Islamabad High Court Chief Justice Athar Minallah stated that forced disappearance is tantamount to treason and warrants the filing of a treason case against the perpetrator, while also stating that failure to stop the forced disappearance demonstrates that the government is inept.
On Friday, Chief Justice Minallah heard the case of journalist Mudassar Naro and other missing persons in Islamabad.
The CJ stated that forced disappearances in a country governed by a constitution were unacceptable. If the executive did not have authority over the state institutions, then the executive would be held accountable, adding that “why not the court will hold the chief executive liable for the disappearances?”
He stated that the forced disappearance invokes terrorism terms, claiming that “it is treason.”
The chief judge bemoaned the government’s failure to listen to the long-protesting Baloch students. “When people go missing, it demonstrates the state’s incapacity,” he added.
During the hearing, the assistant attorney general informed the court that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police and other relevant departments worked tirelessly to locate Mudassar Naro. A body was also discovered near the Kanhar River’s bank. But it wasn’t Mudassar’s, he clarified.
On this, the CJ questioned whether it was not the inability of governmental institutions to discover Naro.
He expressed his expectation that the federal government will tremble as a result of this case.
According to the AAG, the state is taking the situation seriously. However, the CJ requested that he demonstrate to the court any progress achieved in this instance. He stated that the federal and provincial governments were jointly accountable for addressing the missing person issue. “No one can go missing without their consent,” said Justice Minallah.
