ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) and the Sindh Bar Council (SBC) on Saturday reminded the government that none of the culprits behind the Quetta carnage have so far been arrested despite the fact that several institutional reports and the apex court judgement have come on the tragic incident.

On Aug 8, 2016, around 60 lawyers and many other people died in a suicide blast.

SCBA president Qalb-i-Hassan said in a statement on the fourth anniversary of the tragedy that the 22nd executive committee of the body and the entire legal fraternity of Pakistan reiterate its resolve for ensuring rule of law at all costs.

Mr Hassan termed the incident “irreparable loss” which he said will be remembered right through several generations and continue to haunt back till the very end of our lives. The loss of precious souls especially those amongst the sparkling lawyers left the legal community of Balochistan “orphaned,” he regretted.

But little had been done to bring the culprits behind bars and to provide the victim families with justice and some relief which is adding more pain to their sufferings, he deplored.

Legal fraternity reiterates resolve to work for rule of law

Similarly, the SBC in a resolution also demanded of the government to expedite the investigation of the incident and ensure effective investigations that result in the identification and punishment to all those responsible for planning and executing the assassination of the Quetta lawyers, journalists and other martyred.

The SBC resolved that a copy of the Quetta Carnage Commission report authored by Justice Qazi Faez Isa will be sent to Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed with a request that justice should be done.

It appears from the conduct of the government, the SBC apprehended, that the members of the legal fraternity were targeted for raising their voice for the rule of law and supremacy of the Constitution in the country.

It demanded that since the Quetta Carnage Commission was constituted by the Supreme Court, therefore it should direct the government to act upon the commission’s report and submit a compliance report to restore the confidence of the public in the national institutions.

Ensuring the right to life under Article 9 of the Constitution, the SBC emphasised, was the duty of the Supreme Court and lack of proper security arrangements by the administration constituted a violation of the fundamental rights to life and liberty of the people of this country.

The SBC deplored the government’s failure to seek guidance from the commission’s report which rightly pointed out the discrepancies and deficiencies in the investigation mechanism, lack of coordination and clarity amongst different security forces.

But no heed has been paid to overcome those deficiencies and to deal with such calamities in the light of the commission’s report.

The SBC recalled that it had been clearly established from the commission’s report that serious and deliberate negligence was committed by the law enforcement agencies responsible for maintaining law and order.

Lack of implementation of the commission’s report, it said, reflects apathy and non-seriousness of the government towards eradication of the menace of terrorism from the country as neither the investigation has been concluded nor the mastermind of the attack has been apprehended despite the lapse of a consideration period of time.

Published in Dawn, August 9th, 2020