ISLAMABAD: The Sup­­reme Court has retu­rned a petition against enf­orced disappearances for being an “individual grievance” and “not raising any question of public importance”.

Senior lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan had filed the application through Advocate Sardar Latif Khosa on October 25 against the “illegal and unlawful practice of enforced disappearances”, including that of political leaders.

He sought a direction for provincial governments to submit a list of “missing persons” in the custody of state authorities and a report identifying law enforcement agencies involved in this practice.

The Supreme Court’s registrar office stated that the petition was filed under Article 184(3). The article gives the court an “extraordinary jurisdiction” and empowers it to take notice of any matter in which people’s fundamental rights are violated.

In the note attached with the returned petition, the registrar office stated that the petition could not be entertained as Mr Ahsan didn’t point out “as to what questions of public importance” regarding the enforcement of fundamental rights were involved in this case.

Furthermore, the petitioner invoked the extraordinary jurisdiction of the Supreme Court for redressing “an individual grievance”, which was not permissible.

The petitioner didn’t approach any other forum before filing the case “and has not provided any justification for not doing so”.

The petition

In his petition, the senior lawyer had claimed that the victims of enforced disappearances included journalists, politicians, bureaucrats and other voices critical of the government.

It referred to the disappearance of Awami Muslim League chief Sheikh Rashid and current and former PTI leaders, including Farrukh Habib, Sadaqat Ali Abbasi, Usman Dar and anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan.

Mr Ahsan requested the court to declare enforced disappearances “a constitutional violation”.

Enforced disappearances violate various provisions of the Constitution, including articles 4, 9, 10, 14, 19 and 25, it added.

“Surely, as the guardian of fundamental rights guaranteed under the Constitution, the apex court will not look the other way while the state acts with total impunity,” the petition said.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2023