ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought the assistance of Attorney General for Pakistan Khalid Jawed Khan in petition seeking investigation into the brutal murder of nine Pakistani nationals of Hindu faith who went to Indian state of Rajasthan in August last year for a religious ceremony.

Headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial, a three-judge Supreme Court bench also issued notices to the secretaries of the interior, the foreign office and the Pakistani High Commission in India.

The petition was jointly moved by Shrimati Mukhani – a resident of Thar Desert and Dr Ramesh Kumar Vankwani – Patron Pakistan Hindu Council as well as member National Assembly (MNA) through senior counsel Syed Qalbe Hassan.

Seeks attorney general’s assistance, issues notices to interior, foreign secretaries and Pakistani High Commission in India

The counsel argued before the court that FIR had been lodged at the Shahzad Pur Sanghar police station but despite the gravity of the incident, no action had been taken by the federal government.

During the hearing, Mr Vankwani pleaded before the court that the ashes of the deceased have also not been provided to the victims’ family who resides in Pakistan for performing certain religious rites.

The petitioner had pleaded that there were indications that elements of Rashtriya Swayamevak Sangh (RSS) and BJP were directly or indirectly involved in the tragic incident.

The unfortunate Pakistani nationals who lost their lives have been deprived of their right to life as guaranteed under the constitution and it was the bounden duty of the government to raise the issue at international level.

Pakistan is liable under the constitution to formally ask the Indian government to constitute a high-powered investigation team from the Indian Central Board of Investigation (CBI) to investigate and prosecute this gruesome incident, the petition pleaded.

The petition said to ensure independence and transparency of the entire investigation process, it was imperative that a representative from the Pakistan’s equivalent of CBI should be made part of the investigation team.

The failure on part of the respondents to act and formally take up the matter with the Indian government has led to infringement of the fundamental rights embodied in Articles 9, 14, 18 and 24 and the Principles of Policy enumerated in Article 38 of the Constitution since innocent Pakistani nationals have been deprived of their right to life in a most brutal and grotesque manner.

The matter relates to questions of public importance involving enforcement of fundamental rights of poor citizens of Pakistan, the petition said adding the jurisdiction of the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) was being invoked for the enforcement of fundamental rights.

The petition pleaded before the court to order the respondents to obtain information and confirmation regarding commencement of investigation into the tragic murder of Pakistani nationals, create a forum and mechanism for information and data sharing regarding protection of Pakistani citizens visiting India for family or religious occasions and also take necessary actions for controlling and prevention of such incidents in future.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2021