ISLAMABAD: The Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court presided over the missing persons case today. The Additional Attorney General informed the court that the government has appointed Justice (retd) Faqir Muhammad Khokhar as the head of the Missing Persons Commission.
“The government has appointed a new commission head in place of Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal,” Additional Attorney General said adding that the government wants to establish a Missing Persons Tribunal through legislation.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar responded that legislation will have to be made for the Missing Persons Tribunal. The Additional Attorney General informed the court that a cabinet committee is already working on the legislation.
Justice Mazhar asked, “How long will the legislative process take to complete?”
Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail added, “The law already exists. Making someone disappear is a crime.” He added that if someone has committed a crime, then they should be tried. “If they have not committed a crime, then release them,” he added.
Additional Attorney General responded that the federal government wants to settle the issue of missing persons once and for all. Justice Mandokhail responded, “If the problem was to be solved, the issue of missing persons would have been solved.”
Justice Hassan Azhar Rizvi inquired, “How many missing persons has the Commission recovered so far?” He added, “Will the recovered ones come and tell where they were?”
Missing Persons Commission Registrar responded that the recovered ones do not tell where they were. Justice Mandokhail said, “We can only hope that the government will solve the problem. We cannot ask Parliament to make laws.”
The court adjourned the hearing of the case indefinitely.
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