The Supreme Court on Wednesday issued a notice to intelligence agencies directing them to present all seven prisoners of Adiala Jail on the next date of hearing.
A three-member SC bench, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Gulzar Ahmad and Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, also served notices to the attorney general and the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) advocate general in the Adiala Jail missing prisoners case.
During the proceedings, Tariq Asad, counsel for the missing prisoners, told the bench that his clients were convicted under the Army Act without their statements being recorded.
He said of the seven prisoners, Sajid and Basit were awarded two years’ imprisonment each while the other five were all imprisoned for 14 years.
Asad said when the heirs of the prisoners visited the jail to meet their relatives imprisoned there, they were not there.
Raja Arshad, counsel for the intelligence agencies, told the court that after the trial, prisoners were given in the custody of the political organisers of KP.
Expressing annoyance, the chief justice asked how could the accused be convicted without giving them an opportunity to clear their stance, adding that there was no rule under which a person could be convicted unheard.
Later, the bench issued notices to the intelligence agencies concerned, the attorney general and the KP advocate general and adjourned further proceedings until May 10.
