PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Thursday expressed displeasure over slow progress in missing person cases and sought written explanation from the federal defence and interior secretaries and the provincial home secretary for it.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Ikramullah Khan observed that the officials appearing on behalf of the defence and interior ministries and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa home department were often least aware of the pending cases and didn’t produce proper information on them.

It also ordered the provincial home secretary to appear in person on June 3, the next date of hearing, and give explanation for negligence on part of his officials, observing despite repeated court orders, they didn’t produce the findings of the relevant oversight boards of notified internment centres in different cases.

The bench directed the three secretaries to explain the reasons for the delay in progress in such cases.

While hearing around 30 cases of enforced disappearances, the bench observed that the cases had been pending for long duration without any noteworthy progress as the authorities had not been sharing accurate information with the court.

Additional advocate general Waqar Ahmad, who represented the provincial government, said he had acquired the entire list of missing persons from the court and had shared it with the Corps Headquarters.

He added that his client needed more time for ground verification.

The chief justice observed that these cases had been delayed time and again on different excuses but no noteworthy progress was witness in it.

He observed that so far the findings of the oversight boards had also not been submitted to the court.

The AAG said the record of the internment centres was sensitive which could not be disclosed in the open court.

The bench ruled that if the record and affairs of the internment centres were secret, then the same should be submitted in sealed envelope which the court would not share with anyone.

EX-MPA SUMMONED: The bench summoned former MPA Sarfaraz Jadoon in a case about forced disappearance of a youth, who was allegedly handed over to security forces four years ago before going missing.

Petitioner Rahimdad said his 22-year-old son, Mohammad Arif, was given in the custody of security forces by a jirga, which also include then MPA Sarfaraz Jadoon in Gadoon, Swabi, on Feb 2, 2010.

He said the forces suspected that he might be involved in certain illegal activities.

The petitioner said 22 people were handed over to the forces and of them, 12 were released afterwards, while 10 people continued to be missing.

The bench decided to summon the MPA so that he could verify the claim of the petitioner.

KHYBER PA SUMMONED: The bench summoned the political agent of Khyber Agency for explaining position on denial of compensation to the families of two missing persons, whose bodies were found dumped in 2012.

Sahibzada Riazatul Haq, lawyer for petitioner Yousaf Khan, said his client’s son, Amjid, and his son’s uncle, Said Khan, were picked up by police in the jurisdiction of Paharipura police station on December 12, 2011.

He said the two were later on handed over to the administration of Khyber Agency but on November 30, 2012, their bodies were found dumped in Shakas area of Khyber Agency.

The lawyer said the high court had ordered the tribal administration on April 25, 2013 to pay compensation to the legal heirs of the two.