ISLAMABAD, Jan 02 (NNI): Chief Justice of Pakistan, Justice Qazi Faez Isa has said that the Supreme Court wants to resolve the missing persons’ case and the matter will be resolved when everybody realizes and take responsibility.
He said Pakistan belongs to all of us, even those who may have different points of view. “This matter will only be resolved when we all work together and take responsibility. Let’s make Pakistan strong from within. If Pakistan is strong from within, no outside forces can touch it,” the chief justice added.
CJP Qazi Faez Isa expressed these remarks while hearing petitions on missing persons and enforced disappearances on Tuesday.
A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Isa and comprising Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musarrat Hilali heard the case.
At the outset of the hearing, petitioner Khushdil Khan Malik said that the court should order the government to enact legislation related to forced disappearances.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar said that a commission related to forced disappearances has been formed, on which the Chief Justice asked which commission has been formed?
The petitioner argued that the Missing Persons Commission was formed under the chairmanship of Justice ® Javed Iqbal, but it has not done anything so far. The court should issue a notice to the government and ask why it has not enacted legislation regarding the missing persons for 50 years.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan remarked that how could the court order the Parliament to enact such and such legislation? Which Article of the Constitution allows the Court to order the Parliament to legislate? Every organization should stay within its limits.
Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar made it clear that the court does not have the power to legislate, it could only declare the law null and void.
At this juncture, Aitzaz Ahsan’s lawyer Shoaib Shaheen came to the rostrum.
The Chief Justice told him that he is not Aitzaz Ahsan’s lawyer, to which Shoaib Shaheen said that Latif Khosa’s son is under arrest, so he has been given a power of attorney.
The Chief Justice of Pakistan remarked that he is hearing the petitions by dismissing the objections as it is a matter of public interest, and the court wants to resolve the matter. He said that something happened in his absence and he has fixed these petitions for hearing as soon as he returned.
Lawyer Shoaib Shaheen said that the point of disappearance of people and then appearing in a way was raised, the court asked him what does he want the court to do, tell us your request. The lawyer said that the Commission on Missing Persons did not and could not do its work.
The Chief Justice inquired when this commission was made and whose government was there, Shoaib Shaheen said that the commission was formed in 2011 during the PPP government. The Chief Justice remarked that Aitzaz Ahsan wants to suspend the notification of his own government.
Shoaib Shaheen said that according to the commission’s report, 2,200 people are still missing. Justice Mian Muhammad Ali Mazhar said in his remarks that the report also states how many people were recovered.
The Chief Justice remarked that Aitzaz Ahsan himself was a minister in the PPP government, to which Shoaib Shaheen said that he was probably not a minister when the commission was formed. The Chief Justice asked whether Aitzaz Ahsan is still in the PPP. Shoaib Shaheen said that yes, he is still in PPP.
Shoaib Shaheen also raised the issue of disappearances of Sheikh Rasheed, Sadaqat Abbasi and others.
The Chief Justice remarked that have all these people themselves become petitioners before us? He asked if these people do not have the means to come to court.
“If you want to politicize this issue, then this is not the forum. The person who can bring a review in the sit-in case can’t file his own case. What if Sheikh Rashid says tomorrow, he has no problem, who is Shoaib Shaheen, who is taking my name? How many times has Sheikh Rashid himself been a minister? Would you place Sheikh Rasheed in the category of innocent people,” the CJP asked the lawyer.
The Chief Justice asked the lawyer if he is sad because these people have left the PTI. “Shall we tell them to come back to PTI? Either someone has been whisked away in front of Aitzaz Ahsan, then he should speak or someone himself comes and says that I was kidnapped, so let us listen, how can you speak in their stead? Shoaib Shaheen are you their witness,” the Chief Justice asked the lawyer.
Shoaib Shaheen said that the whole of Pakistan is a witness, on which the Chief Justice said, “You should not speak such dialogues, you mentioned only one party’s people, they all left their party, we have no solution. We want to take this matter very seriously.”
Shoaib Shaheen said that we have also raised the issue of Baloch missing persons in the application.
The Chief Justice remarked that he would not allow the court to be used for political purposes, ‘if you make fun of us, we will not allow it. Who is Mohammad Khan Bhatti? And what about you?’
Shoaib Shaheen said that earlier they were missing but now they have been produced. The Chief Justice told him off saying “how can you say that. We cannot allow political point scoring.”
Shoaib Shaheen said that Shireen Mazari presented a bill on this matter which disappeared.
The Chief Justice inquired whether Shireen Mazari resigned on this issue. The Chief Justice remarked that the problem is that when everyone is in office, no one takes responsibility. “Did the bill disappear from the Senate? Who is the chairman senate who was made by whose vote,” the CJP asked.
Shoaib Shaheen said that Sadiq Sanjrani became the chairman of the Senate by the vote of the senators. He elaborated that he became the chairman senate with the support of the PPP and PTI.
The Chief Justice remarked ‘the Chairman Senate, elected by the vote of your party, lost your bill, did you request his removal? You made a serious allegation on the Chairman Senate’.
Shoaib Shaheen said that he did not make any request on this matter in the application, this whole incident is written as a background.
The Chief Justice said in his remarks ‘if you mentioned the disappearance of the bill, then make Sadiq Sanjrani a party. If the bill was disappeared, then this case has become a case of disappearance of bill instead of disappearance of people’.
The CJP asked the lawyer to show him the bill.
Shoaib Shaheen told that he don’t have that bill, on which the Chief Justice said that thy have printed that bill from here and this bill belonged to Sheikh Rashid Ahmed.
The Chief Justice said ‘he also mentioned Imran Riaz, who is this? Is Imran Riaz still missing? He is not missing now, but when he returned home, the situation was different. Isn’t Imran Riaz influential? Wasn’t Muti Allah Jan abducted? Why are you not including the names of Matiullah Jan and Asad Toor, you are taking the names of people who won’t say that they were abducted while Matiullah Jan and Asad Toor did not say that they went to the northern areas’.
Shoaib Shaheen said that he appeared in the case of Mutiullah Jan.
The Chief Justice remarked that before all this happened, we were hearing the case with notice, but at that time the case was not allowed to proceed, you would have written the names of all the journalists without any discrimination.
Shoaib Shaheen argued that if he speaks in 2023, he would mention only those who are being picked up, not those who are getting protocol.
The Chief Justice inquired whether he has prepared a list of who has been missing since when? “You said that what the Prime Minister said about the disappearance of 50 people is wrong, if you had given a list with dates, we would have seen in whose government this happened, maybe your government would have been included in it.”
The Chief Justice asked who is the head of the missing persons commission? Shoaib Shaheen said that Justice ® Javed Iqbal is the head of the commission.
The Chief Justice asked him whether you are satisfied with Javed Iqbal or want to change him.
Shoaib Shaheen said that he wants a new commission of international standards to be formed, on which the Chief Justice asked whether your government replaced Javed Iqbal.
Shoaib Shaheen said that Javed Iqbal was not replaced by any government. The Chief Justice said that you cannot take responsibility? The lawyer said that he cannot take responsibility for this matter, the case can be dismissed.
The Chief Justice remarked that ‘the case will not be dismissed now, we will find a solution to this problem’.
Shoaib Shaheen said that God willing, this is what we want. The Chief Justice remarked “Pakistan belongs to us all, we have to fix things together, pointing fingers at each other does not end hatred, it is too much. A minister cannot protect her bill, how will they protect the missing persons?”
After that, the court adjourned the hearing till 11:30 pm tomorrow (Jan 03). NNI
