The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Tuesday disposed of a plea regarding the release of Advocate Col (retd) Inamur Rahim, saying there was no need to arrest him.
The plea was heard by a three-judge bench headed by the acting chief justice of Pakistan Justice Umar Ata Bandial.
During the hearing, Justice Qazi Amin quoted the defence ministry as saying that Rahim's arrest was not required.
Expressing regret on the enforced disappearance, Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Javed Khan said, "I am sorry for the treatment meted out to Col (retd) Inamur Rahim".
"Our concern is only based on the observations made in the Lahore High Court verdict," he added.
The AGP highlighted that the Army Act does not apply to an apprehended individual before an indictment. At this, Justice Amin said, "The case became ineffective after the arrested person's release."
Justice Umar Ata Bandial added, "The arrested person has been released after the high court's decision."
The acting chief justice went on to add, "Why should we decide about the legal clause at this point." The ministry had earlier approached the top court against the decision of the Lahore High Court (LHC).
The LHC Rawalpindi bench had ordered military authorities to release Rahim. However, the defence ministry filed an appeal against the LHC order before the Supreme Court.
Former Attorney General Anwar Mansoor Khan, on January 14, 2020, had told a three-judge bench headed by Justice Mushir Alam that Rahim was part of a spy network and a number of individuals belonging to that ring were still wanted.
However, in a sudden change of heart, the government had decided to release Rahim on medical grounds, as the advocate was not in good health and had to be admitted to the hospital multiple times.
Advocate Col (retd) Inamur Rahim was arrested by the defence ministry on charges of espionage. He was picked by military authorities on December 17, 2019.
Rahim was known to pursue cases of missing persons. He had also challenged an extension in the job tenure of former army chief Ashfaq Pervez Kayani.
He had also approached the National Accountability Bureau against the former president Gen (retd) Pervez Musharraf.
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