Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry on Tuesday took notice of the doctors’ protest in Balochistan and directed the police to provide security to the medical officers.
According to a private television channel, the chief justice issued the directive on Tuesday during the hearing of a petition on the law and order situation and human rights violations in Balochistan at the Supreme Court’s Quetta registry.
A three-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawwad S. Khawaja, was hearing the petition filed by the Balochistan Bar Association on the law and order situation in the province.
During the hearing, Chief Justice Iftikhar questioned as to why no suspects were being arrested despite the killings of a sessions judge and of personnel from the police and the Frontier Corps.
He further said that no progress had been made in order to arrest kidnappers operating in the province.
However, Quetta’s police chief Mir Zubair Mehmood disagreed and said that progress had taken place but could not be discussed during a hearing which was open to the public.
The chief justice also took notice of the doctors’ protest in the province and directed the police to provide security to the medical officers.
Upon which, the city police chief said that Balochistan had approximately 5,000 doctors, out of which Quetta had some 1,500 which included 73 professors.
Mehmood said the city police did not have the strength to provide protection to all doctors.
Moreover, in his remarks, Chief Justice Iftikhar said there were certain places in the provincial capital where even the police could not venture.
Balochistan case: CJ directs police to provide security to doctors
