Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the joint progress report submitted by Federal Defence and Interior secretaries and Chief Secretary of Balochistan pertaining to the custody of missing persons as well as law and order situation in the Balochistan.
A three-member bench of the apex court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain heard the constitutional petition filed by President Balochistan High Court Bar Association against the incidents of targeted killings, kidnapping for ransom as well as missing persons in Balochistan.
The bench said as many as five senior lawyers would be appointed as amici curiae to assist the court in the instant matter on Thursday (today). During the course of hearing, Attorney General for Pakistan (AGP) Irfan Qadir submitted a joint progress report of Secretaries Defence, Interior and Chief Secretary Balochistan with a plea that none of the 78 missing persons was in the custody of ISI, MI, FC or any law enforcement agency of the country. The report also refuted earlier statements that a further 80 people had been taken into custody. It urged the court to from a commission to further investigate the matter within a stipulated timeframe.
Earlier, during the course of hearing, an exchange of harsh words between Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the AGP took place. The AGP questioned the bench why the Balochistan law and order situation-related case was unnecessarily being prolonged. The Chief Justice observed that the situation in Balochistan was going from bad to worse. The CJP also queried the presence of the AGP in the court as the court had summoned the Defence Secretary.
"I didn't receive the court's instructions in time," the AGP replied. The Chief Justice said in an annoyed tone that the court had issued an order soon after the previous hearing. Earlier, the court took strong exception to the non-appearance of Secretary Interior Khawaja Siddique Akbar. Miffed by official's absence, the Chief Justice ordered that he should ensure his presence before the court within half an hour.
Akbar appeared before the court and submitted that he was unwell and on leave; hence he could not appear before the court. S M Zafar, the counsel for ISI, MI and FC submitted before the court that foreign hands and various other elements were involved in Balochistan's deteriorating situation.
The Chief Justice remarked that the court had knocked on every door to resolve the Balochistan issue and added that if the government wanted to kill people it would be held responsible for the killing. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain remarked that the court is being forced to resort to extreme measures to resolve the issue.
The court allowed former Chief Minister Balochistan, Akhtar Mengal to become party to the case and asked him to record his statement today (Thursday). The court also issued notices to Talal Bugti over his application on Dera Bugti sealing off. Rejecting the report, the bench observed that each case would be heard on an individual basis and adjourned the hearing till September 20.
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