Court tells Defence Ministry to release missing persons’ lawyer

Rawalpindi bench of the Lahore High Court (LHC) on Thursday ordered the Defence Ministry to immediately release lawyer Col (r) Inamur Rahim, reportedly terming his arrest “illegal” and “unconstitutional”.

A representative of the Ministry of Defence had last week informed the LHC that Rahim was in the custody of law enforcement agencies and was currently being interrogated. The revelation had come during the hearing of a case related to Rahim’s abduction from his home in Rawalpindi on the night of December 16.

Rahim, who has fought court cases on behalf of the families of several missing persons, had been picked up by unidentified men from his home in Rawalpindi’s Askari 14. According to his son Husnain Inam, around eight to 10 persons had “picked up” his father.

“Detention of lawyer Colonel Retd Inam ur Rahim is illegal” Finally Lahore High Court Rawalpindi Bench rejected the claim of Defence Ministry that Inam ur Rahim is in the custody of an intelligence agency because he violated official secret act he was abducted from his home

— Hamid Mir حامد میر (@HamidMirPAK) January 9, 2020

The case was heard by Mirza Waqas of the LHC’s Rawalpindi bench.

According to The News, in a monthly progress report last year, the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (CIED) had reported that 6,051 cases had been registered before the CIED since March 2011.

Out of these, 3,793 cases had been “disposed”, while 2,258 cases were still pending. Significantly, out of the 3,793 cases “disposed” by the CIED, 743 “missing people” were traced to different internment centers.

Some 468 people were located in prisons; and 189 people were found to have passed away. The commission provided no information on steps taken to establish the circumstances behind these detentions or deaths.