Supreme Court observed on Monday that despite setting up 1,700 check posts at Pak-Afghan border, there is no let up in smuggling. A three-judge bench led by Justice Sardar Asif Saeed Khan Khosa, comprising Justice Dost Muhammad Khan and Justice Mazhar Alam Khan Miankhel, was hearing a suo motu regarding tragic terror incident at Civil Hospital Quetta that perished as many as 73 people, most of them were lawyers.
During the course of proceedings, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan said that Landi Kotal was fenced but when a delegation of lawyers on the directions of the court visited Chaman and Torkham borders, they found that people were coming to and going out of the country without any check. Terming drugs as an oxygen for terrorism, Justice Khan observed if drug smuggling is controlled, terrorism can be eliminated.
Appearing before the bench in the matter, Attorney General for Pakistan Ashtar Ausaf Ali submitted that on careful consideration of the inquiry commission report over the incident, the federal government, Ministry of Interior and all the divisions will seek guidance from the contents of report as well as recommendations made by Justice Qazi Faez Isa in it.
It is important to mention that Supreme Court had constituted an Inquiry Commission of Justice Qazi Faez Isa on October 6, 2016 over the tragic incident, which submitted report on December 13, 2016 with a number of recommendations to curb terrorism.
The AGP submitted that the government has already made budgetary allocation and developed human resources in order to counter terrorism in the country, adding that not only the recommendations of the commission are under contemplation but the federal government is also going beyond the recommendations and has deployed satellite system, safe city project, and the geo-fencing to unearth the terrorist network.
Ashtar Ausaf Ali submitted that counterterrorism is one stop shop as the process can be addressed by making coordinated efforts for which National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) will be working more effectively under the guidance of the cabinet. To which, Justice Dost Muhammad Khan questioned whether the government could not construct seminaries, saying the court is aware what is happening in the country and what the Customs officials are doing on the borders.
Justice Dost Muhammad Khan was of the view that Iranian oil tankers after passing through hundreds of miles from Taftan are impounded in Hyderabad, adding that as many as 1,700 check posts have been set up along the Pak-Afghan border but smuggling could not be controlled.
Justice Sardar Asif Saeed Khan Khosa observed that it seems the government does not like to implement the Commission's report as National Counter-Terrorism Authority (NACTA) has failed to get Commission's recommendations implemented. Ashtar Ausaf Ali submitted that the NACTA is not a federal but a national institution, adding that the NACTA will implement Commission's report, saying all the provinces are connected with NACTA.
He informed that fingerprint identification system is introduced in Balochistan and KPK borders, saying system has been developed for tracing the financial link of the terrorists whereas plan has also been chalked out to monitor traffic at the border areas. Earlier, Additional Advocate General KP apprised the court that the provincial government has paid Rs 500,000 to families of lawyers who had died in Mardan Judicial Complex terror incident and Rs 200,000 were given to the injured lawyers.
The president District Courts Mardan submitted the KP government had paid Rs 2,500,000 to the heirs of those who expired in the APS bomb blast. He requested the same amount should also be paid to the lawyers killed in District Court blast. Later, disposing of all the applications in the Quetta blast incident, the bench said it will pass appropriate order in the matter.