Chief Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said on Tuesday that the judiciary could intervene if the government failed to perform its duties to protect the lives of people, and that it was the prime and basic responsibility of the chief minister to protect the lives of the citizens.
Chaudhry was heading a five-member bench hearing a suo motu case on the violence and targeted killings in Karachi. During the hearing of the case, the chief justice said it was time for the provincial government to wake up as the matter had become serious and the people’s fundamental right to security was being violated.
Sindh government’s counsel Abdul Hafeez Pirzada stated that the security in the city had improved since the court took notice of the issue.
He said there were at least 2.5 million foreigners living in Karachi, among them Palestinian, Burmese, Bengali, Nepalese and Sri Lankan nationals, but less than 100,000 had been registered. He told the court that the foreigners had increased their influence in the affairs of the city in recent years and might be to blame for the rise in violence in Karachi.
Chronicling the history of ethnic clashes in Karachi, Pirzada said the first clashes between two ethnic groups occurred in Sohrab Goth during the rule of General Ziaul Haq in the 80s.
He said the local bodies system, introduced by former president Pervez Musharraf, aggravated ethnic tensions in the city. He added that the tension during the local bodies elections could turn into ethnic strife in the provincial capital. The counsel said the most critical problem of the city was extortionists and the drug mafia. He stated further that the percentage of court convictions was very low and that police and Rangers were not being properly utilised.
GOVT LACKS WILL: The chief justice said that the government had the resources and machinery to restore peace to Karachi but lacked the will to do so. He ordered the Sindh government to act immediately to curb the violence. He said that the chief minister of Sindh was duty-bound to protect the people of the province.
Chaudhry also said extortion money was taken like a right in the city, which was marred by frequent recoveries of mutilated bodies, and asked how the situation could be improved under the circumstances.
The chief justice said he would even hear the case during Eid holidays if needed, as he would remain in Karachi. He said bringing the army into Karachi to curb violence would amount to a destruction of democratic institutions and stated that the issue should be resolved democratically.
The chief justice questioned Pirzada about the police’s failure to identify victims of targeted killings, saying that first information reports had been registered against unidentified individuals. He also expressed dissatisfaction with the fact that none of the accused were presented in the anti-terrorism courts, nor were issued a challan by the police. He slammed the police for not recording the statements of an injured victim who recovered earlier this week.
He noted that the provincial government’s move to borrow federal security forces had proved very expensive. The better alternative, the chief justice said, was to develop the provincial police force.
After hearing arguments from the counsels, the court adjourned the hearing till September 5.
I hated Musharraf and still do, but am sick and tired of nonsense coming from the highest court of the country and that also from one on the top.
The trouble is that the ones who need to play politics are not playing while others are playing politics.We saw this before.Divine intervention is needed.
chief justice is doing his best to give relief to people but goverment is not obeyinghis orders.
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