Kharotabad killings: Balochistan police turn to law department for advice

Law department will decide how the tribunal’s recommendations be implemented.

QUETTA:

In order to implement the recommendations made by the judicial tribunal about the Kharotabad killings, the Balochistan police force has turned to the law department to seek its advice.

The judicial tribunal that had been set up to investigate the killings of the five foreigners in Quetta, had earlier held former CCPO Quetta Dawood Junejo, Lt Colonel Frontier Corps Faisal Shehzad, former SHO Airport Road Fazlur Rehman and ASI Raza Khan responsible for the extrajudicial killings of the five Chechens.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, Inspector General (IG) Police, Balochistan, Rao Amin Hashim said that the police had already constituted a committee to implement the court’s recommendations, but consulting the law department was mandatory in terms of deciding what action should be taken against all those responsible and how to ensure the recommendations are implemented in accordance with the law.

“The police had sent the recommendations to the law department for its advice on the implementation,” he added.

Sources said the committee had recommended that criminal cases be registered against Sub-inspector Fazlur Rehman and Assistant Sub-Inspector Raza Khan. “Criminal cases and departmental action had been recommended by the committee constituted by IG Police, Balochistan against both officials who are solely responsible for the incident,” a source added.

“As far as Junejo is concerned, the report of the judicial tribunal is not clear on what sort of action should be taken against him. The committee recommended that another investigation team be formed under the supervision of DIG [investigations] to look into the matter and include all the police personnel present at the spot in the investigation,” sources said, adding that any police personnel who do not come forward as witnesses, must be considered accused.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 3^rd, 2011.