Judicial commission given 30 days to probe Quetta blast

SC bench orders Balochistan govt to pay compensation to victims’ families

QUETTA: The Supreme Court has appointed Justice Qazi Faez Isa as the head of a judicial commission tasked with completing the investigation into the August 8 suicide attack on Quetta’s Civil Hospital within 30 days.

The blast left at least 74 people dead, including members of the legal fraternity.



News of the appointment came after the counsels for the victims’ families expressed no-confidence in the current investigation team. They also accused the previous team of attempting to shield the accused in the case.

A larger bench of the Supreme Court headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali and comprising Justice Ameer Muslim Hani and Justice Faisal Arab is hearing a suo motu case into the hospital carnage.

Earlier the counsels appealed to the apex court to form a judicial commission which would work under a Supreme Court judge. Accepting the request of the lawyers, the chief justice issued a directive for the formation of a judicial commission.

Balochistan Home Minister Mir Sarfaraz Bugti, Balochistan Chief Secretary Saifullah Chattha, Inspector General of Police in Balochistan Ahsan Mehboob, Provincial Health Secretary Noorul Haq Baloch and other officials were present in the court.



The top provincial police officer claimed that the entire investigation team had been changed and that a new team had now been assigned to conduct the probe. The chief secretary submitted that the agreement with the private security company assigned for the hospital had been cancelled.

The bench ordered the provincial government to immediately pay compensation to the families of the deceased and the injured.

The hearing has been adjourned until the judicial commission finalises its report.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 7^th, 2016.