Security situation: Court demands ISI, MI report on Balochistan

SC tells the two outfits to furnish report by March 7.

ISLAMABAD:


The Supreme Court directed on Friday the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) and the Military Intelligence (MI) to submit a detailed report on the security situation in Balochistan on March 7.


A three-member bench, headed by Justice Shakirullah Jan, was hearing two cases – a petition filed by the Balochistan High Court Bar Association (BHCBA) against incidents of target killings, kidnappings for ransom and the overall poor law and order situation in the province, and a suo motu notice on the killings of Balochistan MPA Bakhtiar Domki’s wife and daughter.

The court had ordered the ISI and MI to submit the report during the last hearing. However, Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq informed the court on Friday that he had conveyed the court’s message to the ISI and MI and that the agencies had requested for more time to file the report.

The attorney general informed the court that the ISI and MI had also requested that they be allowed to give an in-camera briefing in the court’s chambers due to the sensitivity of the case. The attorney general submitted a written statement on behalf of ISI and MI and claimed it was a secret document.

On the basis of the statement, he added, the agency heads would like to give a briefing in chambers.

Domki family murder


While rejecting a report submitted by the additional advocate general of Sindh, Justice Pervez observed that the findings in the Domki family murder probe were “equivalent to zero”.

The report entailed details from eyewitnesses, who suspected that two cars – a Suzuki Alto or a Daihatsu Cuore – were used by the culprits who gunned down Domki’s wife, daughter and driver on January 31 in Karachi.

The additional advocate general told the court that the police had launched a search operation and had inspected 500 Altos and 108 Cuores.

Justice Jan observed that the court had directed the police to carry out investigations with their “eyes wide open,” whereas, the findings suggest otherwise. “The police have failed to produce tangible results,” he said.

SSP Niaz Khoso informed the court that all the bullets were fired from the same gun and that further investigations are under way.

The court directed the inspector general of police Sindh to take the matter seriously and to look into it personally.

The court also ordered the Sindh police to submit a joint investigation report on March 7.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 25th, 2012.
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