Law and order: SHC committee to summon govt officials, agency personnel

The apex court had formed the committee to see that its directives were implemented.

KARACHI: As three-day protests against the killing of Hazara Shia community members ended in the city on Tuesday, Sindh High Court Chief Justice Mushir Alam said that he would soon call a meeting of the government as well as security agencies to review the progress made by them in bringing the law and order situation under control.

Justice Alam heads a committee that was constituted by the Supreme Court to ensure that its directives in the suo motu case on Karachi violence were being implemented.

The committee was tasked with meeting government officials, as well as representatives of the Rangers and the police force on a monthly basis, and to evaluate the progress they made to improve the law and order situation in the city. Alam added that without the will of the government, the situation would not improve in the city.



He was talking to media personnel after having administered oaths to Justice Nisar Muhammad Shaikh, Justice Nadeem Akhtar and Justice Muhammad Shafi Siddiqui, who were confirmed as permanent judges of the high court by President Asif Ali Zardari on Monday.

Talking about the proposed meeting between the judicial committee and relevant authorities, Alam said that the apex court had ordered law enforcers to discharge their duties and address complaints regarding the law and order situation.

“Therefore, all of them are being summoned [so we can learn] why the situation is not being brought under control.”



Justice Alam added that the provincial government was also directed to legislate so that illegal arms in the city could be seized. We would look into this aspect as well, and determine the “hesitation” of officials to address this issue, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 20^th, 2013.