ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court’s Constitutional Bench emphasized on Tuesday that parliament alone has the power to address and end the illegal but long-standing practice of enforced disappearances, a problem that has afflicted the country for many years.
Speaking to senior counsels Barrister Aitzaz Ahsan and Sardar Latif Khan Khosa, Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail, a member of the six-judge Constitutional Bench, noted that parliament must find a solution to this issue.
“Parliament must now demonstrate that it is the highest authority, as the court has always acknowledged,” he stated.
The bench, led by Justice Aminuddin Khan, had considered many petitions concerning enforced disappearances. It sent notices to the interior ministry and the attorney general’s office, requesting that all parties involved provide thorough reports at the following hearing, which is scheduled for one week from now.
A three-judge Supreme Court bench led by former Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa issued an order on January 3 of this year, directing the federal government to provide a written commitment signed by the highest ranking officials of the relevant ministries that no citizen would be detained unless required by law.
To help it with the case, the court at the time designated senior attorney Faisal Siddiqui as an amicus curiae.
Mr. Siddiqui expressed regret on Tuesday that 350 additional persons had disappeared following the government’s guarantee, emphasizing that state representatives were defying earlier court rulings.
In response to Justice Khan’s observation that the court sought to find a solution, Justice Mandokhail said that stakeholders needed to unite in order to address the missing persons issue.
Mr. Siddiqui reminded the bench that the highest court had requested a progress report during the last hearing, but that no record had been submitted as of yet. He noted that loved ones of different families had been missing for ten to twenty years.
Amina Masood Janjua, the chairperson of the defense of human rights, later told the media that she was handling 1,380 instances involving missing people. Since the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED) had not addressed the concerns of the missing’s families, she recommended that a truth and reconciliation commission be constituted in its place.
Recovered individuals are not forthcoming.
Deputy Attorney General Malik Javed Iqbal Wains told the court during the hearing that Monday’s cabinet meeting had addressed the missing persons issue. The responsibility of making recommendations to address the persistent issue of enforced disappearances had been assigned to a subcommittee.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar asked if the commission had information on the individuals who were responsible for the disappearances and how many missing people had been found by the CIED. Additionally, Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi asked if those who had been rescued had revealed who had kidnapped them.
At this point, Justice Mandokhail noted that people who went back home frequently kept their captors’ names a secret. “They just say they went to Northern Areas for a few days of excursion when they get back,” he said.
Speaking to Mr. Khosa, Justice Musarrat Hilali asked if members of his political party, the PTI, who had just been picked up had revealed who had abducted them when they got back.
Mr. Khosa responded by saying that if such information were made public, the offspring of those who vanished might likewise be singled out.
Many people went back to their homes after the Balochistan High Court’s directives, according to Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan. He did lament, though, that these people frequently chose not to testify in any court of law to make declarations regarding their experiences.
Justice Afghan noted that some cases had damaged the state’s credibility and that it would be conceivable to start court-martial procedures against individuals responsible for enforced disappearances if they were forthcoming.
“Commentary on politics”
The court dissuaded Mr. Khosa from making political remarks after he implied that the nation had devolved into a “deep state.”
Rather, it suggested that the matter be settled by a joint session of parliament or a session of the National Assembly.
In addition to pointing out that Balochistan was the province most impacted by missing persons, the attorney questioned whether the issue of missing persons should be handled similarly to the 26th amendment.
He was given the assurance by Justice Mandokhail that the amendment package will be taken into consideration by the court in due time. He reaffirmed that MPs were the source of a solution to this enduring problem for both the country and the court.
