Pak Chief Justice threatens to summon chief of intelligence agencies

Pakistans Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has said that heads of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and other agencies would be summoned if the missing people are not released.

Islamabad, Oct 6 : Pakistan's Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has said that heads of Inter Services Intelligence (ISI), Military Intelligence (MI) and other agencies would be summoned if the missing people are not released.

The Chief Justice is heading a two-member bench of the apex court hearing pleas for recovery of missing people.

During the hearing, the bench grilled Defence Secretary Kamran Rasool and Interior Secretary Syed Kamal Shah, and directed them to meet the heads of intelligence agencies to know the whereabouts of the missing people.

The secretaries were asked by the court to submit a report in the court by October 11.

The bench observed that there was substantial evidence that the missing people were in the custody of the agencies, and if they were not freed, cases would be registered against those responsible for keeping them in illegal custody.

Deputy Attorney-General Naheeda Mehboob Elahi told the court that 15 more people had been found, 12 of them had been freed and three were facing charges.

The Daily Times quoted Elahi as saying that efforts were being made to locate the missing people.

Human rights activist Asma Jehangir said that it is ironical that agencies tortured people before releasing them and the court had to issue orders for their treatment.

She said there were concrete evidences that the missing people were in the custody of intelligence agencies.

The Chief Justice said the court could not abdicate its responsibility of protecting fundamental rights of the people as guaranteed in the Constitution.

He said that the court did not want to take any extreme step but if it is forced to do so, the responsibility would lie on the government.

"If we abrogate the whole system, these agencies will be free to do any thing. The people will not come to us. They will decide things in streets," the Chief Justice said.

The bench admonished the government for not taking the issue seriously and said that the court had evidence that Masood Janjua and Faisal Mirza were in the custody of secret agencies and 110 missing people had been freed from their custody.

ANI