Iftikhar Chaudhry
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. — File photo/Online

QUETTA: The Supreme Court at its Quetta registry on Thursday heard a petition on the law and order situation and human rights violations in Balochistan, DawnNews reported.

A three-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, heard the petition filed by the Balochistan Bar Association on the law and order situation in the province.

During the hearing, Chief Justice Iftikhar inquired as to why Inspector General (IG) Balochistan Karar Hussain had failed to appear in court for Wednesday's hearing.

The chief justice told Karar that he had “completely failed” in fulfilling his responsibilities.

The chief justice moreover said that the police had not been investigating cases properly and that it had failed to control the frequency of crimes in five per cent of the province’s area that it controls.

Police-controlled areas seem to be rifer with criminal activity, Chief Justice Iftikhar said.

Also during the hearing, Balochistan's Home Secretary Nasibullah Bazai claimed that the government had been successful in terms of cases and carrying out investigations.

The court also directed authorities to produce a man who went missing from Balochistan’s Sohrab area.

No intelligence agency can carry out an enforced disappearance even for a second, Chief Justice Iftikhar said.
Chief Justice Iftikhar said no intelligence agency could carry out an enforced disappearance even for a second.

Authorities moreover informed the court that another four missing persons had been recovered — two were from the province's Barkhan area and two were from Quetta.

Expressing its concern over the province's security situation, the bench directed the police to recover all missing persons at the earliest.

The court moreover directed the province's chief secretary to coordinate with all the agencies and the institutions involved and formulate a strategy by tomorrow.

The hearing was subsequently adjourned to Friday (July 13).

Earlier on Wednesday, the Supreme Court rejected a police investigation report on the murder of Mir Haqmal Raisani, a nephew of Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani.

Moreover, the chief justice directed the home department to prepare a list of the decomposed bodies found so far. He also ordered the Frontier Corps Balochistan to produce all missing persons before the court. Otherwise, he warned, all FC commandants would be summoned.

The court, during Wednesday’s hearing, also warned FC officials involved in human rights violations to end such violations.

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