QUETTA: Police produced four of the seven missing persons before the Supreme Court registry here on Friday and Chief Justice Iftikhar Mohammad Chaudhry ordered that the remaining three be brought on Monday.

Maj-Gen Obaidullah Khattak, the Inspector General of Frontier Corps Balochistan, appeared before a three-judge bench hearing a petition on the law and order situation and human rights violations in the province and clarified the position on the allegation levelled by provincial minister Mir Sadiq Ali Umrani that the FC was involved in the killing of people.

The bench, headed by Justice Iftikhar, comprises Justice Khilji Arif Hussian and Justice Tariq Pervaiz.

On Thursday, the chief justice had warned that the Balochistan police chief and other officers concerned would be suspended if the seven people picked up from Quetta’s Sariab Road on March 1 were not brought to the court.

The four people presented in the court were identified as brothers Mohammad Javed, Malik Sher and Mazar Khan, and Hazar Khan.

Balochistan IG Rao Amin Hashim informed the court that efforts were being made to recover the remaining three.

But the chief justice warned that action would be taken against the IG and officers concerned if they were not recovered by April 9. He also ordered that three other people who had been picked up from Killi Ismail area on April 3 be also produced before the court in Islamabad on April 10.

The chief justice said the Superintend of Police and the SHO should be suspended if any person was picked up from their area of jurisdiction.

“The situation will improve if the court order is implemented.”

The four men were allowed to meet their parents in the court. The chief justice said if they were not involved in any case they should be released.

The SHO of new Sariab police station informed the court that their statements could not be recorded because they were recovered late on Thursday night.

A woman informed the court that his bother had been taken way by officials of a secret agency and later his bullet-riddled body was found.

She said her brother Dr Naseer Baloch had been picked up on April 3, along with his two friends, while they were sitting in a hotel in Killi Ismail.

Justice Khilji said a murder case would be registered against the Superintendent of Police City if anything happened to them. The chief justice directed Advocate General of Balochistan Amanullah Kanrani to make all-out efforts for the early recovery of missing persons, including Zakir Majeed, Hafiz Seedur Rehman and Dr Din Mohammad Baloch.

Frontier Corps IG Obaidullah Khattak said the FC had issued a contradiction the next day in newspapers against the allegation levelled by Sadiq Umrani.

“A contradiction is not enough; you should have approached the federal interior ministry on the issue,” the chief justice said, adding that that Mr Umrani had levelled the allegation in the assembly, and not in the drawing room. “The minister could have been disqualified if he had given wrong statement,” he said, adding that the FC should help police and not create problems. The chief justice asked the FC chief to come up with an explanation at the next hearing.

Maj-Gen Khattak said a large number of FC men had also been killed in different attacks and cases had already been registered with police.

The chief justice regretted that even in the presence of 26,000 police and 50,000 FC personnel, the law and order situation in the province could not be brought under control. If police performed their duty, he added, the situation could improve.

Provincial Home Secretary Nasibullah Bazai informed the court that over the past three years 1,056 people had been killed in the province, including 227 FC personnel and 196 police men. Around 250 people fell prey to sectarian violence.

Justice Iftikhar again expressed displeasure over the absence of Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq. “It shows how much interest he has in the Balochistan issue,” he said.

The chief justice was dissatisfied with a report submitted by DIG South Karachi on the murder of members of the Domki family and regretted that the additional IG Sindh who was investigating the case had been sent abroad on training, while the Sindh IG did not appear before the court. He ordered that additional IG be brought back for completing the investigation and he should appear before the court at the next hearing.