QUETTA: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday said the government does not seem serious to curb lawlessness in the province, and asked police and the FC what they were doing when people were being killed.
A three-member bench of the Supreme Court is hearing the Balochistan law and order case in its Quetta Registry. The CJP said the Balochistan Assembly speaker was also present in the court and he too recognised the volatility of law and order in Balochistan.
The CJP said sessions judges, police officers and advocates were being killed, but no one had been arrested so far. He said they wanted democracy in Pakistan and would follow the constitution under any circumstances, adding that the Balochistan issue was most important. “We had ordered to crack down against the unregistered (Kabuli) vehicles, closure of the arm and death squads, but nothing has happened,” he said.
Justice Iftikhar said there was evidence against the FC, adding the judiciary should not be compelled to pass any orders. He also inquired about the 30 police officers whose appointment had been ordered in the province by the court. He asked the Balochistan Police IG to appoint them as DPOs and submit a report to the court.The CJP said if the constitution was not followed, not only will the provincial government go, but other governments would also meet the same fate, adding the judiciary was refraining from passing any such orders.
He considered the statement of the army chief encouraging and said, “However, we need to move towards a big and better logical consequence.” Justice Khilji Arif Hussain asked if there was any improvement after delegating police powers to the FC. He also asked for a report in this regard.Senior lawyers Munir A Malik, Raja Salman, M Zafar, Hadi Shakeel also appeared before the court and recorded their statements regarding Balochistan’s law and order. The hearing was later adjourned until today (Tuesday). – Dawn
