PESHAWAR, Feb 20: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday summoned the capital city police’s top bosses over slackness in probe into the dumping of bodies in gunnysacks in the city.

While fixing the next hearing into the case for Feb 27, a bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Waqar Ahmad Seth asked the capital city police officer, deputy inspector general (investigation) of police and senior superintendent of police (investigation) to appear in person and explain why contempt of the court proceedings should not be initiated against them.The bench expressed annoyance at absence of senior polio officials and presence of a sub-inspector with little knowledge of investigation into the matter.

It observed that on two occasions, it had clearly ordered probe into body dumping cases by a team headed by SSP and comprising deputy superintendents of police and even the DIG (investigation) had assured it of compliance but despite passage of many months, the orders had been unimplemented and none of the killers traced.

The human rights cell of the high court had referred the matter to the chief justice in Aug last year after the media reported the dumping of 26 bodies, mostly stuffed in gunnysacks, in different areas of the city. Thereafter, more such incidents were reported in the city.

Additional advocate general Lal Jan Khattak requested the bench for giving police the time until the next hearing for ‘positive results’ in the said cases.

During the hearing into another case, the bench summoned a deputy secretary and a section officer of the interior ministry over the killing of a missing person in an alleged encounter with security forces in Peshawar cantonment area last year.

It observed that a habeas corpus petition filed by Mir Rehman, father of missing person Abdul Samad, was pending with the court when the interior ministry’s two officials had claimed that Abdul Samad was not in the custody of security forces or intelligence agencies, but later in Aug 2012, he was killed along with two other detainees in an alleged encounter wherein two security personnel were also killed.Razaullah Khan, lawyer for the petitioner, said the missing person was picked up by security agencies on Oct 3, 2011, from the jurisdiction of East Cantonment police station and the petition regarding his forced disappearance was filed a few months before his killing.

The FIR of the said encounter was registered at West Cant Police Station on Aug 6, 2012, on the complaint of Captain Tahir Hafeez of Intelligence Battalion.

He complainant said the said detainees were kept in temporary place for their onward transportation to notified internment centre. He alleged that the detainees had snatched rifle from a guard and began firing.

The bench adjourned the hearing into the case to Mar 14 directing the said interior ministry’s officials to show up and explain why they gave wrong statement to the court.

It also expressed displeasure at non-installation of close circuit cameras on Peshawar-Islamabad Motorway and directed the federal finance secretary to hold a meeting with the National Highway Authority bosses and provide funds for installation of important equipments and the latest vehicles.

During the hearing, the chief justice observed that political parties had not been realising the gravity of the situation and had only been focusing on winning the forthcoming elections.

He observed that political parties should shun differences, evolve a clear policy in parliament on terrorism, and convey the said policy to security forces for strict enforcement.