Severely annoyed by the antics and a recent news conference by Frontier Corps Inspector General Major General Ubaidullah Khattak, Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Monday said the court would be compelled to summon the army chief under Article 190 if no concrete steps were taken by the FC to mend its ways in Balochistan.
A three-member SC bench comprising Justice Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khwaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain resumed hearing into the Balochistan missing persons’ case on Monday, with the CJP expressing anger over a news conference held by the FC IG. The CJP said Khattak’s press conference was in violation of court orders and a uniformed general had no business holding such an event.
He ordered the video of the press conference be produced before the court, adding that the recording would be sent to the army chief and the defence secretary. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said the court could pass an order under Article 190 for summoning Army Chief General Ashfaq Kayani and ask him what he could do to resolve the
Balochistan quagmire. “Time has come to summon someone with authority.” He said the province could not be left in a lurch as it was the heart of the country being its most important component.The chief justice said whoever provided evidence against the FC turned up dead and the killing of more than 20 people in Balochistan in the past few days was alarming.
Justice Chaudhry said the court wanted to know what was the role of the constitutional government in the prevalent situation in Balochistan.
Justice Khawaja said some 835 incidents had occurred but no one had been apprehended. “We are neither the enemy of the agencies nor the agencies are our enemy, we are ready to give credit, but they must perform,” he added.
Attorney General Irfan Qadir said had there been no efforts, the situation would have been much worse. He said 23 missing persons had been recovered.
The CJP said parliamentarian Sadiq Umrani had been witness to FC rounding up two men.
Addressing the agencies’ lawyer, Raja Irshad, the chief justice said, “Try the accused, don’t murder them.”
Irshad told the court that the FC IG’s press conference was held to highlight the acts of foreign agencies, but the chief justice said if foreign agencies were present in Balochistan, the responsibility to deal with them lay with the federal government.
Irshad said foreign agencies were targeting the FC and so was the SC.To this, the CJP said a video had showed an FC vehicle involved in abduction and under such circumstances, why should the FC chief not be considered responsible for the same.
Irshad asked the court to withdraw the FC from Balochistan. The court, however, said it was for the government to decide.
SC has had enough of FC
