Indict or release missing by 21st: SC
By Saad Saud

ISLAMABAD—A seven-member bench of the Supreme Court Tuesday directed the government to release or initiate trial in accordance with law against persons allegedly detained by law and enforcing agencies from various parts of the country. It adjourned the hearing of case of missing persons for September 21 as requested by the Attorney General.
The bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar, Justice Muhammad Nawaz Abbasi, Justice Faqir Muhammad Khokhar, Justice Mian Shakirullah Jan, Justice M. Javed Buttar and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed heard the case in detail and expressed its dissatisfaction over progress in tracing or releasing missing persons. The bench said that the court now had overwhelming evidence about the missing persons and would never accept further excuses. “We are clear that if some of them are involved in serious offences then they should be tried but in accordance with the provisions of the Constitution and the law,” the bench observed.
Attorney General Malik Muhammad Qayyum who appeared before the court in person on notice requested the bench to adjourn the matter for at least two weeks and assured to make all efforts for tracing missing persons and release of those found if they were not involved in serious offences. Shazia Azhar and her brother Hafiz Tahir were also produced before the court on the direction of the court by the government. They also recorded their statement before the court about their arrest as well as their cases. Deputy Attorney General Nahida Mehboob Elahi apprised the bench that about 159 persons had already been traced and out of these 98 had been released so far.
The Chief Justice heading the seven member bench made it clear that this case would be heard by the larger bench as the Court had decided to lay down some guidelines in this important case. The government has already released Aleem Nasir and Hafiz Abdul Basit who were detained by the security agencies over different allegations. Both were present in the courtroom during the proceedings. Imran Munir facing Court Martial on spying charges, who is now in the custody of Islamabad Police, appeared before the court on judicial direction.
The bench directed the Ministry of Interior and the Ministry of Defence to make all out efforts to trace missing persons mentioned in the 40 petitions before the next hearing of the case. The bench directed Zulfiqar Maluka advocate and Shaukat Siddiqui advocate to submit record of the cases of Aleem Nasir and Hafiz Abdul Basit respectively. Asima Jehangir advocate, Muhammad Ikram Chaudhry advocate, Mujeeb Pirzada advocate, Shaukat Siddiqui advocate, Col. (Retd) Muhammad Akram advocate and Muhammad Naeem Sheikh advocate besides others appeared before the bench on behalf of the petitioners.