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Don’t force us to call ‘someone else’ to implement verdicts: CJ
QUETTA: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry has expressed dismay over the non-implementation of the apex court's orders and warned that the court should not be forced to call "someone else" to implement its verdicts."If the court’s verdicts were implemented, the law and order situation would have been different in Karachi," the chief justice remarked while hearing petitions about law and order, kidnapping for ransom and missing persons at the Quetta Registry on Tuesday.
The three-member bench hearing the petitions included Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Pervez. The chief justice said that armed men were moving freely in vehicles belonging to Balochistan ministers, questioning why the ministers involved in kidnapping for ransom were not being arrested. He asked what message was being sent from Balochistan to the outside world when bodies were being found and people were being kidnapped on a daily basis.
Justice Iftikhar said it was surprising that there is peace and stability under dictators but not during democracy. He remarked that kidnapped people were sent to Waziristan while the police remained ignorant. He said people had been forced to migrate from Balochistan.
The CJ said that it was the prime responsibility of the provincial government to ensure law and order but it too had failed to provide security to the people. "What were the law enforcing institutions doing when a Hindu girl was kidnapped from the house of a minister?" the CJ asked.
At the beginning of the proceedings, Advocate General Balochistan Amanullah Kanrani presented the performance report of the provincial police for the last three years. The chief justice rejected the report and remarked that between 2008 and 2011, 204 bodies were recovered and 80 persons were kidnapped.
Justice Iftikhar said the situation was getting difficult inBalochistan as people were being killed and the writ of the government could not be seen anywhere.
When the Advocate General pointed out that target killing had been controlled by 90 percent, the chief justice said there was no room for even one percent violence. He said he himself had heard that the provincial home minister was saying that provincial ministers were involved in kidnapping for ransom. He said the chief minister should have taken steps after the statement of the home minister, adding that it appeared that everyone was helpless and no one felt any pain for the province and its people.
The chief justice also sought a report from IG Balochistan about the burning of the house of a citizen, Gondal Khan, in the Pat Feeder area near Dera Bugti. He directed the IG to investigate who was behind the burning of the house.
He also ordered that the statement of the provincial home minister be made part of the record of the Balochistan law and order case.The CJ remarked that no one was above the law and ministers who were being mentioned should be taken into police custody. He inquired from the interior secretary if the provincial home minister had been asked which ministers were involved in kidnappings. The chief justice added that there was a complete failure in stopping crime in Balochistan and declared the advocate general's report regarding police performance over the last three years unsatisfactory.
The chief justice expressed displeasure towards the law enforcement authorities for not acting on the court's orders to address the Karachi issue. "Target killings would have been halted if the court's orders were followed," said the chief justice. He said steps were not taken to de-weaponise the city as directed by the apex court. "The increasing influence of political parties in the law enforcement agencies has not been addressed and there are still no-go areas in the city," he added.
Sana adds: Rejecting the Balochistan government's reports, the SC has directed the authorities to submit a fresh report regarding the law and order situation of the province till tomorrow (Thursday), April 05.
The CJ expressed displeasure over the investigative report submitted by the Inspector General (IG), and said it was not categorised on the basis of districts and tehsils. The CJ also questioned the IG for not registering the Spinney road incident case and raised the issue of kidnapping for ransom, questioning the alleged involvement of a certain minister in the kidnapping of a Hindu girl.
He inquired from the Interior Secretary if the provincial home minister had been asked which ministers were involved in the kidnapping.
Courtesy www.geo.tv