Court’s wrath: SC comes loud and clear in missing persons’ case

Acting FC IG asked to ensure prompt recovery of missing persons.

QUETTA/ ISLAMABAD:

Supreme Court bench, led by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, gave a clear message on Thursday to the relevant authorities to recover missing persons or face the court’s wrath.

The bench asked the acting Frontier Corps (FC) Inspector-General Brigadier Khalid Saleem to ensure prompt recovery of all the missing persons. Addressing the acting FC IG Justice Jillani said, “You are there to protect the citizens, your uniform should inspire confidence among them.”

Earlier, at the start of proceedings the court felt the absence of acting FC IG and had to put off the hearing for a while until the officer came rushing in to assure the court of an all-out effort to trace the missing persons, also dispelling the impression that those disappeared were in the custody of the FC.

The chief justice asked FC IG to correct this impression while complying with the court’s order by ensuring the missing persons are traced in the province. Court also ordered him to submit a detailed report suggesting the arrests of kidnappers and the recovery of those kidnapped.

Referring to the provision of security to doctors and the rising trend of kidnapping, Chief Secretary Balochistan Babar Yaqoob Fateh Mohammad argued that it was difficult to provide security to all the doctors in Quetta who are more than 2,000 in number.

Long march

Relatives of Baloch missing persons have reportedly been receiving life threats to end the long march.

Chairman of Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VFBMP) Nasrullah Baloch told the media that VFBMP Vice Chairman Mama Qadir Baloch has been receiving threatening phone calls from unknown numbers for the past four days.

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