Balochistan unrest: Army chief will be summoned, says CJ

Chief justice takes notice of IG FC's press conference, says video will be sent to Army chief and defence secretary.

ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while hearing the Balochistan law and order case on Monday, said that the Army chief will be summoned to the court to comment on the press conference held by Inspector General of Frontier Corps (FC) Major General Obaidullah Khattak.

The chief justice took notice of the press conference in which the IG FC blamed foreign agencies behind the unrest in Balochistan, and ordered for its video to be produced before the court. He added that the video will also be sent to the Army chief and the defence secretary.

The chief justice further added that the situation in Balochistan has already been unstable, while the IG FC is giving a press conference which is contrary to the court orders. He questioned if the IG FC is looking forward to a confrontation with the court.

Raja Irshad, the counsel for security agencies, told the court that the press conference was held to highlight the acts of foreign agencies, but the chief justice said that if there are foreign agencies present in Balochistan, then the responsibility lies with the federal government to deal with them.

The lawyer representing mobile phone companies told the court that the PTA has allowed issuing only five SIMs per person, and added that the companies have spent $30 million to provide a tracking system to agencies but they do not cooperate with the police.