PHC disposes of nine habeas corpus petitions

Missing persons

PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court (PHC) on Thursday disposed of nine habeas corpus petitions of missing persons after the court was informed that they were shifted to internment centres and declared to be in the categories of ‘black’ and ‘grey.’

Additional Advocate General (AAG) Qaiser Ali Shah, representing the provincial government in the missing persons’ cases, informed a division bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Qaiser Rashid Khan that seven missing persons including Yousaf Khan, Khiyal Muhammad, Muhammad Karim, Malik Ayaz, Hazrat Yaqoob, Shaukat Ali and Abdul Haseeb were declared as ‘grey.’

The court also disposed of petitions of other two missing persons after the AAG informed the court that one missing person Ghaniur Rehman was declared as ‘black’ and another detainee Wilayat Khan had died in an internment centre.

Earlier, the court in various cases had directed the federal and provincial governments to submit policy about future of the terror suspects who have been declared ‘grey’ to know if they would be freed after de-radicalisation or tried through proper courts. The chief justice had expressed concern over the non-submission of the policy about future of ‘grey’ internees.

Deputy Attorney General Manzoor Khalil, representing the ministries of interior and defence in the cases, informed the bench that as per his knowledge, both grey and black categories of the internees were being tried by the military courts.

However, he didn’t provide any policy or written documents wherein it was decided that the militants termed grey and black were being tried by the military courts. The court had directed the deputy attorney general to submit the policy about the future of grey internees in the court.

Of the progress report of the Home and Tribal Affairs Department, the additional advocate general submitted a report about a meeting on the issue at the provincial level.It was stated in the meeting held on April 13, 2015 that the relevant provision of the law was being followed in letter and spirit and that the suspects were being freed when there was no evidence about their involvement in terrorism and anti-state activities.

It was stated in the reply submitted to the court that the list of convicted internees would be provided to court and of those set free after de-radicalisation.However, the chief justice expressed his anger over the delay in submitting the policy about the future of ‘grey’ internees in the court in six months period.

Separately, the court also disposed of a writ petition of a woman from Punjab against detention of her husband by the Khyber Agency authorities following their love marriage in Dubai against the wishes of her in-laws after she informed that her husband was released.

Afsheen, a resident of Rawalpindi, had submitted a habeas corpus petition in the high court through her lawyer Malik Nasruminallah against the detention of her husband Irfanullah, a resident of Bara in Khyber Agency, by the political administration.