ISLAMABAD The Supreme Court on Wednesday observed that top military officials and other influential people have been involved in the cases of missing persons and asked who has empowered them to do so. A three-member bench of the apex court was hearing various petitions regarding the missing persons here on Wednesday. Justice Javed Iqbal, who headed the bench comprising Justice Mohammad Sair Ali and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, said, The names of Brigadiers and Majors are always mentioned when we took up the issue of kidnapped persons in the SC, asking, Who had given them power to do so? He also clarified the issue that the persons, who individually were picked up by the intelligence agencies, would only be considered missing persons. No other person can be called missing who is arrested by police, he explained. Justice Sair Ali observed that some persons were kept in detention under the law as they allegedly committed crime. However, they alleged that they were kept in detention illegally, which was not justice, he explained. The apex court, while hearing the plea of Mustafa Azam directed Major Ibrahim and the Inspector General Frontier Constabulary to appear before the court in case of missing persons and explain their point of view with regard to the statement of the father of an accused (Mustafa Azam). In response to arguments of Attorney General of Pakistan Anwar Mansoor Khan, Justice Javed said, What kind of democracy is being observed in the country where there is no respect for human rights. Justice Fayyaz remarked in Changeiz Mengal case that the FC was not authorised to make arrests or conduct investigations. The FC will do only those things, which have been specified under the law. It was the FC that interfered in civilian matters. It should not exceed the directives passed to it by the authorities concerned, he explained. The apex court further observed that the police failed to recover the missing persons. Therefore, their powers should be delegated to the FC. Meanwhile, Justice Fayyaz further said, It seems as we are in a Gestapo-like reign of terror... anyone can come into a house and kidnapped someone, adding, Where is the enforcement of law? Justice Javed deplored that system under which law enforcement agencies were working was on the verge of collapse. However, any interference by the apex court is termed as intransigence. It seemed that there was no accountability of influential people at any level in the state, he added. Frontier Constabulary had no rights to arrest and detain any person, Justice Javed said, adding, The apex court would be satisfied even if one person was recovered and the anxiety of one family was over. Father of Mustafa Azam told the court that the police informed him that they did not detain his son. However, they instructed him to approach Major Ibrahim of FC, who later told him that his son was freed after one hour. Meanwhile, Fareed Khan, an official of Interior Ministry informed him that his son was released after 15 minutes, Azam added. Besides, DSP Karachi Kanwar Raza sought apology from the court, as he was not able to appear before the court in the last hearing of the case. He said that he cooperated fully with Azam for early recovery of his son but he (Azam) was not satisfied. There is no semblance of law in affairs of FC, it has no right to arrest and detain any person, Justice Javed observed. Meanwhile, Anwar Mansoor Khan informed the court that he had not sought final instructions from the Federal Government regarding the issue yet. However, there seemed something wrong here with someone. On this point, Justice Sair Ali remarked, There is not something but everything is wrong here. The court also directed the AGP to explain rules of law under which FC is operating in the frontier region. The hearing was adjourned till next week.