The apex court has repeatedly called for the recovery of ‘missing persons’ for an improvement in the law and order situation in Balochistan.
A three-member bench of Supreme Court comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Sheikh Azmat Saeed resumed the hearing of constitutional petition filed by President Balochistan High Court Bar Association on lawlessness in Balochistan.
Additional Attorney General Shah Khawar presented detail report on the steps taken for peace in Balochistan.
“FC was not cooperating with the investigation teams for the recovery of the missing persons,” observed the chief justice.
He said that despite the passage of sufficient time, no satisfactory improvement is seen on the ground for maintain peace in the province. “Law enforcement agencies would have to ensure implementation of law in Balochistan,” he stressed.
A representative of the doctors association on the occasion apprised the court about the unabated incidents of kidnapping of their colleagues. He told the bench that prominent doctor Manaf Tareen was kidnapped on Tuesday night from Pishin Stop area of the city and the police was clueless about the culprits.
To which CCPO Quetta Mir Zubair Mehmood said that police had made progress in the investigation and that the missing doctors would soon be recovered.
He said that they had also made some headway in the missing doctor of Loralai. He told the court that during the last two years over 48 members of gangs involved in kidnapping for ransom have been arrested.
“Almost 90 per cent of the criminal rings were eliminated in the prevailing year,” claimed Mehmood.
The chief justice remarked that police would have to take all possible steps to bring the culprits to book and ensure an end to incidents of kidnapping.
Making five categories of the missing persons, the apex court directed the Additional Attorney General to present to court yet another progress report within ten days.
Expressing annoyance on the report of the Chairman Federal Board of Revenue Tariq Bajwa, Justice Iftikhar Chaudhry said that illegal weapons were being smuggled from the borders and transported to parts of the country for terror acts.
“How many illegal vehicles that crossed into Pakistan from Afghanistan have been apprehended so far?” he asked.
He directed the home secretary Balochistan Asad Gilani to prepare a list of smuggled weapons in Balochistan and submit it to court.
The home secretary informed the bench that they have prepared a scrutiny system and installed pickets to keep an eye on the smuggling of vehicles and arms.
To which the chief justice remarked that corruption has badly dented the performance of the police, Frontier Corps personnel and Customs officers.
The representatives of all provinces also appeared before the court on Wednesday and informed it of the progress made so far in holding local government elections in Balochistan.
