IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah said that ethnic profiling cannot be accepted and courts would not turn a blind eye to human rights violations…reports Asian Lite News
The Islamabad High Court (IHC) has decided to form a commission to probe the allegation of ethnic profiling involving Baloch students in the country and to investigate enforced disappearances, the media reported.
The court on Thursday ordered the Home Secretary to put in place a mechanism to redress complaints from Baloch students, Samaa TV reported.
IHC Chief Justice Athar Minallah said that ethnic profiling cannot be accepted and courts would not turn a blind eye to human rights violations, Samaa TV reported.
He criticised the present government — which recently took charge — and reminded the ministers that they must walk the talk on the issues they used to highlight while in opposition.
“Were not they going to the families of missing persons until yesterday,” he asked.
In a democratic society, it is the responsibility of the political leadership to resolve such issues, Minallah said.
These real issues have been overlooked by successive political leaders of the country, Minallah said, adding that ethnic profiling was happening.
The chief justice demanded the names for the commission members and told the Home Secretary to come up with a redressal mechanism.
He also ordered the Home Secretary to to visit the ancestral towns of Bloch students and address their concerns.
In another case, Minallah directed the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) Director General and Islamabad Inspector General of Police to not harass journalist Arshad Sharif.
He has summoned both the officials before his court on Friday. Sharif’s counsel filed a petition before the court on Thursday, saying that on the previous night the journalist had instructed him to approach the court before he lost contact with him.
Social media users claimed that people in plainclothes raided Sharif’s house at 1:30 am on Thursday, though no one was arrested.