An Armored Personnel Carrier drives through Karachi streets after a protest. PHOTO: INP/FILE
DIG further stated that he cannot make any arrests because there is a political fallout. He also said the police is terrified in Karachi and he cannot provide any outcome in such a situation.
During the hearing of the case, Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry asked strict questions. He asked DIG if he is willing to bring peace in the city
He further stated that people in Karachi are losing their lives while the officials are pre-occupied in documentations.
Attorney General Munir A Malik also submitted an investigation report on Karachi violence case and requested to keep the contents of report confidential.
Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry showed discontent over the Karachi violence investigation report submitted by the chief secretary and IG Sindh on Thursday.
He stated that everyone attending this hearing should speak the truth and a pile of written investigation reports cannot resolve the issue.
“The Chief Secretary and IG Sindh are compromising to unknown circumstances and are reluctant to reveal the truth,” said the Chief Justice.
He further said that all ammunition and drugs are smuggled in the country through Karachi Port and the weapons from Nato containers have spread throughout the country.
“Ammunitions earlier caught from Balochistan were also linked from Karachi. Around 19,000 containers containing weapons are missing and being used in the province,” said the Chief Justice.
The Supreme Court issued a notice to customs chief collector and asked him to appear before the court.
During the hearing today, the Sindh Advocate General elaborated that 20 Armored Personnel Carriers (APCs) were requested for the province from the federal ministry, but ministry officials had refused to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC).
In response to this, the Chief Justice demanded a reason for the refusal and stated that the case has been pending for the last five months, indicating that the federal ministry seemed uninterested in the matter. He further held the federal ministry responsible for ongoing violence in the city.
Later during the day, Sindh Government decided to purchase 20 APCs for Karachi which are aimed to assist the under-discussion targeted operation in the city. The federal ministry has also issued the NOC on this agreement.
The Chief Justice also expressed concern over the contradictory statements from the IG Sindh over the existence of ‘no-go’ areas in the city. He asked why the federal government had yet to assist in the matter, when assistance had been sought.
The Chief Justice also stated that the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) was not functioning effectively under the supervision of the Sindh Governor House and Prime Minister House.
He demanded a list of provincial problems from the Sindh Advocate General so that they could be presented to the cabinet.
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COMMENTS (3)
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@ unbelievable Its true that NATO doesn't ship weapons thru Karachi port, but criminal elements in the past have used forged NATO documents to imports weapons, drugs, alcohol etc into the country. Since none of the NATO containers is ever inspected, its the easiest way for criminals to get away with it.
USA/NATO doesn't ship weapons through Pakistan - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NATOlogisticsintheAfghan_War
So there were no Armored carriers supplied in those 19,000 containers? Excuse after excuse!!