Justice Delayed

The Supreme Court justices who are hering missing persons' case are going through all the required motions to make us, all Pakistanis, believe that they are trying very hard to despense justice. But if look at the pace at which the wheels of justice are grinding there is no doubt left in any mind that they are helpless in the face of a dictatorship that is paying their salaries and other perks. There is only so much they can, or want to, do.

They try to give solace to disgruntled families of the kidnapped persons. They try to give warnings to the secretaries of defence and interior departments without putting any teeth in their warnings. They threaten them with dire consequences without daring to do so.

After a session of huffing and puffing they adjourn teir proceeding for another month or half while families cry their eyes and pull their hairs out for their loved ones who have gone missing for months and years on end. Nobody tells them where the missing people are. They are dead or alive. They are being tortured or have been sold into captivity in other countries where they sit in dark dungeons.

Once again the The Supreme Court on Monday has "directed" defence and interior secretaries to file concise statements explaining as to why they had not complied with the court directives in the case of another detainee, Imran Munir.

Justice Javed Iqbal, who was prompt in taking oath of Chief Justice when Musharraf had sached Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on March 9, is moving with a snail's pace to dispense justice. In its June 6 proceeding he had directed the government to arrange a meeting of legal counsel of Mr Abdul Mujeeb Pirzada with Imran Munir, a civilian, who was sentenced to eight-year imprisonment over charges of espionage by army's field general court martial (FGCM).

Obviously the government did not want to comply with Sureme Court's orders so no such meeting was arranged. On June 20, the court summoned Interior Secretary Kamal Shah and Defence Secretary Kamran Rasool in the court. The justices were told about the non-implementation of its order. The justices served notices on the two federal secretaries.

During the hearing on Monday, another missing person, Imran Ali Naqvi's distraught mother submitted that she had not been given a single chance so far to meet her son Imran Ali Naqvi, who is in state custody for the last one year. On her complaint, Justice Javed Iqbal took another "serious notice" and asked the Deputy Attorney General to explain under which law meetings with the detene by their relatives were being denied, saying that it was the "legal right" of the relatives and defense attorney "to meet detenues".

The bench adjourned the case till July 19 when the state attorney has been asked to submit medical report of Imran Munir.

After the hearing, father of Imran Munir, Dr Munir Ahmed, a dentist in Canada, told reporters that if he did not get justice in Pakistani courts then he would take his son's case to international forum.

Justice Javed Iqbal, who had previously threatened the secretaries with contempt of court in case of non-compliance of his orders, said that the court has no intention to initiate contempt proceedings against them even though they had failed to comply with court's direct orders. Justices could only ask the DAG as to “why the order of the court has been flouted by both the secretaries".

Justice has been delayed at least until July 19. The justices must be familiar with the adage: Justice delayed is justice denied.