Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa Tuesday maintained that private militias are illegal and they cannot be against the state, as the Supreme Court conducted the hearing of a case pertaining to missing persons and enforced disappearances in the country.
The case was taken up by the apex court following petitions filed by multiple individuals including lawyer Aitzaz Ahsan.
A three-member bench headed by CJP Isa and comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Musrat Hilali took up the case and conducted its hearing.
The chief justice, following the adjournment of the hearing till today, said the court will now ensure the resolution of the missing persons issue, also summoning the Attorney General for Pakistan, Mansoor Usman Awan, to arrive before the bench in the next hearing.
“If we solve it together, the problem of missing persons will be resolved,” he said, adding that the resolution of this matter will strengthen Pakistan internally.
CJP Isa also acknowledged the rights of citizens to conduct peaceful demonstrations who were protesting against the disappearances of their loved ones.
“There are also concrete cases of missing persons,” the CJP said.
The chief justice remarked that people in Pakistan often disappear after joining certain organisations, pointing at the anti-state entities present in the country. “The tradition of joining these organisations should end.”
He maintained that what is happening in Pakistan does not happen anywhere in the world. CJP Isa insisted that all parties must “accept responsibility” in this matter.
The chief justice, however, pointed out that the petitions filed by Ahsan reflected a “political” inclination while raising the issue of enforced disappearances, as those named “disappeared” in the petitions were all politicians of a particular political party.
“Your application reflects politics. Don’t make it political,” CJP Isa said when addressing Shoaib Shaheen, the lawyer representing Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf in the plea against the enforced disappearances of its members. The chief justice, however, termed them “influential”.
