ISLAMABAD:
Terming the case “one of the most sensitive” in the country, the Supreme Court ordered on Monday the arrest of the murderers of Balochistan MPA Mir Bakhtiar Domki’s wife and daughter by February 10.
Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry had taken a suo motu notice of the killings on Sunday.
Domki’s wife, daughter and driver were gunned down early morning on January 31 near the Gizri Bridge in Karachi’s upscale Defence Housing Authority area.
The victims were also related to Baloch Republican Party (BRP) chief Brahamdagh Bugti.
Hearing a petition filed earlier by the Balochistan High Court Bar, the apex court directed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI) to submit a comprehensive report about the security situation of Balochistan within the given deadline.
The court ordered that the ISI and MI reports should not only entail the findings of the missing persons’ case but also incidents of target killings.
The chief justice also ordered Sindh’s police chief, Inspector General Mushtaq Shah, to appear before the court in person during the next hearing.
Shah told the court that investigations are under way and said that the police feared that personal enmity could be behind the incident. However, the chief justice remarked that the killings cannot be the result of an enmity.
Shah also said that the family members were not giving any statement on the incident and that the only survivor of the attack – the maid – has refused to record her statement.
Shah told the court that President Asif Ali Zardari phoned him twice to ask about the progress of the case.
The chief justice expressed dissatisfaction over the progress of the investigations, and reminded the IG that it was the duty of the agencies to determine the cause of the attack.
When Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq requested an extension for the case, the court said that the investigations should have been compiled “within 24 hours” given the sensitivity of the case.
The chief justice remarked that the ISI and MI should work together in order to catch the culprits responsible for the attack. He added that the case has had its “repercussions”, as seen by a three-day shutter-down strike throughout Balochistan.
Written order of the court
The court, in its written order, stated: “...It is one of the most sensitive incidents, having its own repercussions on the situation prevailing in the province of Balochistan, which is becoming worse day-by-day. In our view, the Inspector General of Police Sindh should have taken all necessary steps in tracing the offenders and causing their arrest.”
The attorney general stated that he could not procure reports from the MI and ISI regarding the situation in the Balochistan; however, he requested for more time.
Minister resigns in protest
Provincial Minister Nasreen Khetran announced her resignation from the ministry on Monday to protest the murder of Domki’s wife and daughter, reported Express News.
During a press conference at the Quetta Press Club, Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid’s Khetran said that the incident was deplorable and that, in Baloch culture, women were never killed in cases of personal enmity.
Published in The Express Tribune, February 7th, 2012.
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Like it will happen!!! What a JOKE!!!!
Did the court pass on the addresses and phone numbers of the culprits too?