The Supreme Court rejected and expressed dissatisfaction with the Intelligence Bureau (IB) and Special Branch reports over the worsening law and order situation in Balochistan on Friday and directed the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to submit its detailed report on the issue by February 6. A three-member bench comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez was hearing a petition filed by Balochistan High Court Bar Association President Hadi Shakeel Ahmad against incidents of targeted killing, kidnapping for ransom and the deteriorating law and order situation in the province in general. The chief justice observed that no one was taking measures to control killings in Quetta, adding that the court was considering hearing the case in Balochistan. In response to court orders, Balochistan additional advocate general submitted a report to the court on law and order in Balochistan on behalf of the IB, saying that it was a classified document, thus it should not be shared with the petitioners. “If you say then we may consider it classified, otherwise the information given in the report has already been published in the newspapers,” Justice Hussain said. The court, however, directed the IB’s counsel to submit the report to the apex court’s Registrar Office. The additional advocate general also submitted a report on the matter on behalf of the Special Branch. Justice Hussain said things did not become classified upon someone’s request, on which the chief justice remarked that the report could be considered ‘classified’ if the agencies said so, but the court was not satisfied with it. The petitioner has made Balochistan Police inspector general (IG), Frontier Corps Balochistan IG and Levis Force IG, heads of three top intelligence agencies, the federal government through the Interior Ministry and the provincial government through the chief secretary and home secretary the respondents. The case was later adjourned until February 6.
SC seeks ISI’s report on law and order in Balochistan
