PM should leave office if can't perform his duties: Islamabad High Court on missing Baloch students

Islamabad [ Pakistan], February 20 : The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has again summoned Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar while hearing a petition seeking the recovery of missing Baloch students, as he failed to appear before the court on Monday, as reported by The Nation.
Presided over by Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, the IHC single bench conducted a hearing regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances and a petition seeking the recovery of missing Baloch students.
Attorney General for Pakistan Mansoor Usman Awan represented the government during the hearing. Justice Kayani inquired about PM Kakar's absence, to which Awan mentioned the PM's engagements in Karachi, as per The Nation.
The court, questioning the absence of defence and interior ministers, emphasized the urgency of addressing the petition filed in 2022, which led to the formation of a commission for enforced disappearances.
According to The Nation, Justice Kayani expressed concern over the delay in recovering individuals who have no criminal records. He highlighted that the summons issued to the prime minister aimed at scrutinizing the state's accountability in enforcing its duties.
Addressing AGP Awan, the IHC Judge said that he had submitted an affidavit that no person would go missing in future, yet a person is missing from Islamabad's F-6 without a first information report against him.
The IHC judge said that the purpose of summoning the prime minister was to inquire why the state's premier was failing to perform his duties. He added, "We have charges against our institutions regarding enforced disappearances. If the prime minister, defence minister and secretary, and the interior minister and secretary cannot perform their duties then they should leave their posts."
AGP Awan said that "When the elected government comes into power, it will look at the matter afresh."
At this, the judge said there was one government for three-and-a-half years, then another for 16 months, and then the caretakers but nothing came out of it. There are direct allegations against institutions here.
He pointed out that he would constitute a committee comprising heads of the ISI (Inter-Services Intelligence), MI (Military Intelligence) and the IB (Intelligence Bureau). The AGP again urged the court to adjourn the matter till the elected government assumes responsibilities.
During the hearing, PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat also appeared before the court and said that a day ago, the Islamabad police and [state] institutions conducted a raid at his house.
He asserted that he was present at the house and his children were present yet the doors of his house were broken down. The Islamabad police were the biggest criminals. The PTI lawyer further alleged that his house was raided without a warrant.
The IHC bench issued directives to the interior secretary to summon the Islamabad police chief and the head of the Counter Terrorism Department (CTD) at the next hearing.
He added that it was a matter of shame that all this was happening with a lawyer and an MNA-elect. They were not talking about Lakki Marwat but about Islamabad's F-8.
Awan requested the court to give him time till the last week of March.
Human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari said that a few people were recovered but then in February, people went missing again."
She recalled that even though the AGP had submitted an affidavit to the Supreme Court, people went missing in Balochistan. "The policy of forced disappearances is now of the state," she added.
Marwat alleged that in abduction cases in Islamabad, the Islamabad police themselves were involved. He stated that 36 cases were filed against him for being affiliated with the PTI and he was on bail in all cases yet there was a raid last night.
Justice Kayani warned that if any person was abducted from within the premises of the IHC, the interior secretary, Islamabad IG and the CTD in charge would be responsible for it.
The court ordered AGP Awan to submit a list of the missing who had allegedly gone missing recently. Justice Kayani said that he would issue an order for constituting a three-member committee of the director generals of the country's intelligence agencies.
Later, the IHC bench again summoned PM Kakar and the secretary of the interior and secretary of defence to appear before the court on the next hearing and deferred the case till February 28 for further proceedings.