ISLAMABAD, Dec 5: A promise of ‘good news’ on Friday saved the day for Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and Defence Minister Khawaja Asif in the Supreme Court on Thursday.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry which had taken up the emotive issue of enforced disappearances was about to dictate an order which could entail the summoning of the chief executive of the country but deferred the proceedings for one more day when suddenly in the middle of the hearing the defence minister sought permission to receive a call from the prime minister.

After receiving the call on cellphone, Khawaja Asif, who had been recently handed over the portfolio of defence ministry, assured the court that it would hear ‘good news’ on Friday. The day was saved and the minister avoided the ire of the court, though the government appeared reluctant to produce all the 30 missing persons.

There is a possibility that the government may provide information about five to seven more internees.

The same bench hearing another case relating to the missing persons of Balochistan issued a contempt notice to Inspector General of Frontier Corps Maj Gen Ijaz Shahid for defying the court order by not appearing before it.

He was required to attend Thursday’s proceedings to justify why the FC personnel allegedly involved in enforced disappearances did not appear before the Crime Investigation Department of Balochistan despite a clear court order.

The court also rejected a request by Advocate Irfan Qadir who tried to appear on behalf of the FC inspector general and said that unless the officer obeyed the order no concession could be extended to him.

The contempt notice was issued under Article 204 of the Constitution, read with Section 17(1 and 3) of the Contempt of Court Ordinance 2003, authorising the court to proceed against a person by framing contempt charges after a preliminary hearing.

The court ordered the interior secretary, who exercises administrative control over the paramilitary force, to ensure that the FC chief appeared before the court on Dec 9.

Thursday’s proceedings saw a number of twists and turns and four short breaks as the apex court appeared determined to ensure that its order of production of the 30 missing persons, including one Yasin Shah, was carried out.

The case was taken up on an application of Muhabbat Shah, elder brother of Yasin Khan of Katlang, Mardan.

At a previous hearing, Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar had submitted a statement of the Superintendent Judicial Lock-up Malakand who said that 66 undeclared internees, including Yasin Shah, had been handed over to him in September 2011 by the army authorities without any internment order. Thirty-one of them were later declared internees and the remaining 35, including Yasin Shah, were shifted out of the Malakand centre by the army authorities.

Later, Acting Defence Secretary retired Maj Gen Raja Arif Nazir had shared with the apex court information relating to the whereabouts of five of the 35 missing persons. He said two had died of natural causes in an internment centre in Malakand and one had left for Saudi Arabia. Two detainees had been released but their identity was not disclosed.

At the outset of the hearing on Thursday, Attorney General Muneer A. Malik informed the court that the defence ministry wanted to divulge some sensitive information in camera. But the court not only turned down the request but also returned a sealed envelop without opening it.

The AG then suggested to the court to order constitution of a fact-finding commission, but that was also rejected.

“We will consider requests only after the missing persons are produced. Otherwise, we are not in a position to accommodate them,” the chief justice sternly said, adding that it was a constitutional duty of the court to ensure security of the missing persons.

“A stage has come to conclude safely that the government is violating the court orders,” the bench said while pointing to the defence minister. The minister tried to convince the court that the government was not trying to scuttle the efforts or to defy its orders.

“We will not tolerate this attitude to undermine the institution of Supreme Court. We are ready to go to any limit,” the chief justice said, but added that the court was deliberately exercising restraint since an adverse order might be in bad taste.

“Try them under the law and make an example for others if these missing persons are really criminals,” the chief justice observed.

When the minister again insisted that the missing persons were not in the custody of the armed forces, the court asked him to tell the names of people obstructing the resolution of the issue.

“We will not tolerate a parallel government. This is a joke with the court,” the chief justice regretted.

“People (in the defence ministry) are shaking and your order is reverberating at appropriate places, but you know how the state machinery works and how system operates,” the attorney general said.

Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, a member of the bench, observed that evidence provided to the court prime facie suggested that some state actors appeared to be getting involved in the matter.

The defence minister assured the court that he would personally meet the prime minister and said the government was in the process of making arrangements for the production of missing persons.