Pakistan’s Supreme Court has expressed frustration over the protracted missing persons issue, with Justice Jamal Khan Mandokhail saying the government could have resolved the issue if it wanted to.
The court was hearing a case related to missing persons when another attorney general informed the court about the government’s decision to appoint Justice (retired) Fakir Muhammad Khokhar as the new head of the missing persons commission, replacing Justice (retd) Javed Iqbal, Express News reported.
The Attorney General also mentioned that the government intends to establish a court for missing persons through new legislation.
In response, Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar remarked that such legislation would be necessary to establish the court.
The Attorney General said the Cabinet committee was working on the legislative process and requested time to complete it.
Justice Mandokhail, however, stressed that the law already exists, saying that making someone disappear is a criminal act. He stressed that if a crime had been committed, a trial should be held and if no crime had been committed, the person should be released.
The court was told that the government wanted to systematically address the issue of missing persons, but Justice Mandokhail responded by saying that if the government really wanted to resolve the issue, it would have been resolved by now.
Furthermore, Justice Hassan Rizvi asked how many missing persons had been found by the commission and whether those found revealed their whereabouts.
The clerk of the missing persons commission explained that those found do not reveal their whereabouts.
Justice Masarat Hilali called for new legislation specifically for missing persons, and Justice Mandokhail concluded by saying: “We can only hope that the government will resolve the problem. We cannot ask Parliament to legislate on this issue.”
The court then adjourned the hearing sine die, leaving the matter unresolved for the time being.
