Govt not discharging its obligations in missing persons cases: SC

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Supreme Court (SC) Justice Saqib Nisar on Thursday said the government is not discharging its obligations in missing persons’ case.
A two-member bench of the SC took up for hearing missing persons’ case of Mansoor Mehdi and Dr Abid Sharif. He also remarked, “Intelligence agencies don’t even bother to try for their exoneration from the investigation and they merely write to us that this man is not in their custody.”
He observed, “Protecting the citizens is responsibility of the state. If the institutions don’t get recover the missing persons despite having resources then it is their criminal negligence which can not be overlooked.”
He said, “Nine years have been elapsed and it is not known to any institution, including police that who picked up these persons and why and where they are now. As to why the government and intelligence agencies don’t make their position clear. If they were opposed to US or were Jehadi or they had enmity with some one then there would be some reasons behind their disappearance.”
He observed that what has been written in Pervez Musharraf’s book about selling of missing persons to US may be merely a presumption and facts could be different from that.
Justice Ejaz Afzal said, “Intelligence agencies have always refused first of all in respect of missing persons but when the court insisted on their production then the missing persons were found in their custody.”
Additional Attorney General Tariq Khokhar, Amna Masood Janjua and Punjab law officer Razzaq A Mirza appeared in the court.