ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court has asked Nasrullah Baloch, chairman of the Voice of Baloch Missing Persons, to appear on Jan 30 and assist it in cases relating to enforced disappearances.

Nasrullah Baloch, along with Mama Qadeer Baloch, had led a march from Quetta to Karachi on Oct 27 to press for the recovery of missing Baloch political workers.

A three-judge bench, headed by Justice Nasir-ul-Mulk which took up on Wednesday a case relating to the breakdown of law and order in Balochistan, decided to summon Nasrullah Baloch when it was informed that out of the 33 missing persons, 19 were allegedly picked up by the Frontier Corps Balochistan, eight were with intelligence agencies, particularly the Military Intelligence, and six with either police or the Levies.

A report on the security situation was submitted to the court by Advocate Irfan Qadir on behalf of FC Inspector General Major General Ijaz Shahid. The court ordered that copies of the report be provided to all stakeholders.

The report said the FC was doing its best to find the missing persons and had contacted all units under its command, sister organisations and intelligence agencies. The FC commandants have been told to extend assistance to the civilian administration in its search for the missing persons.

The efforts were in hand and the FC would keep the court posted about the progress made, the report said.

The counsel for the Balochistan chapter of Pakistan Medical Association accused the government of doing nothing against criminals involved in the abduction of doctors and said 26 doctors had to pay ransom to the kidnappers for their release.

About 90 doctors are still missing from different parts of the province.

Advocate Shahid Hamid submitted a report on behalf of Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad and said the chief minister had held meetings with doctors and assured them that the provincial government would make all-out efforts to protect the doctors.

It was also decided that security would be further beefed up in government and private hospitals as well as at clinics of doctors. The Balochistan government has issued arms licences to doctors and asked the PMA to provide a list of members who needed police/Levies guards.

The court ordered that a representative of the PMA should be present when the case would be taken up on Jan 30.