Karachi violence: As long as you bend the law to protect the kursi, nothing can be done, says SC

AG Malik directed to submit in writing the point made by the Election Commission on de-limitation of the city areas.

KARACHI:

As long as we compromise on the law to protect the kursi, nothing can be done.

If one sentiment summed up day two of the Supreme Court’s hearings into the Karachi violence suo motu case, it was this. The five judges are assessing how far the Sindh government and law enforcement agencies have followed its recommendations given a year ago to tackle Karachi’s astounding crime rate.

As the hearing started, the SC ordered the SHOs to leave the court and go back to work. The bench observed that only senior police officers were required to answer their questions and not all the SHOs.

One of the main points taken up was the limits of boundaries in Karachi whether for police stations, towns or municipal units. But Advocate General Sindh Abdul Fattah Malik along with an officer from the Election Commissioner’s office said that they were having trouble drawing them up because a new local government system had been introduced. Similarly, they could not prepare the new maps of towns as new ones had been created.

The court replied that the purpose of asking for maps was to see the jurisdictions of the police stations, how it had been decided and how the city could be divided by the revenue department.

Expressing astonishment over the government’s delay in surveying the lands, a member of the bench remarked, “Are you still living in the Stone Age?” Half of the problem would automatically be resolved, if officials had surveyed state lands.

AG Malik was directed to submit in writing the point made by the Election Commission on the de-limitation of the city areas to comply with the SC’s recommendations. The judges wanted to see whether government functionaries were avoiding the exercise or if there was a genuine reason for the delay. The Sindh Board of Revenue was also told to submit whatever maps of the city were available.

The AG was told to submit a detailed report on the survey of state lands. The bench observed that state land was either being eaten up in forged entries or people were occupying precious land. The AG said that presiding officers were appointed to the anti-encroachment tribunals in consultation with the SHC chief justice. Some cases had been challaned and they even had some convictions.

Case load

A member of the inspection team of the Sindh High Court gave details of cases that had piled up in the courts from 2002 to 2010. The judges asked for data from 2011 to date as well and the prosecutor general was asked to give them a list of people convicted by the anti-terrorism courts.

Compensation

The AG informed the court that Rs80 million had been disbursed in compensation to the heirs of 400 people. Additional Chief Secretary to the Home Department Waseem Ahmed said that claimants in 76 cases were being traced as they needed to also be given compensation money. A notice was being published through the newspapers, asking the claimants to contact the government. AG Malik added that compensation to the heirs of six lawyers who were murdered had also been given and the cheques for 13 other cases were ready to be handed over.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 25^th, 2012.