Supreme Court strong supporter of parliament: Chief Justice Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Hearing the Balochistan target killing case, the Supreme Court has clarified them are strong supporters of the parliamentary system and believe it is not the job of the provincial assembly but the provincial government to protect people’s life under Article 9 of the constitution.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heading a three-member bench, maintained they had not uttered a single word about the provincial assembly and called it a misconception. The chief justice said, “We believe in the assembly and parliament and did not say anything about the provincial assembly.”
The court asked the Balochistan government to recover missing persons and arrest all those involved in sectarian killing if they wanted a favourable decision by the court, otherwise they would remark no progress had been made since October 12.
During the hearing, Shahid Hamid, counsel for the Balochistan government, presenting a report about the law and order situation in the province, said he had on Monday attended the parliamentary committee meeting of Balochistan MPs. It was decided in the meeting to set up a committee comprising parliamentarians of the provincial assembly and hold its first meeting in Quetta next week.
He also informed the court the CID was undermanned in Balochistan as compared to Punjab. He said six percent of Balochistan was under the police, while the rest was controlled by the FC and Levies, adding theoretically the FC was under the control of the provincial government but was actually under the army’s control.
He requested the court to dispose of the case as some progress had been made. Upon this, the chief justice remarked they could not give licence to anyone to take the life of innocent people. He said 432 Frontier Constabulary men had been slaughtered, while 1,000 people were murdered in target killings, including the Hazara community. “The health service in Balochistan was totally suspended.” The vice president of Balochistan High Court Bar Association told the court 28 journalists had also been killed in the province.
The counsel prayed to the court to give substantial time to improve the law and order situation in Balochistan. Justice Gulzar Ahmed said it was a matter of sincerity because if the government wanted, changes could be brought made in one day even.
When the court inquired from the home secretary about the role of intelligence agencies, the secretary replied several agency officers had also been killed. Justice Gulzar remarked what was the use of intelligence agencies when thousands of people had been killed in the province. The chief justice after examining the report submitted by the Interior Ministry said it described a generalised situation of the whole country and not a single word had been said on what measures had been taken to arrest the killers of the FC officers.
The chief justice said despite the court’s clear direction, issued from time to time, not a single accused involved in sectarian killing and killing of law enforcement officials had been arrested. The court, accepting the request of the Balochistan government counsel, adjourned the hearing until December 5.
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