'Missing' jail prisoners' mother dies of shock after seeing sons in miserable condition in Pak SC

Islamabad, Feb 15 (ANI): Rohaifa, the mother of three detainees of Adiala Jail, who had filed the petition in the Supreme Court regarding the release of prisoners, has died of shock after seeing her two sons in a miserable condition in the courtroom.

Tariq Asad, the counsel for Rohaifa, confirmed that she died of cardiac arrest on Tuesday after seeing her sons Abdul Majid and Abdul Basit on Monday, the Daily Times reports.

She said that if the detainees were subject to Army Act, the court should declare that the arrest, detention and the proceedings of trial were not in a lawful manner, and direct the respondents to set the detainees at liberty in the interest of justice and fair play.

"In case, after probe, it is found that the arrest and proceedings have not been conducted in accordance with law, [the court should] declare that the detainees were in illegal confinement and subjected to torture," she said in her petition.

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heard the case on Minday.

During the case proceedings, Chaudhry inquired about the prisoners and asked where they were before January 26.

The Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa chief secretary replied saying that he did not have knowledge regarding the whereabouts of the prisoners, to which Chaudhury said: "A provincial chief secretary should be aware of everything that happens in the province."

Counsel of the prisoners Advocate Tariq Asad informed the court that during the confinement, which lasted for over a year, the prisoners were not exposed to the sunlight which worsened their health.

Asad further told the court that three out of the seven prisoners were suffering from kidney failure, while the rest were diagnosed with other chronic diseases. (ANI)