Kharotabad tribunal report to be made public: CM

Officials say the report clearly holds law enforcers responsible.

QUETTA:

Balochistan Chief Minister Nawab Aslam Raisani has directed that the judicial tribunal’s report into the Kharotabad killings be made public.

Earlier, the Balochistan government had announced that the report will not be released to the public.

The chief minister has sent the judicial report to the Balochistan chief secretary and asked him that recommendations be implemented in letter and spirit. He has also directed that the report be made public so that the people of Balochistan are aware of not only the details of the incident but also the findings of the tribunal.

Five foreigners, including three women, were gunned down by Frontier Corps and police personnel on May 17 in Kharotabad, a suburb of Quetta. While security forces officials claimed that those killed were suicide bombers, the police surgeon who conducted autopsies found no indication that the foreigners, four Russians and one Tajik, carried explosives.

The incident was caught on tape by a journalist and, once aired, the video caused public outrage prompting the Balochistan government to form a judicial tribunal to probe the incident. Over a month-long hearing, the tribunal recorded the statements of 28 witnesses and submitted its report, comprising over 80 pages, to the government on Tuesday.

According to official sources, the tribunal has clearly mentioned in the report that law enforcement personnel opened fire at the foreigners.

“There are few chances that the report will be made public because its findings go against government functionaries. However, after directives of the chief minister, it might be made public,” a senior official said.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 30^th, 2011.