A three-member Supreme Court bench was informed on Tuesday that releasing the Adiala Jail missing persons was impossible in the absence of Civil Authority’s regulations.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir informed the bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry that the suspects were arrested in the semi-autonomous north-western tribal belt, where the army had been fighting militants for around a decade.
He said none of the suspects could be freed until the end of operations in the Tribal Areas, and declined to say how long they had been in custody.
“The detained men can be handed over to authorities only after the operation is halted in the tribal region.”
The chief justice said the suspects must be put on trial and holding them indefinitely violated principles of human rights.
“These people cannot be kept in illegal custody for an indefinite period because it is against the constitution and basic fundamental rights,” he said.
“We don’t say you should release them, we want you to try them in accordance with the law,” the court added.
