'Gestapo-like reign of terror' prevailing in country: Pak Supreme Court - India News and Travel Times Provides India-centric and other News and Features

The Pakistan Supreme Court has said 'Gestapo-like situation' was prevailing in the country, emphasizing that top military officials and other influential people were involved in several cases of human rights violations. This was observed by a three-member bench of the apex court, consisting of Justice Javed Iqbal, Justice Mohammad Sair Ali and Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed, which was hearing various petitions regarding the missing persons, who were individually picked up by the intelligence agencies. "The names of Brigadiers and Majors are always mentioned when we took up the issue of kidnapped persons in the SC. Who had given them power to do so?" The Nation quoted Justice Ahmed, as saying. Justice Sair Ali observed that some persons were kept in detention under the law as they allegedly committed crimes. However, they alleged that they were kept in detention illegally, which was not justice, he explained. Meanwhile, Justice Fayyaz said, "It seems as we are in a Gestapo-like reign of terror... anyone can come into a house and kidnapped someone. Where is the enforcement of law?" He further said that the Frontier Constabulary (FC) was not authorized to make arrests or conduct investigations. "Frontier Constabulary had no rights to arrest and detain any person. The apex court would be satisfied even if one person was recovered and the anxiety of one family was over," he added.