The Supreme Court on Thursday declared the report submitted by Balochistan police on five missing persons "unsatisfactory" and directed the law enforcers to recover them within two weeks.

A three-member bench, comprising Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Ijazul Ahsan and Justice Faisal Arab, was hearing the case at the SC's Quetta Registry. The top court had earlier taken suo motu notice of the disappearances.

Additional Chief Secretary Hafiz Basit, Member of Balochistan Assembly Qadir Nayal and Senior Superintendent of Police Operations Quetta Ghulam Asghar appeared in the court during today's hearing.

SSP Asghar told the court that the police have not been able to determine whether the five people had gone missing or were abducted.

In the report submitted to the court, police said they had eyewitnesses on record, identifying the cars in which the missing persons were being taken. The report added that investigators had written a letter to the Excise and Taxation department for details of the vehicles.

"Issuing a letter is not the job of the police," the CJP remarked. "It is the police's job to visit the spot and conduct a thorough investigation."

"Every other car in Quetta is a non-custom paid car. Aerial firing is being carried out. All this is being done under the nose of the police," he observed.

The chief justice remarked that people had gone missing and the families had to run after police to register cases. "You (police) do not know how to investigate cases. A case of disappearance should have been registered by the police which could not be done," he added.

"In any case, action should be taken on legal matters," he said.

The hearing of the case was adjourned for four weeks, with direction for the Balochistan Inspector General of Police Mohsin Abbas Butt to appear through video link in the next hearing to be held at the Supreme Court in Islamabad.