PESHAWAR: The Peshawar High Court on Wednesday expressed dissatisfaction with the replies given by security forces in missing person cases and directed the defence ministry to ensure the filing of the response of the security men charged with enforced disappearances.

It, however, set no deadline for the purpose.

A bench comprising Chief Justice Mazhar Alam Miankhel and Justice Nisar Hussain Khan observed the replies filed by the defence ministry in some enforced disappearance cases were not satisfactory and therefore, the defence

ministry should ensure production of the comments of the security officials charged in the cases.

The bench issued the directives during the hearing into around 31 missing person cases.

During the hearing into the case about the enforced disappearance of his clients, Malik Ajmal, lawyer for Mohammad Sherin and Azeem Khan, said his clients were handed over to Colonel Kashif of the Pakistan Army on Aug 18, 2009.

He said his clients belonged to Barikot area of Swat and security forces suspected the two had links with militants.

The lawyer said his clients were handed over to security forces by a local jirga for interrogation but they had been missing since then.

A reply was filed by the defence ministry wherein ignorance was shown regarding their detention.

The bench told deputy attorney general Manzoor Khalil and representative of the defence ministry Group Captain Irfan that as the family members of the detainees had directly accused an army officer with the enforced disappearance, the reply in the case was not sufficient and that comments of the officer in question should be produced.

In another case, petitioner Haji Mir Ahmad Qureshi alleged his son, Khalid Mahmood Qureshi, was taken away by security forces from Kohat on Dec 9, 2009.

His lawyer, Malik Haroon Iqbal, alleged the detainee was in custody of Brigadier Qadeem and Colonel Adnan of the Pakistan Army.

He claimed his client was a cloth merchant and his son was innocent.

Former district police officer of Hangu Mohammad Iqbal said an FIR was registered in the case against unidentified army officers in light of the client’s statement, while investigation into the case was in progress.

The bench directed the defence ministry to produce comments of both the officials.

Another petitioner, Zahida Bibi, a resident of Swat, alleged that her son, Israel Khan, was taken into custody by Colonel Naeem of the Pakistan Army a few years ago.

The bench directed the deputy attorney general and additional advocate general Mian Rashid Jan to contact the relevant federal and provincial government departments and file comments in the case on their behalf.

It also asked the provincial police officer to produce information about the police officers, who had arrested an alleged handler of a would-be suicide bomber, who is now missing.

The family claimed the alleged handler, Jehangir Khan, a schoolteacher, was arrested by the police in Nov 2012 and that the arrest was widely reported in the media.

The bench directed the PPO to examine the pictures of the detainee, which had appeared in the media, identify the policemen, who had taken him into custody, and informed it about them.

In several other enforced disappearance cases, the bench ordered the defence and interior ministries and provincial home department to file comments.

Published in Dawn, July 3rd, 2014