Balochistan High Court orders ISI, MI to cooperate in murders investigation

[Naveed Yaseen]

* DPO says refusal to cooperate will result in inquiries against security personnel

QUETTA: A two-member bench of the Balochistan High Court (BHC) on Thursday issued a notice to the Defence Ministry, directing it to instruct Military Intelligence (MI) and the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) to cooperate with Turbat police in the Baloch National Movement (BNM) leaders’ murder case investigation.

The bench, consisting of BHC Chief Justice Qazi Faez Essa and Justice Ghulam Mustaffa Mengal, issued the orders while hearing the statement of Kech District Police Officer (DPO) Abdul Rauf Barech.

The court also directed the Defence Ministry to submit detailed comments within a week. The orders said that if the officials failed to cooperate, police would be at liberty to register cases against those who, in their opinion, had information about the offence but did not provide it.

The Kech DPO informed the court that lack of cooperation by the MI and ISI personnel had stalled the investigation. He said police had recorded statements by seven witnesses who could identify the abductors.

Identification: The DPO said police had been directed to arrange the identification parade in accordance with the Qanoon-e-Shahdat. If disclosure was not forthcoming by the MI and the ISI about the persons concerned, all personnel employed in the agencies between April 3 and April 8, 2009 should be subjected to an identification parade, he said.

Former opposition leader in the Balochistan Assembly and BNP leader Mir Kachkol Ali had alleged that security personnel whisked away the three leaders from his chambers at gunpoint. app

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp...2009_pg7_6