CJ tells Balochistan IG to produce missing persons today | Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF)

Pakistan Press Foundation

CJ tells Balochistan IG to produce missing persons today

Muhammad Ejaz Khan

QUETTA: The Supreme Court on Thursday ordered the IG Police, Balochistan, to trace the missing persons and produce them before the apex court on Friday (today) or an order would be passed against him.

Heading a three-member bench, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry remarked that the law enforcement agencies were not providing concrete information about the disappearances taking place in the province.

The chief justice noted that the sense of fear had escalated to such a level that nobody was ready to talk on the issue of missing persons in Balochistan and this would not bring any result.

“Nobody is ready to informus the sources from where the 10 missing people were recovered,” he said.The intelligence agencies and FC had denied the presence of missing people with them, the CJ said and asked as if the missing people were with the police or Levies.

The CJ said that for the recovery of missing people, the SC had written four letters to the prime minister, defence and interior ministries but no action had been taken.The apex court recorded the statements of relatives of 62 missing persons. The chief justice remarked that every person who had appeared before the bench had held the FC responsible for the missing persons. DIG FC Brig Shehzad told the apex court that there was no missing person in FC’s custody.

Expressing displeasure over the failure of the police to end kidnappings and forced disappearances of people in the province, the chief justice ordered to produce Manzoor Ahmed, who was missing from the Saryab Road, Quetta, before the court on Friday and warned that if the missing person was not produced before the court, then all police officers would be suspended.

He also asked the Advocate General, Balochistan, Amanullah Kinrani, why the chief minister did not appear before the court. The AG replied that the CM had submitted an application. The CJ said that the chief minister of Balochistan was in Islamabad and it seemed that bureaucracy was running the government.

The CJ directed the AG to inform the chief minister and home minister to submit a surety bond as per Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan for the security of life and property of citizens of the province.

The chief justice was also annoyed over the absence of Balochistan Home Minister Mir Zafar Zehri. The CJ said that a case could be registered against the minister if he did not appear before the court on Friday (today). Advocate General, Balochistan, told the court that the home minister said he did not know the names of those cabinet members allegedly involved in kidnappings for ransom.

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