On August 8, 2016, a well-planned and coordinated attack resulted in the death of at least 93 people, majority of them lawyers. On the morning of August 8, President Balochistan Bar Association, Advocate Bilal Anwar Kasi, was murdered near Mengal Chowk on Manno Jan Road by assailants on a motor bike. The body was taken to Government Hospital where senior lawyers and members of Baluchistan Bar Association gathered to pay respect. Here the terrorists dispatched a suicide bomber having had correctly predicted the arrival of a large number of lawyers, media persons and social activists. The suicide bomber blew himself in the middle of the gathering, killing and injuring a large number of people. The victims included senior lawyers, members of Bar, and barristers effectively wiping out much of the senior tier of lawyers in Quetta.

In the aftermath of this attack, Chief Minister and the Provisional government announced relief packages and Balochistan’s first ICU was founded after this carnage. Notwithstanding, heirs of the deceased filed a report last month against the provisional government for not providing jobs to the heirs as per their promise. The provisional government had earlier announced employment for one member of every victim family. The Supreme Court formed a three-judge bench headed by Justice Asif Saeed Khosa and initiated an inquiry.

Responding to the sou motu case, the provisional government denied having promised any jobs. The representative of the provisional government of Balochistan Advocate General Amanullah Kanrani further added that there is no hard and fast rule as to who will be the heir of the deceased one. Fights have already ensued among brothers of the deceased lawyers about the issue. Furthermore, the provisional government decided to accommodate widows of the lawyers and the fathers as true heirs.

Mr Kanrani said that the list provided to the government for giving jobs to the heirs contained names of 46 brothers of the deceased lawyers. This situation will ultimately leave all merit out of consideration. If the government hands out jobs like that, it will have an immediate effect on the efficacy of government institutions.

The court agreed with Mr Kanrani and Justice Asif Saeed Khosa said that, “We are not going to repeat what politicians do by giving jobs to favourites and near and dear ones. if government jobs were distributed just like that, it would create a race or a chaos among the heirs of the deceased”. He ordered the Balochistan Bar to immediately submit a trust deed to the provisional government of Balochistan so they can create an endowment fund for the legal heirs of the lawyers. The 3-member bench also inquired about the rehabilitation of the trauma centre and reiterated that if doctors can not do their job with devotion at times of need then they can vacate their positions. Court has adjourned until 28th of October.

Share.

About Author

Leave A Reply