ISLAMABAD - The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday said that state should be held responsible if a person goes missing.
The court said that the chief executives of the country are ultimately answerable for such acts and it remarked that if they all should be charged under Article 6 (high treason) of the Constitution.
The Chief Justice IHC Justice Athar Minallah gave the remarks while hearing a petition filed by the family of a missing journalist Mudassar Naru.
Expressing displeasure over the practice of enforced disappearances, the IHC Chief Justice remarked that if senior government officials can be tried under Article 6 of the Constitution. He continued that if the practice of whisking people away continued, then the court would initiate proceedings under Article 6 and include the chief executives in the case too.
He said that there was no accountability in Pakistan. The Commission for Inquiry of Enforced Disappearances, he said, was formed but it does nothing except postpone hearings. He said that there are thousands of families whose loved ones have gone missing, but no one bothers with them.
Court says chief executives of country ultimately answerable for such incidents
The IHC CJ made it clear that there is no “state within a state” in Pakistan as the country has a Constitution and laws but still no investigations were conducted in the missing person cases.
He maintained that state is responsible for the incidents of missing persons and this practice should be ended. He said that even a terrorist cannot be extra-judicially killed.
During the hearing, Attorney General Khalid Jawed Khan told the court Naru’s family met Prime Minister Imran Khan earlier this month and the government was serious about the recovery of the missing person. He said that the government needed more time to submit a report on the matter.
Regarding Justice Athar’s remarks on Article 6, the AGP said that even the government could not implement sentences given under Article 6. Then, Justice Athar remarked that let’s build a ’Hall of Shame’ for displaying pictures of all chief executives. He said that the court could decide for the government and hold all past and incumbent chief executives responsible for the heinous practice.
The IHC CJ remarked that a person went missing from Islamabad last year and then it was said that he had gone to the Northern Areas for a picnic. He said that there was an impression that enforced disappearance was the policy of the state.
Justice Athar said that he does not know if the media is free or not, but if it were, then pictures of the missing persons would have been on the front page. He said that either the chief executive take responsibility for the missing persons or he holds his subordinates (involved in this practice) accountable.
He said that practice of enforced disappearances has been going on in Pakistan since 1970s. The AGP Khan said that not every issue can be fixed by the courts as some issues can only be resolved by people themselves. He said that they should come out on streets (to protest) and added that since 70s extra-judicial murders have been taking place in Pakistan.
Justice Athar responded that the court verdict can fix issues if the government identifies the ones responsible for this practice. He maintained that when there is an impression that the state is involved in these crimes, then nothing can be more serious than that.
Khan said that he was ready to assist the court in the matter as he supported democracy and rule of law. Naru’s counsel Iman Mazari also expressed her willingness to assist the bench.
Later, the bench deferred the hearing till January 18 for further proceedings in this matter.