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Wednesday, 18 april, 2012 Jamadi-ul-awal 25, 1433
Govt has failed in Balochistan: SC
ending Siachen standoff: Pakistan should take first step
CJP orders police to produce three recovered persons in court, seeks details of sectarian killings g
ISLAMABAD
T
STAff REPoRT
HE Supreme Court on Tuesday said the federal and provincial governments were responsible for failing to maintain peace in Balochistan. “But the court will not rest until rule of law is restored to the province,” Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said while hearing a case about law and order situation in Balochistan. The three-member bench also includes Justice Khilji Arif Hussain and Justice Tariq Parvez. The Supreme Court was informed that another three missing persons – Naseer Ahmad, Akhtar Mohammad Lango and Abdul Hafeez – were recovered and had returned to their home in Quetta on Monday. The SC ordered that the three missing persons be presented in the SC Quetta Registry on April 30 and the Balochistan IGP should inform the court about the agency that had picked them up and under which law. The missing persons were recovered following the directives of Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry. They had gone missing from the Killi Ismail area of Quetta three weeks ago. The chief justice also enquired why there were so many targeted killings happening in Balochistan and who would control the situation. He said there was an international conspiracy to create a law and order crisis in Balochistan because the province was at the front line. “The government gave Rs 250 million to each MPA but they did nothing for the better-
ment of the people. The court had issued orders to the federal government about law and order in the province but it also did nothing,” he said, adding that the court was least bothered about speeches made against it, but the people must be given protection as they were being mercilessly killed. The bench ordered the attorney general and the advocate general to present a detailed report on the names of victims of religious organizations who were killed during the past two months. The next hearing of the case will be held at the SC’s Quetta Registry on April 30. Earlier during the hearing, the court pointed out that it (SC) was prima facie of the view that without identification by the police and Levies Force or any other such like source, it was impossible for any of the agencies, if at all, to pick up a person. The court noted in its order that on last date of hearing, seven persons were found missing from the area of Saryab (Quetta); however, they have also been recovered by the police and it is alleged that they were picked up by the agencies but to establish this assertion, no evidence/proof had been furnished nor anybody was willing to disclose the name of the agencies “because we (Court) have enquired from the police but they, as usual, express their inability in this regard. Be that as it may, the advocate general Balochistan is directed to produce these persons in Court on the next date of hearing at Quetta”. Continued on page 04
SHIGAR VALLEY: Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday kisses the hand of a little girl whose father is among 135 Pakistan Army personnel buried under an avalanche in the Gayari Sector of Siachen. Online SKARDU AGENCIES
Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PMLN) President Nawaz Sharif on Tuesday called on the governments of Pakistan and India to withdraw their forces from Siachen, saying the first step should be taken by Pakistan. Talking to reporters and members of the Gayari avalanche-affected families, Nawaz said Pakistan and India were spending billions of rupees on defence which could be diverted for the prosperity of the people. He highly praised the people of Gilgit-Baltistan, saying they were de-
fending the country while staying in snow-covered mountains. He said the jawans of Gilgit-Baltistan had played an important role in the Pakistan Army. Nawaz said the present government did not have the will and the capability to fight terrorism. “Immediate attention needs to be given to terrorism and its elimination,” he said, adding that acts of terrorism were proof of the failure of the government. The PML-N president also visited the residences of soldiers, expressed grief with their families, distributed cheques worth Rs 500,000 to each of the affected family and announced job for a member of each family in Punjab.
He also said the Punjab government would bear the education expenses of children of the people hit by the avalanche. Earlier, Nawaz arrived in Gayari by helicopter from Skardu. The PMLN president received a briefing on the rescue operation from Corp Commander Lt General Khalid Nawaz and Forces Commander Major General Akram ul Haq. Appreciating soldiers of army and their bravery, the PML-N chief said the entire nation was praying for them. He expressed his resolve to hold talks with India to resolve the Siachen dispute with Pakistan.