As T S Eliot might say, the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) has come full circle to the beginning and discovered it for the first time. The SC has the writ jurisdiction to inquire into the actions of the ubiquitous military and its intelligence agencies. But the critical question remains: will the SC exercise its rightful power in the public interest or continue to cower in fear of the military? Consider.
advertisement
When a political activist goes "missing" or "disappears", he is presumed by his kith and kin to be detained by the secret military "agencies". A Habeas Corpus (literally "produce the body") writ in a High Court routinely draws a blank or crashes into a dead- end: the court orders the home departments of provincial governments to produce the person, failing which it orders the Attorney General of Pakistan (AGP) to explain the facts of the case.
The AGP can say that no authority in the country is holding the missing person - in which case the petition is dismissed - or he can admit that the person is being detained by a military agency and add that the high cour
Continue Reading on India Today
This preview shows approximately 15% of the article. Read the full story on the publisher's website to support quality journalism.