Target killings : Don’t evade responsibility, SHC reprimands govt lawyers

AAG said terrorism is not just Sindh’s problem.

KARACHI:

The chief justice of the Sindh High Court has rejected the Sindh government’s argument that target killings are not just this province’s problem but that of the entire country.

Such an argument cannot be used to shift the burden of responsibility away from the authorities, observed Chief Justice Mushir Alam.

The bench heard a constitutional petition filed by Syed Muhammad Iqbal Kazmi, a social worker and representative of the Human Rights Commission for South Asia, against the law-enforcement agencies. The petitioner submitted written arguments before the court because he felt this was necessary due to the “sensitive nature of the case”.

The statement cited that families of 2,835 target killing victims were still waiting for arrests and convictions.

Millions of residents in Karachi feel insecure, Kazmi said. He referred to an SHC order passed on April 15, 2010 that directed the Sindh police to provide a list of target killing cases, including those that were reported and registered. The police was also directed to submit a progress report.

Kazmi maintained that none of the parties named in the case, except for the Rangers, was attending the hearing. Even the Additional Advocate General (AAG), representing the provincial government, has no specific information and is only saying things to malign me, he added.

He said that 270 people in Karachi died in target killings in the first three months this year, including 51 activists of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement and 12 each of the Pakistan Peoples Party and the Awami National Party.

The petitioner also referred to Article 9 of the Constitution under which the State and its “apparatus” are responsible for protecting the lives and properties of its citizens. A duty that the authorities have failed to perform, he said.

He asked the court to direct the government to launch an operation for the recovery of illegal weapons in Karachi with the assistance of the Pakistan Army.

AAG Sarwar Khan tried to argue that terrorism had the entire country in its grip and was not limited to Sindh alone, at which the bench, comprising Alam and Justice Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, said that the provincial government cannot shrug off its responsibilities by making such statements.

The bench asked about the target killing cases in which men were acquitted because of insufficient evidence and why this happened, however, the government lawyers were unable to reply. The feputy attorney general stated that only the DIG investigations has this information.

The bench then ordered the DIG to appear in person with all relevant details. The hearing was adjourned indefinitely.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th,  2011.