F-8 Katcheri attack: Supreme court decides not to make public inquiry report
Bar associations disagree with decision; hearing adjourned till today.
A view of damage in district court in Islamabad after a gun-and-suicide attack on Monday, March 3, 2014. PHOTO: INP/FILE
ISLAMABAD:
The Supreme Court has decided not to make public the inquiry report on the gun-and-suicide attack in Islamabad’s district courts on March 3, wherein 12 people and a judge were killed.
During the hearing of the F-8 Katcheri suo motu case on Monday, the Supreme Court three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, announced that the inquiry report from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been received.
The inquiry committee, headed by Justice Shoukat Aziz Siddiqui, submitted the report last week.
Meanwhile, Islamabad High Court Bar Association president Mohsin Akhtar Kayani sought the court’s permission to examine the report and submit his comments.
The bench allowed him and said that he may inspect the report in the SC registrar’s office but not make it public while the proceedings of the case are under way. The hearing of the case was adjourned until today (Tuesday).
The Express Tribune learnt that the report is more than 140 pages long with more than 20 recommendations. It has already been reported that the inquiry committee recommended action against the police and district administration authorities for committing negligence.
The committee also held that the attack also showed the failure of the intelligence agencies. It recommended rewarding two officials of the Anti-Terrorism Squad who had challenged the attackers and opened fire at them.
According to media reports, the committee recorded the statements of about 70 witnesses, including police and intelligence officials.
Despite the SC order, IHCBA president Mohsin Akhtar demanded the inquiry report be made public. “(But for now,) I have gone through half of the report’s contents and will again go through it at the SC registrar’s office on Tuesday,” he told The Express Tribune after the hearing. He will also submit a concise statement before the court regarding the inquiry report today (Tuesday).
Likewise, Islamabad District Bar Association president Nasir Kayani also objected to the SC’s decision to make the inquiry report secret, adding that the bar will protest if the court does not reveal the contents of the report.
One group of lawyers believes that the court is not making the report public for the protection of witnesses. However, another section of the legal fraternity claims that this SC decision will protect those deemed responsible for negligence in the report.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2014.
The Supreme Court has decided not to make public the inquiry report on the gun-and-suicide attack in Islamabad’s district courts on March 3, wherein 12 people and a judge were killed.
During the hearing of the F-8 Katcheri suo motu case on Monday, the Supreme Court three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, announced that the inquiry report from the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has been received.
The inquiry committee, headed by Justice Shoukat Aziz Siddiqui, submitted the report last week.
Meanwhile, Islamabad High Court Bar Association president Mohsin Akhtar Kayani sought the court’s permission to examine the report and submit his comments.
The bench allowed him and said that he may inspect the report in the SC registrar’s office but not make it public while the proceedings of the case are under way. The hearing of the case was adjourned until today (Tuesday).
The Express Tribune learnt that the report is more than 140 pages long with more than 20 recommendations. It has already been reported that the inquiry committee recommended action against the police and district administration authorities for committing negligence.
The committee also held that the attack also showed the failure of the intelligence agencies. It recommended rewarding two officials of the Anti-Terrorism Squad who had challenged the attackers and opened fire at them.
According to media reports, the committee recorded the statements of about 70 witnesses, including police and intelligence officials.
Despite the SC order, IHCBA president Mohsin Akhtar demanded the inquiry report be made public. “(But for now,) I have gone through half of the report’s contents and will again go through it at the SC registrar’s office on Tuesday,” he told The Express Tribune after the hearing. He will also submit a concise statement before the court regarding the inquiry report today (Tuesday).
Likewise, Islamabad District Bar Association president Nasir Kayani also objected to the SC’s decision to make the inquiry report secret, adding that the bar will protest if the court does not reveal the contents of the report.
One group of lawyers believes that the court is not making the report public for the protection of witnesses. However, another section of the legal fraternity claims that this SC decision will protect those deemed responsible for negligence in the report.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 8th, 2014.