Justice Minallah made clear that the chief executive has to either resolve the matter or admit that the Constitution is not fully operative.
By Naveed Naqvi
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif Friday vowed to resolve the case of missing persons once and for all to the satisfaction of their families and in line with the wishes of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
The Prime Minister gave this assurance at a hearing into a case of missing persons by Chief Justice Islamabad High Court Justice Athar Minallah.
The Chief Justice remarked that the court has summoned the PM because this is a huge issue, which has been under consideration in this court for many months, but the state has not responded constructively.
He said that a chief executive who ruled this country for 9 years proudly wrote in his book that Pakistani citizens were being picked up arbitrarily and handed over to foreign governments. “It seems that this was the policy of the state”, Justice Minallah said. “There cannot be a state within the state”.
“The matter has been referred to the federal cabinet, and you have formed a cabinet committee”, Justice Minallah said. “This is not just a matter of committee formation. This court has deemed it appropriate to tell you about the real issue.”
The Chief Justice said that the Missing Persons Commission was formed and its proceedings which came out are very painful.
“It is the responsibility of the state to resolve their sufferings”, said the CJ. “No action has been taken in this connection, and this perception affects our national security. The political leadership has to address this issue.”
Maintaining taht disappearing a person is the biggest form of torture, Justice Minallah said the court is not an investigation agency but a constitutional court, which has no other option but to ask the executive. “When the state comes and says that we do not know who made the people missing, then what should we do?”
The court appreciated that the PM had chosen to appear in the court in view of the gravity of the matter although he was busy working for the flood relief and rehabilitation. “Enforced disappearances are a violation of the Constitution”, the CJ said. “You have to either resolve this matter or accept that the Constitution is not fully operative. The national security of this country is in your hands.”
Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif said that it was his duty to appear on the order of the court. The Secretary General of the United Nations is in Pakistan”, he said. “I had a meeting with him but when I got the order of the court, I said that I will go to the court”.
Sharif told the court how the three-year-old child of a Mudassir Naru had pleaded with him to reunite him with his father. “This sentence of the child was very disturbing for me”, he said. “I will not stop at anything to meet my responsibility.”
The PM assured the court that he will reunite the missing persons with their families, and will leave no stone unturned to solve the case. “I am answerable [in this matter] to Allah Almighty and the people”.
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