Chief Justice of Pakistan Gulzar Ahmed on Thursday berated Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mohammad Tahir Rai, raising questions over the “business of injustice” that had “brought the country to the brink of disaster.”
He made these comments during a three-member hearing of a suo motu case on targeted killings of the Hazara people and a petition seeking recovery of missing persons.
One of the complainants told the court that her husband Ali Raza had been missing since 2013, while police had released the suspect in the case.
CJP Gulzar expressed displeasure upon hearing this and asked the IGP: “What is this? A person has been missing for seven years and police have not done anything?”
The IGP told the court that the case had been with Levies for three years.
“What did you do after you received the case?” the chief justice pressed on. “Police have no interest in investigating. Do you know what investigation means?” he said.
The IGP remarked that the missing person would be recovered soon but the CJP was not convinced. “Why were you given the uniform? You do not care about anybody!” he said.
Balochistan advocate general told the court that the investigation would be completed if Ali Raza’s family cooperated. The chief justice remarked that the families would only cooperate if they trusted government officials.
“Evidence of a crime disappears within 24 hours. The police keep waiting for [bribes] to start investigating. You do not respect the sanctity of your uniform. The police do not do what they are assigned to do [but] start doing something else. A business of injustice is being operated. The country has been brought to the brink of disaster. Whichever suspect is brought to the court is acquitted because the investigation is incorrect,” he said.
During the hearing, the advocate general informed the court that a first information report (FIR) had been registered on the SC’s orders and four missing persons had been recovered. The four people were present in the court.
Chief Justice Ahmed questioned them about who had kidnapped them. One of them replied that they could not identify the kidnappers as their faces had been hidden.
“The recovered people came back home themselves; police did not take any action. The recovered people are not revealing the names of the kidnappers out of fear,” the CJP observed.
“They say that if they share the names with the police, they will not be able to come back alive a second time. They do not trust state machinery,” he further said.
Adjourning the case for a month, the Supreme Court directed officials to recover and present Ali Raza at the next hearing and to ensure protection of Hazara community in Balochistan.
The SC ordered officials to arrest and present those who were involved in Raza’s kidnapping, warning that irresponsibility by any security agency in recovering the missing person would not be tolerated.
In addition, the court directed officials to arrest those involved in the kidnapping of four members of the Hazara community who were recovered.
It also directed that the members of the Hazara community should be compensated for the problems they faced in getting passports.
He made these comments during a three-member hearing of a suo motu case on targeted killings of the Hazara people and a petition seeking recovery of missing persons.
One of the complainants told the court that her husband Ali Raza had been missing since 2013, while police had released the suspect in the case.
CJP Gulzar expressed displeasure upon hearing this and asked the IGP: “What is this? A person has been missing for seven years and police have not done anything?”
The IGP told the court that the case had been with Levies for three years.
“What did you do after you received the case?” the chief justice pressed on. “Police have no interest in investigating. Do you know what investigation means?” he said.
The IGP remarked that the missing person would be recovered soon but the CJP was not convinced. “Why were you given the uniform? You do not care about anybody!” he said.
Balochistan advocate general told the court that the investigation would be completed if Ali Raza’s family cooperated. The chief justice remarked that the families would only cooperate if they trusted government officials.
“Evidence of a crime disappears within 24 hours. The police keep waiting for [bribes] to start investigating. You do not respect the sanctity of your uniform. The police do not do what they are assigned to do [but] start doing something else. A business of injustice is being operated. The country has been brought to the brink of disaster. Whichever suspect is brought to the court is acquitted because the investigation is incorrect,” he said.
During the hearing, the advocate general informed the court that a first information report (FIR) had been registered on the SC’s orders and four missing persons had been recovered. The four people were present in the court.
Chief Justice Ahmed questioned them about who had kidnapped them. One of them replied that they could not identify the kidnappers as their faces had been hidden.
“The recovered people came back home themselves; police did not take any action. The recovered people are not revealing the names of the kidnappers out of fear,” the CJP observed.
“They say that if they share the names with the police, they will not be able to come back alive a second time. They do not trust state machinery,” he further said.
Adjourning the case for a month, the Supreme Court directed officials to recover and present Ali Raza at the next hearing and to ensure protection of Hazara community in Balochistan.
The SC ordered officials to arrest and present those who were involved in Raza’s kidnapping, warning that irresponsibility by any security agency in recovering the missing person would not be tolerated.
In addition, the court directed officials to arrest those involved in the kidnapping of four members of the Hazara community who were recovered.
It also directed that the members of the Hazara community should be compensated for the problems they faced in getting passports.