The Supreme Court on Wednesday directed the petitioner of the Adiala Jail missing persons’ case to explain the jurisdiction under which the court was bound to hear the case.
The directions were given by a three-judge bench, comprising of Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Chaudhry, Justice Ejaz Afzal Khan and Justice Azmat Saeed, during the hearing of missing persons’ case.
The CJP said that first of all the bench had to see its jurisdiction in the case and after that the counsel could go further in his arguments. Tariq Asad, the petitioner, said the anti-terrorism court declared the said people innocent, but they were still kept in custody and were declared terrorists.
The CJP directed the petitioner to clear the jurisdiction in the next hearing and adjourned the case until February 28.
Earlier, during the course of proceedings, the bench was informed that the release of the suspected missing persons would be against the safety and security of the state, so the board, formed for the purpose, had decided not to release them.
Attorney General of Pakistan Irfan Qadir informed the bench that a medical examination of the said prisoners had also been completed.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Secretary Nasir Jamal presented a report in which he stated that 2 prisoners were involved in attack on security forces.
Showing displeasure over the report, the CJP said it was only based on medical grounds and nothing else. He directed to show the notification under which the government authorised the army to help them.
The AGP presented the copy of the notification before the court and said that these powers were conferred under Article 245 of the constitution. To which, the CJP said that the notification had no mention of Article 245.
