SC asks government to produce missing persons
Over the past few years the issue of missing persons has put the credibility of the government, security agencies, army, law enforcement agencies, and even that of the judiciary’s, in doubt. The whereabouts of those who were illegally and forcefully taken into custody have been shrouded in mystery, but the Supreme Court has now gone ahead and cracked a whip, finally taking the government to task with its judgment in the missing persons’ case by asking it to produce them in the court within a week. Declaring it a “binding judgment”, the court found army responsible for taking away 35 persons from Malakand detention centre, in a totally unauthorised and illegal manner.
That there are 721 cases of the similar nature pending in the courts is a travesty of justice, and that the government has been unable to produce them, despite repeated orders by the court, speaks volumes about the inefficiency of all concerned. The bench, headed by the outgoing Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, said the court was annoyed with DG FC’s absence and asked the acting DG FC to appear before it. The court was furious over the fact that its orders were either partly carried out or ignored. However, the enthusiasm and manner in which it pursued the case in the present political dispensation stands in stark contrast to that of the last government, where the SC showed no leniency and grilled the PPP government at at every opportunity. There have been no contempt proceedings against anyone in the N League government though quite a few in the PPP government had to face the court’s wrath. The court also asked the attorney general to ask the government to make legislations to prevent forced disappearances. The court thought that if the government, particularly the PM, wanted to resolve this issue, it won’t take them more than 24 hours.
With the retirement of CJ Iftikhar Chaudhry, under whose watch the judiciary saw unprecedented judicial activism in the country, sometimes even on issues as trivial as fixing sugar prices, the missing persons case will now be handed over to the new Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani. How he manages it will set the tone of his stint as the top judge in the country. If he can get this case sorted out, though he didn’t start it, could turn out to be his lasting legacy.
