Lax security, incompetence led to Quetta hospital blast: CJP

SC dissatisfied with reports submitted by Balochistan police

QUETTA: Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Anwar Zaheer Jamali on Tuesday held security and law enforcement agencies responsible for the grisly suicide attack on the Quetta Civil Hospital, observing that their ‘incompetence’ allowed the bombing – which killed more than 70 people, mostly lawyers – to take place.

While hearing the suo motu case over the incident at the Supreme Court’s Quetta registry, the CJP-led three-member bench expressed dissatisfaction over the reports submitted by chief secretary and police chief of Balochistan and the superintendent of the Civil Hospital and directed lawyers’ organisations to submit their reply on the reports in the next hearing of the case.



The bench, which comprised justices Amir Hani Muslim and Faisal Arab in addition to the CJP, expressed displeasure over the performance of law enforcement agencies and the civil hospital administration for failing to avert the deadly suicide bombing.

“Security institutions which were responsible for providing security at the hospital, were responsible for their tragic incident because of their incompetence,” the country’s top judge said during the hearing.

Justice Hani, meanwhile, observed the hospital superintendent failed to cooperate in the inquiry and asked why he had not been suspended by now. Justice Hani also asked Chief Secretary Saifullah Chattha why a trauma centre was inaugurated at the hospital when no equipment was installed there.



During the proceedings, the Balochistan police chief was granted his request to give the court an in-camera briefing regarding the Civil Hospital attack. However, Justice Hani criticised the way police had handled the case, asking “who can be trusted when both the investigation officer and inspector general of police do not know about the incident.”

The investigation officer told the bench that the statements of 36 of the 82 injured victims of the blast had been recorded so far earlier in the proceedings.

The next hearing of the suo moto case will be on September 6.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 5^th, 2016.