ISLAMABAD: After suffering for more than a year the pain and agony of struggling to trace the whereabouts of her husband, Abida Malik was delighted on Friday to learn that her spouse had finally been found.
A document bearing the good news was read out by Additional Attorney General Shah Khawar before a three-judge Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk.
Written by legal director of the defence ministry, and addressed to Mr Khawar, the document said: “I am directed to refer the CMA pending adjudication in the Supreme Court and to submit that Tasif Ali was apprehended on March 5, 2014, and has been interned at Internment Centre, Lakki Marwat, under Action (in Aid of Civil Powers) Regulations 2011.”
Earlier, the custody of Tasif Ali alias Danish was not being acknowledged by any of the intelligence agencies.
Though visibly relieved, the court observed that it was not going to dispose of the matter immediately and ordered the authorities concerned to make arrangements for a meeting between Mr Ali, his wife and father-in-law within a week. The case will be taken up again on March 20.
“Now that his whereabouts have been traced, we will pursue his case in the relevant court of law,” retired Colonel Inam-ur-Rahiem, the counsel for Ms Malik, told Dawn.
He also wondered how a man of Kashmiri origin arrested in Rawalpindi could be detained in an internment centre in Lakki Marwat.
The case had also established that investigation was the prime duty of police which could not be snatched by any sitting military officer, irrespective of rank or status, he added.
At the last hearing on Feb 26, the court had rejected a request of the defence ministry to allow prosecution under the Pakistan Army’s Act (PAA), 1952, of Maj Mohammad Ali Ahsan of the Military Intelligence (MI) for his alleged involvement in the enforced disappearance of Mr Ali.
The court had asked the Punjab police to continue its ongoing probe and bring the accused (Maj Ahsan) under investigation.
Tasif Ali, an activist of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, went missing on Nov 23, 2012, and was allegedly picked up by Maj Ahsan, who was then captain and posted at the MI-918, Mangla Cantonment.
The matter was reported to the Sadiqabad police station on Dec 5, 2012, and later was heard by the Lahore High Court on March 19, 2013. The case was, however, dismissed.
In her complaint, Ms Malik had alleged that harsh words were exchanged between her husband and a caller, believed to be Maj Ahsan, during a conversation on Nov 22, 2012, at about 4pm.
On the next day, her husband went to offer Friday prayers and never came back.