SC rejects report on Balochistan law, order

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry has rejected the report of Balochistan Chief Secretary about law and order situation in the province describing it as unsatisfactory.Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry hearing Balochistan High Court Bar Association’s petition over worsening law and order situation in the province said adherence to the Constitution strengthens a person or an institution, but bypassing it make them weak.The Chief Justice asked Balochistan Chief Secretary Ahmed Bux Lehri that army, FC, Levis, police and agencies were under his command in spite of that he failed to improve law and order of the province.The CJP questioned what actions the authorities had taken on the FIR registered after Nawab Akbar Bugti’s murder. He said: “People of Balochistan are most patriotic like other citizens of Pakistan.”A two-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and Justice Ghulam Rabbani was hearing a petition filed by President Balochistan High Court Bar Association Hadi Shakeel Ahmed against target killings, kidnapping for ransom and worsening law and order situation in the province.The chief justice ordered the secretary to prepare last three years report, commencing from January 1, 2008 to 2011, on the law and order situation of the province. The CJP further directed him to consult the chief minister and governor of the province over the measures taken to improve the law and order situation in Balochistan.The chief justice said it was the duty of the government to provide protection to its citizens in accordance with the Constitution, while the duty of the Court was to enforce it. The CJP asked the chief secretary that if executive would not protect the citizens then who would.The court expressed dissatisfaction over the report submitted by the chief secretary Balochistan, saying it was not a comprehensive report. – Nation