File photo. Farooq Naeem—AFP
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday directed caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar to either appear before it in person on Nov. 29 or ensure the recovery of 55 “missing” Baloch students.
Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani issued the court’s order during a hearing regarding the implementation of recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances. Established in 2011 on orders of the IHC, the commission is tasked with tracing “missing” persons and fixing responsibility on the individuals or organizations responsible.
During today’s hearing, Assistant Attorney General Usman Ghumman submitted a ministerial report on Baloch missing persons, which the court returned after declaring it unsatisfactory. “The prime minister and interior minister are from Balochistan,” observed Justice Kayani. “They should be empathetic to this matter, considering it involves Baloch students,” he added, summoning Additional Attorney General Munawar Iqbal Dugal to the rostrum.
Recalling that former IHC CJ Athar Minallah had been hearing the case prior to his elevation to the Supreme Court, Justice Kayani noted the matter of enforced disappearances had been referred to the federal government. “The prime minister should have understood [the situation],” he said. “We expected he would say these are our children [and recover them,” he added.
He noted that the former prime minister and several high-profile individuals connected to the case had already been summoned by the court. Former premier Shehbaz Sharif appeared before the IHC in another case of missing persons last September. During his appearance, he assured the IHC of recovering the missing persons. Despite this, regretted the judge, there had been little progress in recovering the missing students. Stressing that there had been 21 hearings of the case, he said the court was still in the same position it had been on day one.
“We thought things would change gradually and people would return to their homes. And this was the responsibility of the state to ensure people reached their homes,” he remarked, adding that the prime minister, as well as the ministers for interior, human rights, and defense, would be summoned. “This was to be done by the executive, but the court is doing it,” he said. “Should we refer this matter to the United Nations and cause dishonor to our country?” he questioned, expressing concern over the increasing number of missing people.