CJP grills FIA, others over Turbat killings, human trafficking

–Top judge says ‘preventing a crime before execution is an actual skill’

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday grilled the agencies, particularly the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), for failing to prevent human trafficking cases in the country, and sought a detailed report on the issue from the FIA director general and provincial government.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Saqib Nisar was hearing a suo moto case about the killing of 20 peoplewhose bullet-riddled bodies were found in Balochistan’s Turbat and Buleda areas last month.

The deceased men were allegedly deceived by human traffickers into being taken to Europe through Iran after payment of the ‘fees’.

The FIA DG, as well as Balochistan’s chief secretary and advocate general, appeared before the bench as reports into the incident were submitted to the court.

“Are incidents like these a matter of pride for the institutions, agencies and the nation?” the CJP asked at the outset of the hearing.

He questioned why the agencies of the country were “unaware” and what is the FIA’s role in preventing such incidents.

“Preventing a crime before execution is an actual skill,” remarked the CJP.

The FIA DG told the court that his agency has taken all-out measures against human traffickers. Disagreeing with the FIA DG, the CJP remarked that in his opinion the FIA DG had the solution to this issue.

“What must the families that received the bodies have gone through?” he asked.

The FIA chief apprised the court that his agency had limited resources and tools required for probing into incidents of this nature.

“If you don’t have the resources, accept that you cannot do anything,” the CJP replied.

He said the court could not stay silent just because of lack of resources. Justice Umar Ata Bandial asked which official agencies are cooperating with FIA.

The chief justice asked the FIA DG to give the assurance that a similar incident would not take place in the future.

Claiming that a terrorist organisation had killed the 20 people on ethnic grounds, the FIA DG said that international gangs also operate in Iran and Turkey besides Pakistan.

The court asked the FIA head and Balochistan government to submit a new report containing details about human smuggling.

“The judiciary is ready to lend its shoulder; you [should] show action,” the CJP told the FIA DG.

Meanwhile, the Balochistan chief secretary told the court that all agencies are coordinating on the matter of human smuggling. Extremists have been confined to two districts in Balochistan due to action by the agencies, he said.

The hearing of the case was adjourned until the first week of February.

Last month, the bullet-riddled bodies of 15 people were recovered from the Buleda area of Kech district in Turbat, Balochistan. The army’s media wing had said that a terrorist involved in murdering 15 people in Tubat had been killed during an intelligence-based operation.

Later, the bullet-riddled bodies of five persons, also hailing from Punjab, were found in Turbat’s Tajaban area in Balochistan. Levies said that all the victims had received multiple bullet injuries and belonged to Punjab’s Gujrat district.  The Balochistan Liberation Front (BLF) had taken responsibility for the attack.