SC takes suo motu notice of Khuzdar ‘mass grave’. PHOTO: FILE
Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani on Saturday summoned the Balochistan police chief, initiating suo motu action over the grisly discovery of a suspected mass grave in Khudzar district.
The move came on the heels of the Balochistan administration’s decision to form a judicial commission to investigate the discovery of an unspecified number of bodies in a mass grave in the Tutak area of Khuzdar last Saturday.
The suo motu notice was taken on a statement of Nasrullah Baloch, the chairperson of the Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), who called for a judicial probe into the matter. Though most of the 13 bodies recovered thus far are decomposed beyond recognition, Baloch claimed that three of them were among those listed as ‘missing persons’.
Khuzdar’s deputy commissioner confirmed that 25 bodies had so far been recovered from the mass grave but voiced fear that there could be more bodies, according to Baloch.
“It prima facie reflects serious violation of fundamental rights provisions of the constitution,” the chief justice’s note stated. “Notice be issued to the Inspector General of Police, Balochistan, to submit a report by Tuesday (Feb 4) about the factual position. The deputy commissioner, Khuzdar, shall also submit a report till Feb 4 when the case will be taken up for regular hearing,” the top judge ordered.
Last week, Advocate Shahid Hamid, the government’s counsel in the Balochistan law and order case, submitted a one-page report on the suspected mass grave but the top court declined to accept it, stating that it would not hear the case.
During the proceedings, Hamid had also complained that the paramilitary Frontier Corps (FC) was not under the effective control of the Balochistan government. It is learnt that the report suggested a committee be constituted to probe the incident.
Earlier on Saturday, the Balochistan government ordered a judicial inquiry into the discovery of the mass grave. According to a provincial Home and Tribal Affairs Department announcement, Balochistan High Court Judge Justice Noor Mohammad Maskanzai will head the commission which would submit its report within a month of its formation.
Widow’s rape
The chief justice also took suo motu notice of a controversial dispute settlement by a panchayat (village council) in a south Punjab hamlet. According to media reports, the panchayat allegedly ordered the gang-rape of a 40-year-old widow as retribution for her brother’s affair with a married woman in Radiwala, a hamlet of about 30 houses in Muzaffargarh district, on Jan 24.
Justice Jillani directed the IGP Punjab to check the veracity of the media reports and prepare a report on the action taken by his force in response. The report must be submitted by Feb 4.
According to media reports, the panchayat was convened after villager Majeed accused fellow villager Ajmal – the brother of widow F* – of having an affair with his wife and sought retribution. The 40-member panchayat ordered the rape of F by the aggrieved party to settle the score.
The incident sparked widespread condemnation from rights activists and civil society members. In a protest held in Islamabad on Friday, they demanded the government immediately arrest and punish both the panchayat members and those it had ordered to carry out the rape.
In July last year, the Supreme Court had directed the federal and provincial governments to prevent panchayats, jirgas and other village councils from practicing as a parallel justice system in the rural areas. Such village councils came to fore following the 2002 gang-rape of Mukhtaran Mai, which also took place in the Muzaffargarh district.
(NAME OF THE MUZAFFARGARH VICTIM HAS BEEN CHANGED TO PROTECT HER IDENTITY)
Published in The Express Tribune, February 2nd, 2014.
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