ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC), on Monday, took notice of the killing of five Chechens by the law enforcement officials in Quetta and directed the Balochistan chief secretary to submit a report on the incident within two weeks.The court also directed the chief secretary to submit the report prepared by the commission constituted by Balochistan chief minister to probe into the Chechens’ killings. The SC rejected a report submitted by the chief secretary on the incidents of targeted killings and sectarian violence in the province over the last three days.Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry observed that it seems the government has failed to maintain its writ after the PNS Mehran terrorist incident. The CJ questioned what was going on in the country, why the law and order situation was not under control of the government.He said that law and order situation worsened after the killing of Nawab Akbar Bugti, and had the proceedings been initiated against the perpetrators of his killing, the situation might not have been this bad in the province.A three-member bench headed by the CJ was hearing the petition regarding the worsening law and order situation and targeted killings in Balochistan. The petition was filed by the Balochistan High Court Bar Association Presidentm, Hadi Shakeel Ahmed.
At the outset of the hearing, Balochistan Chief Secretary Ahmad Bakhsh Lehri submitted a report over the worsening law and order situation of the province, but the court expressed dissatisfaction on it and observed that no progress had been made to improve the situation. The court said that the government had not taken any action over the killing of five Chechens.The chief secretary asserted that the provincial government had taken lots of effective steps towards the betterment of law and order situation despite the mounting incidents of targeted killings in the province. The situation will soon be under control, he secretary, adding that the government would not abandon its efforts to recover the missing lawyers. Lehri also stated that a commission had been constituted to probe into the Khurrotabad incident. Justice Sair Ali questioned if the authorities had arrested anyone involved in terrorist activities. The court adjourned the case for two weeks. – Dailytimes
