KARACHI, Sept 8: Supreme Court Chief Justice Iftikhar
Muhammad Chaudhry said on Thursday that the worsening law and order
situation in the past had led to military takeovers, adding that the
security situation in Karachi could be controlled only if constitutional
provisions were strictly followed.
“Allegations and counter-allegations are levelled by political parties against each other. Criminal gangs have been formed in the parties and people have been made hostage,” the chief justice observed during the hearing by a five-judge special bench of a suo motu case on target killings in Karachi.
He said political parties appeared to have become militant outfits.
The bench, headed by the chief justice and comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Amir Hani Muslim, adjourned the hearing till Friday when the Sindh High Court Bar Association President Anwer Mansoor Khan will conclude his remaining submissions.
After the hearing, the Inter-Services Intelligence briefed the bench on the Karachi situation in the presence of representatives of other intelligence agencies.
Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq pleaded that the matter was of sensitive nature and, therefore, no-one except members of bench should be allowed to attend the briefing. The court accepted the request and got the briefing in the committee room.
Earlier, Advocate Jamil Ahmed Virk, counsel for the Baloch Ittehad, and Advocate Farogh Naseem, representing the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, made their submissions.
The chief justice said the only politics in practice was to remain in power. Justice Anwar Jamali said Sindh would become the most peaceful province if political parties stopped depending on criminals. He referred to incidents of violence on the eve of
strike called by political parties and said that violence in Karachi had political background.
Advocate Jamil Virk called for measures to eradicate violence at the grassroots level and sought powers for the army to control law and order in the city. He alleged that a large number of police personnel were politically affiliated and said people
were still being kidnapped and killed in parts of the city.
The chief justice said the court was worried about continuing violence in the city. “The violence must come to a halt.”
Advocate Farogh Naseem said people of Karachi had heaved a sigh of relief because of the Supreme Court proceedings. He said that 34 of the 42 seats in the Sindh Assembly from Karachi had been won by the MQM, six by the PPP and two by the ANP.
He said the two seats bagged by the ANP were not won by the Muttahida in the 2003 election and, therefore, a perception about the change of demography in the city was incorrect.
The MQM counsel said a conspiracy was being hatched to kill innocent workers and supporters of the Muttahida because of its ever-increasing popularity.
“This was done at the behest of some gangs of extortionists calling themselves the People’s Aman Committee. They with the support of some armed terrorists and criminals claiming to belong to the ANP and land, arms and drug mafias carried out the
genocide in Karachi.”
Mr Naseem said police and law-enforcement agencies were not taking any action to protect the common and distressed people.
He said the MQM completely dismissed as incorrect and false all allegations levelled against it in the electronic and print media and in the suo motu proceedings. He placed on record a list of people allegedly kidnapped and killed by Lyari gangsters.
The chief justice asked why had the MQM presented the list of only its workers and supporters and not of other innocent people who had been killed in incidents of violence. Advocate Naseem said the record suggested that about 300,000 arms licences had recently been issued by the provincial government and some 10,000 people inducted into police. He said a committee should be formed to investigate the matter. The failure of law-enforcement agencies, he said, had provided safe havens for mafias.
He called for setting up pickets in Lyari, Kati Pahari, Malir, Qasba Colony, Moghalabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Lines Area. He requested the court to direct law-enforcement agencies to take an across-the-board action against criminals without fear, favour or interference by any political party.
The MQM lawyer requested the court to constitute a monitoring cell headed by a judge of the Sindh High Court and empower it to issue orders for carrying out investigation and lodging FIRs against criminals to curb violence. The cell should also investigate murders, target killings, torture and kidnappings carried out over the past three years, he said, adding that it might also frame rules and seek assistance from the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee and law-enforcement and intelligence agencies.
The MQM counsel requested the court to issue orders for induction into police of people from local areas to facilitate the concept of community policing. He said the MQM denounced collection of donations and opposed militancy. He said the party had submitted a bill in parliament for de-weaponisation. He alleged that the Muttahida was being subjected to genocide for the past three months.
Justice Sarmad Osmany said: “You (Advocate Naseem) have submitted the list of victims as done by others. It’s tit-for-tat.”
The chief justice said all this was happening because there was no writ of the government.
The MQM lawyer said the government had failed to protect people’s fundamental right to live.
The chief justice asked him to suggest a method for conducting fair investigation without political influence.
Sindh Advocate General Abdul Fatah Malik informed the court that army had conducted the 1992 operation and, therefore, no reports of intelligence agencies on it were available with the provincial authorities. However, he said the report, if any, would either be with the Intelligence Bureau or with the federal government.
The court asked the attorney general to seek the report from the quarters concerned.
“Allegations and counter-allegations are levelled by political parties against each other. Criminal gangs have been formed in the parties and people have been made hostage,” the chief justice observed during the hearing by a five-judge special bench of a suo motu case on target killings in Karachi.
He said political parties appeared to have become militant outfits.
The bench, headed by the chief justice and comprising Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, Justice Sarmad Jalal Osmany, Justice Ghulam Rabbani and Justice Amir Hani Muslim, adjourned the hearing till Friday when the Sindh High Court Bar Association President Anwer Mansoor Khan will conclude his remaining submissions.
After the hearing, the Inter-Services Intelligence briefed the bench on the Karachi situation in the presence of representatives of other intelligence agencies.
Attorney General Maulvi Anwarul Haq pleaded that the matter was of sensitive nature and, therefore, no-one except members of bench should be allowed to attend the briefing. The court accepted the request and got the briefing in the committee room.
Earlier, Advocate Jamil Ahmed Virk, counsel for the Baloch Ittehad, and Advocate Farogh Naseem, representing the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, made their submissions.
The chief justice said the only politics in practice was to remain in power. Justice Anwar Jamali said Sindh would become the most peaceful province if political parties stopped depending on criminals. He referred to incidents of violence on the eve of
strike called by political parties and said that violence in Karachi had political background.
Advocate Jamil Virk called for measures to eradicate violence at the grassroots level and sought powers for the army to control law and order in the city. He alleged that a large number of police personnel were politically affiliated and said people
were still being kidnapped and killed in parts of the city.
The chief justice said the court was worried about continuing violence in the city. “The violence must come to a halt.”
Advocate Farogh Naseem said people of Karachi had heaved a sigh of relief because of the Supreme Court proceedings. He said that 34 of the 42 seats in the Sindh Assembly from Karachi had been won by the MQM, six by the PPP and two by the ANP.
He said the two seats bagged by the ANP were not won by the Muttahida in the 2003 election and, therefore, a perception about the change of demography in the city was incorrect.
The MQM counsel said a conspiracy was being hatched to kill innocent workers and supporters of the Muttahida because of its ever-increasing popularity.
“This was done at the behest of some gangs of extortionists calling themselves the People’s Aman Committee. They with the support of some armed terrorists and criminals claiming to belong to the ANP and land, arms and drug mafias carried out the
genocide in Karachi.”
Mr Naseem said police and law-enforcement agencies were not taking any action to protect the common and distressed people.
He said the MQM completely dismissed as incorrect and false all allegations levelled against it in the electronic and print media and in the suo motu proceedings. He placed on record a list of people allegedly kidnapped and killed by Lyari gangsters.
The chief justice asked why had the MQM presented the list of only its workers and supporters and not of other innocent people who had been killed in incidents of violence. Advocate Naseem said the record suggested that about 300,000 arms licences had recently been issued by the provincial government and some 10,000 people inducted into police. He said a committee should be formed to investigate the matter. The failure of law-enforcement agencies, he said, had provided safe havens for mafias.
He called for setting up pickets in Lyari, Kati Pahari, Malir, Qasba Colony, Moghalabad, Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Gulistan-i-Jauhar and Lines Area. He requested the court to direct law-enforcement agencies to take an across-the-board action against criminals without fear, favour or interference by any political party.
The MQM lawyer requested the court to constitute a monitoring cell headed by a judge of the Sindh High Court and empower it to issue orders for carrying out investigation and lodging FIRs against criminals to curb violence. The cell should also investigate murders, target killings, torture and kidnappings carried out over the past three years, he said, adding that it might also frame rules and seek assistance from the Citizen-Police Liaison Committee and law-enforcement and intelligence agencies.
The MQM counsel requested the court to issue orders for induction into police of people from local areas to facilitate the concept of community policing. He said the MQM denounced collection of donations and opposed militancy. He said the party had submitted a bill in parliament for de-weaponisation. He alleged that the Muttahida was being subjected to genocide for the past three months.
Justice Sarmad Osmany said: “You (Advocate Naseem) have submitted the list of victims as done by others. It’s tit-for-tat.”
The chief justice said all this was happening because there was no writ of the government.
The MQM lawyer said the government had failed to protect people’s fundamental right to live.
The chief justice asked him to suggest a method for conducting fair investigation without political influence.
Sindh Advocate General Abdul Fatah Malik informed the court that army had conducted the 1992 operation and, therefore, no reports of intelligence agencies on it were available with the provincial authorities. However, he said the report, if any, would either be with the Intelligence Bureau or with the federal government.
The court asked the attorney general to seek the report from the quarters concerned.