No death squads in agencies, govt tells SC

The Supreme Court on Friday rejected a report submitted by Balochistan Chief Secretary Babar Yaqoob Fateh Muhammad on the province’s security situation, as the provincial government submitted that spy agencies were not running any alleged “death squads” in the province.
Hearing the Balochistan law and order and missing persons case on Friday, the three-member SC bench of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Jawwad S Khawaja and Justice Khilji Arif Hussain rejected a joint reply by the federation and intelligence agencies that contended that no military operation was being carried out in the province.
It was also stated that “death squads” did not exist in the agencies and the intelligence agencies did not have any missing person in their custody.
The chief secretary said a high-level joint meeting was also held to discuss the Balochistan issue that was attended by the defense minister, army chief and the attorney general. The statement clearly mentioned that every political party in Balochistan was free to work in the province.
Appearing before the bench, Attorney General Irfan Qadir asked the court for permission to present the federation’s reply, requesting the secretary’s written statement be deemed as minutes of the meeting held in connection with the missing persons case between the prime minister, defense secretary, attorney general, information minister and the ISI director general.
As Qadir tried commenting on Akhtar Mengal’s Thursday statement, the chief justice cut him short, saying: “Mengal’s statement will not be discussed at all. Kindly use your political insight if you have any.”
Urging President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf to acknowledge the sensitivity of the circumstances, Chief Justice Chaudhry said Mengal’s homecoming was a significant progress, adding that it was high time the Baloch people’s grievances were addressed and they were consoled.
Vowing that the court would make absolute use of its jurisdiction and powers, the chief justice observed: “The army is our own. The standoff will have to be resolved rather than entering a dead-end street.”
The chief justice said the government had earlier refused to accept the situation and now the court would hold case-to-case hearings in missing persons’ case.
The court then directed to distribute the copies of the reply among all the parties.
The CJ further said all leaders, including the president, prime minister, Nawaz Sharif and Imran Khan, would have to work to find out a political solution to the matter. The court asked Provincial Minister Sadiq Umrani to give proposals for solution of the Balochistan mess. The court also sought weekly reports from Sadiq Umrani and the federal and provincial governments about the situation.
The chief justice observed that judges might visit affected areas, including Dera Bugti, Awaran and Noshki, to personally assess the situation. He said they were not bothered about their personal security as life and death rested with Allah Almighty.
The chief secretary then said the law and order situation in Balochistan was not as bad as reported.
But the CJ said the situation in the province was continually deteriorating, adding that Mengal’s return was a major step on part of the Baloch leader.
The next hearing will be held at the SC Quetta Registry on October 8.