QUETTA: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday said mere speeches wont do anymore and every missing person had to found, adding that the situation could have been brought under control had the funding of banned outfits been stopped.
The Supreme Court has summoned Inspector General Frontier Corps (FC) and Commandant FC, Chaghai, in the missing persons cases in the province to appear before it today (Wednesday).
A three-member bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Chaudhry, on Tuesday resumed its hearing of the case at the Quetta Registry. During the court proceedings, FC lawyer Raja Irshad informed the court that nobody was being held in the custody of the FC, to which the chief justice said there was little evidence to support this claim.
Chief Justice Iftikhar further told Raja Irshad that he must save the credibility of the institution, and that the IGFC ought to come forward in this regard as well. The FC lawyer requested an in-camera briefing, while the court said it was giving the FC one final chance, since there was solid evidence that the organisation was behind the abduction of individuals.
The advocate general, meanwhile, informed the court that 18 missing persons had been recovered out of the total of 118, while the bodies of seven others had been recovered. The chief justice asked the advocate general to reveal to the court the number of target killing incidents that had taken place between June and July. The advocate general responded by saying that 101 people had fallen prey to target killing in June in Balochistan, out of which 15 had been policemen.
He also informed the apex court that during an operation, three accomplices of the Laskhar-e-Mehdi (LeM) had been apprehended, and the accused had confessed to killing 24 Ulema. He also told the court that law enforcement agencies in the province had apprehended a gang involved in heinous crimes in Chaghai.
Referring to a news item that had appeared in a local newspaper, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry enquired about the status of the investigation into the killing of Balochistan chief ministers nephew: Why you are not paying attention to the killings of people? the chief justice asked, to which CCPO Mir Zubair replied, Since the killing of the chief ministers nephew is a blind case, we have no clue about it. It might be [the result of] an enmity, he added.
Speaking on the occasion, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain observed that all killers vanished after committing their crimes in Balochistan.
With regard to the law and order situation, the chief justice noted that it was important to protect the rights of the people by providing security to citizens in addition to facilitating development. He questioned the helplessness of law enforcement agencies at the hands of some terrorists, and directed the Balochistan chief secretary to see that the orders of the federal government under which the transfer of six police officials from Balochistan was stopped be suspended.
The chief secretary admitted that the law and order situation in Balochistan was not satisfactory and the crime rate was on the rise, adding that Balochistan was in the grips of a war-like situation.
On the subject of the missing persons case, the chief secretary told the apex court that the FC had sought additional time so that it could extend its fullest cooperation in implementing the Supreme Courts orders. He also informed the court that the FC, ISI and other concerned agencies had assured their complete cooperation in the investigations.
The IGFC had also appointed an inquiry officer into the cases of four missing persons, including Zakir Majeed and Attaullah. Justice Jawad S Khawaja remarked that this was a positive development.
Finally, the hearing into the law and order case in Balochistan was adjourned till today (Wednesday).
Earlier, an investigation officer submitted his report during the hearing of the murder of MPA Mir Bakhtiar Domkis relatives. He disclosed that a development had taken place and that a breakthrough in the case was expected soon. He also said that the names of some suspects had come to the surface, and that raids were being conducted to apprehend them.
The chief justice directed that the case be resolved on a priority basis.
Agencies add: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday asserted that it was the governments fundamental responsibility to ensure security across Balochistan, and that the handful of terrorists behind the prevailing lawlessness ought to be dealt with an iron hand.
During the hearing at the Quetta Registry, the Balochistan chief secretary said the provincial government was struggling to deal with sectarian violence and battle with banned organisations. He added that the police and Levies force were exceedingly vulnerable, and that they did not have enough resources to chase away the terrorists. He further disclosed that terrorists were threatening the local administration in Washak and Awaraan.
Chief Justice Iftikhar replied by saying he appreciated the sacrifices rendered by both the police and Levies. He also suggested that the Frontier Corps be utilised on every possible occasion since it had the capacity to tackle the miscreants.
The chief justice also enquired into the killings in Turbat, and observed that this was the third time that buses carrying pilgrims had been attacked. He said the explanations given by the authorities in this regard were simply not enough, and that concrete results were needed.
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