QUETTA: The Supreme Court on Thursday termed unsatisfactory a police report on targeted killings of the Hazara community people as well as missing persons and ordered them to submit a comprehensive report in this regard in two weeks.

A three-judge SC bench comprising Chief Justice Gulzar Ahmed, Justice Faisal Arab and Justice Ejaz-ul-Hasan also took notice of plying of non-customs paid vehicles on roads, firing into the air and other illegal acts being committed on a daily basis in Balochistan and ordered initiation of legal action in this regard.

The Supreme Court issued the directives while hearing a suo motu case about targeted killings of the Hazara people and a petition seeking recovery of missing persons at its Quetta registry.

The court expressed dissatisfaction over the inquiry report on targeted killings and missing persons and rejected it.

Top court also expresses dissatisfaction over probe findings on missing persons

The report was submitted to the bench by Crime Branch SSP (investigation) Mohammad Akbar Raisani.

“You are a PSP officer but you do not know how to investigate. You want that the applicant should come to you instead of you going for investigation and collecting evidence,” Chief Justice Ahmed regretted, adding that the investigation officer did not ask the applicant for evidence.

The court assailed the police and authorities concerned for their failure to recover the missing persons and asked Quetta SSP (operations) Ghulam Asghar about the status of the missing persons. It rejected the police inquiry report and said all the officers should have been removed from their positions.

Relatives and family members of the missing persons appeared before court, besides Additional Chief Secretary of Home and Tribal Affairs Hafiz Abdul Basit, MPA Abdul Qadir Nayal and senior police officials.

Chief Justice Ahmed ordered the Balochistan police to recover and produce the missing persons before the court.

The court expressed annoyance over the appearance of the Crime Branch SSP in civil dress.

“Irony is that people are going missing continuously and their relatives roaming around [and requesting] police to register their complaints,” the chief justice regretted. He said police officials did not know how to investigate, adding that cases had been reported in 2017 and 2018, but the performance of police in recovery of the missing persons was zero.

The chief justice also assailed the Quetta SSP (operations) and observed that it was the prime responsibility of police to register the cases of missing persons, but they failed to perform their duties satisfactorily.

When the SSP operations told the court that a letter had been sent to the excise department and FBR, the chief justice said the responsibility of police was to investigate the case at the crime scene, and not to send letters and correspondences.

“Police do not know the responsibilities and duties of their department; you people succeed in elevating yourselves to higher ranks and securing top positions,” he regretted.

The SC bench said the person who prepared the inquiry report must be removed from service and sent back home.

“Is this a report? Person who prepared [this] must be fired from service,” the chief justice remarked.

The court also expressed concern over plying of smuggled vehicles on roads, aerial firing and other illegal acts committed daily in Balochistan and ordered the authorities concerned to take action in this regard.

The SC bench will take up the case at Islamabad after four weeks. The Balochistan inspector general has been directed to attend the hearing through a video link.

Published in Dawn, October 2nd, 2020