Summary CJP observed that these people cannot be kept in illegal custody for an indefinite period.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - A three-member bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday resumed hearing into the Adiala Jail missing prisoners’ case.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir informed the court that the Adiala Jail missing persons’ release was impossible in absence of Civil Authority’s regulations.
Qadir told the court that the suspects were arrested in the semi-autonomous northwestern tribal belt, where the army has been fighting militants for around a decade. He said none of the suspects could be freed until the end of operations in the tribal belt, and declined to say how long they had been in custody.
“The detained men can be handed over to authorities only after the operation is halted in the tribal regions.”
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said the suspects must be put on trial and holding them indefinitely violated their human rights. “These people cannot be kept in illegal custody for an indefinite period because it is against the constitution and basic fundamental rights,” he said.
“We don’t say you should release them… we want you to try them in accordance with the law,” the court added.
