—CJP orders law enforcement authorities to submit bi-monthly report to court
ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Thursday provisionally wrapped up Dera Ismail Khan target killing suo motu case after directing authorities to continue action against ‘miscreants’.
A three-member bench, head by Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Mian Saqib Nisar, also ordered the law enforcement authorities to submit a bi-monthly report to the top court. It also directed that any serious sectarian incident in DI Khan be brought to the court’s attention.
The court announced the decision after the DI Khan’s district police officer informed the bench about measures taken to curb sectarian violence. “Police had conducted joint operations with intelligence agencies in at least three tehsils of the district,” he said.
The senior police official further said that a decrease has been witnessed in target killings as no case was reported in the last two months.
However, the CJP questioned why improvement was only witnessed after the suo motu notice of the court. “Why did the authorities not take action before?” he questioned.
A suo motu notice was taken by the CJP on the recommendation of an SC judge from DI Khan.
In an earlier hearing, the CJP had slammed negligence of authorities to curb sectarian violence in the city. “No concrete steps have been taken for eradication of murders on sectarian grounds,” Justice Nisar had said.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government law officer had told the court that a ban has been imposed on the use of the loudspeaker to curb such violence and search operations have also been conducted against miscreants.
The CJP had remarked, “No solid steps have been taken to curb sectarian-related killings in Dera Ismail Khan. The chief secretary should file a report that what action has been taken to address the problem.”
The court had also rejected the IGP’s report over the matter and had said that it seems as if some section officer has prepared the report while sitting in the office.
The CJP had remarked, “Controlling the law and order situation is the responsibility of the government. Restlessness prevails among the people of the area after seeing the situation.”
