spirit.
The department submitted the reply in a missing person case, in which two detainees, Mulazim Hussain and Obaidullah, were declared black.Muhammad Azam, father of detainee Mulazim Hussain, in his writ petition has sought prosecution of his son under the relevant law. The petitioner had questioned the non-prosecution of his son under the law, as he 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to the prosecuting or investigating agency concerned for effecting formal arrest after his order of internment has been withdrawn.”
Sub-section 2 of the section 16 further states that the offender may be handed over to any investigating or prosecuting agency anywhere in the province. The provincial government also informed the bench that Section 8 of the Regulation was also being complied and as per the law relatives were allowed to meet the detainees in internment centres. It said that medical facilities were also being provided to the missing persons, who are shifted to internment centres and cases are running against them.
It was also stated in the reply that the suspects against whom no evidence pertaining to involvement in any criminal activity was found were set free. The provincial government in its reply also stated that the government could also share list of internees being prosecuted and those set free after the process of de-radicalisation.
On the other hand, Additional Advocate General Qaiser Ali Shah produced progress report in the division bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Haider Ali Khan and of the 21 cases of missing persons, three were declared grey and two black.
As per the reports of the oversight board, three internees, including Mujeebur Rehman, who was interned at internment centre in Lakki Marwat, Muhammad Asghar from Kohat and Khairullah were declared grey.
The bench sought progress report in the cases of the grey internees. It disposed of the petition of the detainees including Mulazim Hussain and Obaidullah, who were declared black.The court sought replies from ministries of defence and interior and secretary home in other 17 cases of missing and detained persons before June 26, the next hearing into the cases.