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Balochistan case: Federal Seceraty's absence irks judges
QUETTA: The Supreme Court Quetta Registry resumed the hearing of a petition on the law and order situation and missing persons in Balochistan on Thursday, Geo News reported.
A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, was hearing the petition filed by the Balochistan Bar Association on the law and order situation in Balochistan.
During today’s hearing, Inspector General Frontier Corps (IG FC) Ubaidullah Khattak and Defence Secretary Lt Gen (retd) Asif Yasin Malik appeared before the court but the Federal Interior Secretary did not turn up that irked the judges.
The apex court had summoned Federal Secretary, Interior Secretary and Defence Secretary during the hearing of case on Wednesday.
Addressing the IG FC, the Chief Justice said that the court did not summon ISI chief as allegations had been leveled against FC. He asked the IG FC to admit FC’s failure and submit a statement stating the same.
Replying to this, IG FC Ubaidullah Khattak told the court that they did not waste time and had worked hard regardless of time.
At one occasion, Justice Khilji Arif remarked 46 Shiites were targeted and killed in six months in Balochistan alone while other provinces have separate toll.
The Chief Justice addressed the Defence Secretary and said he has to write two words in the statement that either they have passed or failed in resolving the matter.
During the proceedings, the women from Hazara presented the statistics of target killings that took place during 1999-2012. They apprised the bench that their tribal elders get threatening calls.
On this, the Chief Justice questioned that what has been done to provide security to the tribes of Hazara.
Justice Jawwad Khawaja instructed the government to enlighten the court regarding its steps that who did what.
On Wednesday, Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry observed that the country was facing defamation over the issue of missing persons and sectarian killing at international level but security agencies paid no heed.
Calling Balochistan a volcano ready to explode, he told IG FC Ubaidullah Khattak that the name of FC repeatedly appeared in the missing persons' case. "It is not right to say that we [FC] can't do anything," the chief justice said.
The IG FC responded that the FC was being defamed under a pre-planned conspiracy and it was unfortunate for one institution to level allegations on the other.
Justice Khilji Arif Hussain in his remarks pointed out media reports that a United Nations delegation is coming to review Pakistan’s affairs. “If people outside the country start coming here to review our matters, imagine how much that will threaten our sovereignty,” he warned.
Courtesy www.geo.tv