Heading a three-judge bench Justice Javed Iqbal observed, "No one will be allowed to gain political mileage in the garb of the apex court as this forum can only be used for removing injustice from the society". When informed that an Information Desk had been established at the Interior ministry to facilitate the relatives of missing persons in compliance with the court's order, the court observed that well-informed persons should be deputed at the said desk so that accurate information could be provided to the relatives of missing persons.
The bench also announced to conduct the hearing of the cases every Wednesday and Thursday. A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed and Justice Muhammad Sair Ali was hearing petitions of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and President's spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar. The court directed the Deputy Attorney General Shah Khawar to obtain the list of those Pakistani nationals currently confined in Afghanistan, India, Malaysia and Gulf countries with the help of foreign office and submit report to the court.
Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed said information should be obtained about Pakistani nationals languishing in Bagram and Pul-i-Charkhi prisons in Afghanistan as there was strong possibility that some of the missing persons might have landed there. Attorney General, Anwar Mansoor suggested the court to constitute a judicial commission, comprising retired judges of the apex court to probe the whereabouts of the missing persons.
Justice Javed Iqbal, however, observed the commission could prove worthless as intelligence agencies were not co-operating for recovery of the missing persons and were creating problems in this regard. The AG told the court that 1600 people went missing till 2008, out of which 1300 went missing during 2006-07. While talking about one missing guy, Imran Munir, a dentist, he told the court that he was earlier sentenced to 8 years incarceration by the Field General Court Martial (FGCM) on the charges of espionage against the state's interest, however, later his sentence was set aside. He said, once again, his retrial was ordered.
Imran Munir is presently in police custody at a hospital in Islamabad on court's earlier order. He had disclosed earlier that during the custody he had met Masood Janjua. Muhammad Ikarm Chaudhry advocate informed the court that whereabouts of another missing person Atiq-ur-Rehman were still unknown. The court then directed Shah Khawar to take up the issue of Attiq-ur-Rehman with the Interior and Defence Secretaries.
The court also directed DIG Abbottabad, Syed Imtiaz to appear before the court on next hearing with all relevant record about disappearance of Atiq-ur-Rehman. Attiq-ur-Rehman, a senior scientific officer of Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission, went missing from Abbottabad in 2004 on the day of his wedding.
The court was informed that missing persons, including Arif Abbasi, Shoaib Ahmed Shawsani, Zahir Shah, Soorat Khan Marri, Karamatullah, Hafiz Munawar Hussain Sheikh, Darish Kumar, Gurdan Das Bhagat, Safdar Ali Shah and Muhammad Faisal Bhatti etc had been traced.
Justice Javed Iqbal pointed out that 80 percent missing persons had been recovered since the court intervened in the matter. He said a total of 106 missing persons had been traced out and only four were remaining. "You should also inform the people about this development during your press conferences instead of creating sensation", Justice Javed Iqbal asked Amina Janjua, spouse of missing Masood Janjua. Later the hearing was adjourned till January 27.