A three-judge bench of the apex court, headed by Chief Justice Nasirul Mulk, while hearing a suo motu case recommended that the government increase compensation provided to heirs of the lawyers killed in the suicide attack.
Earlier, a one-man inquiry committee, headed by Justice Shaukat Aziz Siddiqui of the Islamabad High Court, probing into the bombing on the district courts had submitted 13 recommendations to the apex court.
But on Wednesday, the apex court for the first time decided to share the report with representatives of the Islamabad Bar Association.
The report recommended that all officials, “who were negligent in the performance of their official duties, and who were directly responsible for the loss of lives, are liable to criminal action through registration of cases against them along with departmental actions.”
In the 97 page-long report, the inquiry committee had observed that internal security policy of the country, which in turn is connected to the external security policy, should be clearly determined by the government so that the security apparatus of the state could be molded to cope with contemporary challenges.
“It is proposed that on accounts of lawyers’ chambers, there is no mechanism to cordon them with a football security apparatus, therefore, districts courts should be immediately shifted to a safer place,” it proposed.
“Islamabad police should revisit its organisational and security policy/ doctrine. Terrorist activities should be given focal importance, while formulating any such policies. The training and capacity building of the police should be done to meet with contemporary challenges of terrorism. All the police force, deployed for any purpose should be trained to counter terrorism,” the report stated.
“The dead and injured have not suffered on account of an accident but for the fact that their state has failed to protect their lives,” it added.
The committee further recommended that heirs of lawyers should be given compensation to the tune of Rs10 million with the injured to be compensated with an amount of Rs5 million each by the government. It further suggested that families of citizens other than lawyers be compensated with Rs5 million each while the injured with Rs2.5 million.
Meanwhile, during the hearing Deputy Attorney General Sajid Ilyas Bhatti submitted a report about the steps taken by the government for the implementation of the inquiry committee’s recommendations.
He submitted that the government has paid Rs10 million to the family of each judge killed in the attack, while Rs3 million were given to the family of each police official. Heirs of lawyers and other people killed in the attack were provided just Rs0.5 million.
On the other hand, Islamabad High Court Bar Association president Mohsin Kayani filed that the government did not take any action against police officials in view of the inquiry commission report. Upon this, the bench sought a report from the government regarding its actions to be submitted by December 10.
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