Pak SC's damning 'whose above law' indictment of ISI over missing persons inaction

Herald Globe (ANI) Friday 10th February, 2012

The Supreme Court has adamantly asked the counsel of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and Military the Intelligence (MI) chiefs that missing prisoners of Adiala Jail be brought in the court by 7pm pm, warning that no 'authority is above the law'.

The court had earlier directed the counsel of ISI and MI chiefs Raja Irshad that the missing prisoners be presented before the court after Irshad told the court that four out of 11 prisoners picked up from Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi had died in custody, but of "natural causes".

Resuming the hearing on Friday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry questioned Irshad, "Which authority considers itself above the law and is intervening in court's matter."

Chaudhry asked Irshad why court's orders were not followed properly.

Irshad told the court that the prisoners were in poor health condition and that they could not be presented before the court. Justice Arif Khilji responded saying that if the patients should have been brought to the court even if they were to be brought on a "stretcher".

In his defense, Irshad presented a letter to the court which entailed the details of the prisoners' medical condition and stated that currently, they could not be moved out of the hospital.

The chief justice remarked that if the prime minister of Pakistan could be summoned to the court for not complying to its orders, then everybody else are compelled to obey the court's orders.

"Bring them [the patients] in helicopters, if they cannot be brought in cars," he said. (ANI)