Fata, Pata Acts: Is federal govt challenging 25th Amendment, says SC

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Friday questioned as to why a list of persons detained at the interment centers was furnished in a sealed envelope when the relevant law permitted the internees’ meeting with their families.

A five-member larger bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, resumed the hearing of petitions filed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and federal governments.

The petitions challenged the Peshawar High Court’s October 17 order, striking down the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government’s ‘Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulation Ordinance 2019 as well as Vires of FATA Act 2019 and PATA Act 2018.

Other members of the bench included Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Mushir Alam, Justice Umar Ata Bandial and Justice Qazi Faez Isa.

Addressing the attorney general, Justice Qazi Faez Isa asked why the internees were not allowed to meet with their families when there was a provision in the relevant law allowing that facility. He also asked the attorney general as to why the details of internees were furnished with the court in a sealed envelope. The attorney general replied that the families of internees had been provided details but it could not be made public. He said the internees could write a letter to their families every 15 days.

Justice Isa said if it was so then why people complained to the media about missing of their near and dear ones. The attorney general admitted that the complaints made by people to the media were not false but said sometimes even the authorities did not know about the whereabouts of the missing persons. "There are internees who are, for the time being, not allowed to meet their families," the AG added.

Justice Gulzar Ahmed asked if the authorities had any evidence of internees having worked for foreign elements. Replying, the AG said around some 78 people at one of the interment centers had been detained but released after two years after rehabilitation.

The chief justice observed that the question before the court was the legal status of these interment centers.

The bench expressed surprise over the words used in the laws related to the interment centers and deployment of armed forces in the troubled areas.

Referring to the ‘Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulation Ordinance 2019’, the chief justice said it was mentioned therein that now the army will act in accordance with the law and asked if the army had not been acting in accordance with the law for the last 10 years while performing in aid of the civil power.

Justice Khosa said the Act had been introduced after the 25th Amendment to continue the laws already in force and asked if the federal government was challenging the amendment. He said things will go haywire if no logical reason came forth in support of the ‘Action in Aid of Civil Power Regulation Ordinance 2019’. Later, the court adjourned the hearing until next Wednesday.