Chief justice urges all political leaders to partake in solving Balochistan issue

Chief secretary rejects accusations of 'death squads' in ISI, MI.

QUETTA: The Chief Justice of Pakistan beckoned leaders of all political parties, including Imran Khan and Nawaz Sharif, to partake in finding a solution for the Balochistan crisis, saying that finding the solution was not just the government’s responsibility, Express News reported on Friday.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry issued these directives while penning down the short order pertaining to the Balochistan security case in the Supreme Court’s Quetta Registry.

The chief secretary submitted his report to the court which stated that there was no “death squad” in the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) or Military Intelligence (MI) and no secret operation was underway in the province.

The report also stated that there were no “missing” people in the custody of intelligence agencies.

“People have been missing for three years and hearing their [relatives’] accounts brings tears to one’s eyes,” stated the chief justice.

He also cut short the chief secretary’s attempt at discussing other issues, including the Aghaz-e-Haqooq-e-Balochistan package and the matter of employment.

The hearing was adjourned till Obtober 8.

Earlier, former chief minister Balochistan Akhtar Mengal had appeared in court and presented his recommendations for the Balochistan issue while decrying the “death squads” being run by intelligence agencies.

He stated that attempts were being made to eliminate the genuine leadership of the Baloch people to replace them with artificial leadership.