Days after Pakistan's Supreme Court warned it could act against Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif over the detention of people without charge by security agencies, new Defence Minister Khwaja Asif today claimed 738 "missing persons" from Balochistan had been found.
Asif made the claim when he appeared before a four-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry along with the Attorney General and Baloch leaders.
The court had recently directed Sharif, who earlier held the defence portfolio, to appear in person today or face "serious consequences" over slow progress in the case of 35 "missing persons".
To avoid a confrontation with the apex court, Sharif relinquished the defence portfolio and handed it over to Asif yesterday.
During today's hearing held in Karachi, Asif assured the bench that all detainees would be produced before it soon. He said it would take months, and not years, to find the rest of the missing.
Expressing dissatisfaction at progress in the case, the Chief Justice said people had pinned hopes on the PML-N government but the situation has not changed. Citing instances of people being abducted with the help of helicopters, the bench said the Inter-Service Intelligence agency's name keeps coming up in the case.
The 35 "missing persons" are believed to be in the custody of intelligence agencies. "Missing persons" is a term used for people detained without charge by security and intelligence agencies.
Many remain untraceable for years while the mutilated bodies of scores have been found across Balochistan province over the past few years. Outgoing Chief Justice Chaudhry has spearheaded a campaign to free the detainees.
The bench said the Frontier Corps (FC) is responsible for law and order in Balochistan and asked the paramilitary force's chief to appear before it and explain the situation.
Chaudhry said a case would be registered against the head of the FC if he failed to present the missing persons. He questioned whether the premier had watched television coverage of the families of the missing walking in protest from Quetta to Karachi.
