QUETTA  – The government of Balochistan has failed to protect the basic rights of people as enshrined in the Constitution, hence has lost the right to rule, according to the Supreme Court interim order passed in the case pertaining to law and order situation and forced disappearances in the province.
A three-judge bench of the apex court, comprising Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Jawwad S Khawaja, heard the petition filed by the Balochistan Bar Association on the law and order situation in the province.
During the hearing, the chief justice ruled that the Balochistan government has failed in stopping violation of human rights in the province. “Mutilated bodies are being found but it is yet to be determined who is responsible,” the court noted.
The SC said in its order that targeted killings and kidnapping for ransom were continuing in the province and the government has failed in accordance with constitution; besides, the federal government also didn’t take any action to fulfil its responsibilities in the province.
The CJ said every third case of a missing person is blamed on Frontier Corps.
The court said that there was involvement of secret agencies in the province. It said only the Frontier Corps was held responsible for missing persons’ issue, despite the fact that 432 personnel of the paramilitary force too had been killed. The order said that compensations be paid to the families of missing persons whose tortured bodies had been found.
The Supreme Court endorsed the decision of the high court regarding banned outfits. It said that the government was facing corruption allegations and it should take measures in this regard. Justice Iftikhar said that the judiciary’s past decisions were now a part of history, adding that the institution would no longer protect any unlawful and unconstitutional measures.
Addressing Advocate General Balochistan Amanullah Kanrani, the chief justice said that the law officer should tell the provincial government that it had a faulty approach. Kanrani said Balochistan’s security situation had deteriorated after the killing of nationalist leader Akbar Bugti.
The CJ said that the situation gets worse when one is pushed to the corner. “We desire the end of targeted killings and forced disappearances in Balochistan,” he added. The chief justice said that the constitution is supreme and “we cannot give any suggestion to amend it”. Justice Khilji Arif Hussain remarked that many until today might have transcended the constitution, but “we will give decision as per the constitution”.
In a dialogue with the DIG of CID police, the chief justice said that the CID had been directed to operate across Balo-chistan, adding he hoped that the institution would fulfil its responsibilities and produce satisfactory results. Lawyer Zafar Ahmad said that except Quetta, all Baloch and Pashtun areas in the province remind us of the pre-historic era. Development could not take place without peace, he added. The CJ said NFC has given huge sums for development, questioning as to where all that money had gone. Despite allocation of such hefty amounts, roads cannot be found anywhere, he added.
 He said, “We should have honest and true representatives of the people”.