PESHAWAR, May 2: Defence secretary Nargis Sethi on Wednesday said she would soon call a high-level meeting of security forces and intelligence agencies to resolve the missing person cases.

Ms Sethi told a bench comprising Chief Justice Dost Mohammad Khan and Justice Mian Fasihul Mulk that it had always remained the defence ministry’s endeavour to strictly follow the court orders in missing person cases and that the same would be implemented in letter and spirit in future.

Ms Sethi said the ministry had already provided valuable information to the Commission on Missing Persons. She admitted that such like issues had serious repercussions for the country on national and international levels.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary Ghulam Dastagir Akhtar, who was also in attendance, told the court that he would issue directives to all departments, including police, neither to keep people in illegal detention nor cooperate with those involved in such illegal activities.

He said strict action would be taken against people flouting his directives.

The bench exempted Ms Sethi and Mr Dastagir from appearing in person on the next hearings and asked them to submit complete report on May 16 about the steps they would take for the early resolution of the missing person cases.

May 16 is the next date of hearing into around two dozen cases of missing persons.

Expressing concern over growing number of missing person cases, the chief justice observed that these acts were illegal and unconstitutional, and also violated Article 10-A of the Constitution, which guaranteed people’s right to fair trial.

Several high level officials on Wednesday showed up on the court notice in the case about a ‘missing person’, Fazal Manan, of Qila Shah Baig in Charsadda.

Deputy attorney general Mohammad Iqbal Mohmand told the court that the office of inspector general of Frontier Corps had told him that the said person was freed recently. On learning that, the bench disposed of the case.

During the hearing, the chief justice said he had given several proposals to the government but received no positive response until now.

He said he had suggested to the government to refer the cases of those suspects, who were less harmful and were placed in category ‘C’ to the courts and that they would be set free after placing strict conditions to them, including heavy bonds, but the government didn’t respond to it.

The chief justice observed that the security forces had earned a good name for themselves by carrying out successful operations in Swat and tribal areas, but cases of illegal detentions had been tarnishing that image.

He said keeping in view the provisions of the Constitution regarding people’s fundamental rights, the government, especially the defence and interior ministries, was not supposed to defend illegal and unconstitutional acts of these agencies.

Judge advocate general of Pakistan Army Brigadier Nobahar said whenever the army received any order from the court, it complied with it and provided the sought-after information accurately.

He said discipline was strictly followed in the armed forces and no individual was allowed to act in an unconstitutional manner.

Adviser to the prime minister on human rights Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar told the court that the government had to face problems in explaining the ‘missing person’ phenomenon on international forums.

He said during a visit to the Haripur Central Prison, he found out that prisoners in juvenile section had written slogans in support of militants on walls.

He added that he then issued directives to the provincial government and prison department to check the activity as it would turn juvenile prisoners into militants.