Intelligence agencies admit to holding 11 missing prisoners

Counsel for intelligence agencies says the men had been detained under the Army Act.

ISLAMABAD:?The intelligence agencies, on Thursday, admitted to holding 11 men who were missing after their release from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi.

This was stated by the counsel for intelligence agencies, Raja Irshad, in a written reply submitted in the Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday.

The counsel for intelligence agencies said the men had been detained under the Army Act and investigations were underway. The counsel claimed that the men were suspected of involvement in various terrorist acts committed in the past including the suicide attack which claimed the life of the Surgeon General of Pakistan Army Lt General Mushtaq and the attack on Army General Headquarters in Rawalpindi.

The 11 missing persons include Dr Niaz Ahmed, Mazharul Haq, Shafiqur Rehman, Mohammad Aamir, Syed Abdul Majid, Abdul Basit, Syed Abdul Saboor, Shafique Ahmed, Saeed Arab, Gul Roze and Tehseenullah and went missing from Adiala jail on May 28 this year after they were released.

The men were acquitted in four terrorism cases by a trial court, including charges under the Explosive Substance Act in April this year. They were arrested for rocket attack on Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra, firing anti-aircraft missile on a plane carrying former president Pervez Musharraf, and carrying out suicide attacks on the bus of an intelligence agency in Rawalpindi and at the main entrance of General Headquarters.

The relatives of the 11 missing men claim that they were picked up from the premises of the Adiala Jail by intelligence agencies, but?the intelligence agencies had been denying the accusation until now.

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Intelligence agencies are not above the law: CJ

The Chief Justice said the intelligence agencies are not above the law.

ISLAMABAD:?While hearing the case of the 11 missing prisoners, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhary said no one – including the intelligence agencies – is above the law.

During the proceedings, the Attorney General (AG) submitted the report of the intelligence agencies regarding the missing men to the court.

The Chief Justice took exception of the fact that the report was neither signed by Director General (DG) Intelligence Bureau nor DG Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).

To this, the Attorney General raised a procedural objection that since the intelligence agencies function under the Defence Ministry, a notice should be given to the defence secretary. The objection was later withdrawn by the Attorney General.

Justice Ramday at this point remarked that the AG was trying to pit two institutions of the state, the intelligence agencies and the court, against each other

The hearing of the case has been adjourned till December 13.

The 11 men, who disappeared from the jail in Rawalpindi, were acquitted by an anti-terrorism court (ATC) for want of evidence. They had been picked up for their suspected involvement in terrorist acts, including the GHQ attack and the assassination attempt on former president Pervez Musharraf.

The relatives of the 11 missing men claim that they were picked up from the premises of the Adiyala Jail by intelligence agencies, but the intelligence agencies have been denying this.

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