Justice delayed is justice denied

By Irshad Mastoi

Nawabzada Jamil Bugti, the eldest son of the late Nawab Akbar Bugti, approached the Balochistan High Court in May over the inability of authorities to act on the FIR registered against the murder of Akbar Bugti, despite a lapse of one and half years.

The petitioner submitted that the high court had directed registration of murder case of Nawab Bugti against Pervez Musharraf, former Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz, Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao, former governor of Balochistan Owais Ahmed Ghani, former Chief Minister Jam Muhammad Yousaf and Shoaib Ahmed Nosherwani, the then home minister of Balochistan. The petitioner said so far neither any progress had been made in the investigation nor any step taken for the arrest of the accused.

Balochistan High Court (BHC) expressed anger over delay in starting investigations into the murder of Nawab Akbar Bugti and directed the provincial government to immediately start the probe and submit a report in this regard to the court in the next hearing. A two-member division bench of the BHC comprising Chief Justice Qazi Faaiz Essa and Muhammad Hashim Khan heard the constitutional petition filed by Jamil Bugti, son of Akbar Bugti. The court was told by the Crimes Branch that the file of the case could not be found, therefore, no progress could be made in the case.

The chief justice asked Additional Advocate General (AAG) Nasrullah Achakzai as to who was the investigation officer of the case and statements of how many accused had been recorded. The AAG failed to give a satisfactory reply on which Justice Qazi Faaiz Essa told him that he should resign as he had failed to receive the file of the case in two years. The chief justice observed that Akbar Bugti was not an ordinary person, as he was a former governor, chief minister and a tribal chief. He said despite passage of five years of the Bugti’s assassination, the government had not even named the investigation officer.

Hadi Shakeel Advocate, the lawyer of Jamil Bugti, told the court that the documents submitted by the provincial government lack the name of the investigation officer. Deputy Attorney General Sikandar Khan Advocate told the judge he would inform the court in this regard after the start of investigation process. He said the tehsildar was investigating the case but the provincial government had not got any file in this regard. The court asked the provincial government to immediately start the probe and submit a report in this regard during the next hearing of the court.

Talking to the media persons, Jamil Bugti said he was not surprised by the non-seriousness of the provincial government, which had not made any progress in the case despite passage of 19 months of filing of the petition. He said despite this long period even the name of the investigation officer was not announced showing non-seriousness of the Balochistan government towards the case.

The Balochistan government has decided to write a letter to the federal government for the formation of a judicial commission for initiating an investigation into the murder of veteran Baloch leader, Nawab Akbar Bugti. The letter will remind the federal government that it was decided under the Aghaz-i-Huqooq-i-Balochistan package that a judicial inquiry will be launched to probe Nawab Bugti’s murder, and that no such step had been taken yet.

This decision was taken at a meeting held on Saturday under Chief Secretary Balochistan Ahmed Bakhsh Lehri. Home Secretary Zafar Baloch, Advocate-General of Balochistan Amanullah Kanrani and other officials also attended the meeting. The province’s law and order situation was also reviewed. It was decided in the meeting that the letter will be written by the provincial department of home and tribal affairs within two days.

The letter will also state that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Raza Rabbani, in his speech during the joint session of the parliament in 2009, had announced that the government will soon constitute a judicial commission to probe Bugti’s murder. The meeting observed that the commission had not been formed despite one and a half years had lapsed. The decision was taken after Nawabzada Jamil Bugti, Nawab Bugti’s eldest son, lodged a petition with the Balochistan High Court, alleging that the law enforcers were not interested in investigation.

Nawab Bugti, leader of the Bugti tribe, president of the Jamhoori Watan Party and the driving force behind the anti-government rebellion in Balochistan was killed along with his comrades in a military operation in the Bhambore Hills, an area between the cities of Kohlu and Dera Bugti during the Musharraf regime in 2005. The Balochistan High Court had also expressed its resentment over the lack of progress into the murder investigation.

IN 2008, when the PPP govt came into power it vowed to bring Pervez Musharraf and co-accused to justice. But PPP Balochistan general secretary and former Minister Ayatullah Durrani in an interview says the hanging of Pervez Musharraf in Bugti Killing is impossible. He said despite that the democratic government was serious in finding a viable solution to Balochistan issue, we have to be realistic. Although the killing of Akbar Bugti was a great loss to Balochistan, this was a decision of an institution and not of an individual or Parvez Musharraf alone. It was a battle in which Akbar Bugti lost. If anyone thinks that Pervez Musharraf could be arrested and brought here and hanged for murder like Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto than this is not possible.

He admitted that the PPP government was afraid that if this matter was opened and names of some influential and heads of intelligence agencies came to the light then it could create some problems for them and they do not want to go down this road. He said the truth of the matter was that noting could be done against Musharraf.

However, PPP Provincial president Mir Sadiq Imrani says that the general secretary’s views were his personal. “Our party is still sticking to the same stance that all killers of Bugti including Musharraf would be brought to justice, he said. Imrani held the former president Pervez Musharaf responsible for the plight of Balochistan. He said all persons responsible for the killing of senior Baloch leader Nawab Akber Bugti would be punished according to the law and constitutions. He said Baloch think that Pervez Musharraf is directly or indirectly involved in the killing of Akbar bugti. He said Bugti’s killing created a sense of deprivation among the Baloch and all possible steps would be taken to eliminate their sense of deprivation.

Durrani’s statement has opened a new Pandora’s Box and he is being criticized by Baloch nationalist and political circles. Some of them even had gone to the extent of dubbing PPP as the establishment’s “B” team, which is doing everything to save a dictator.

A new report has emerged that the high level investigation team of crime branch has summoned the then DCO Dera Bugti Abdul Samad Lassi and Maulvi Malook who had led the funeral prayers of Bugti. It merits a mention that at that time several reports had come in the newspapers about the murder of Maulvi Malook. God only knows how he has become alive. The crime branch has also sought post-mortem report of Akbar Bugti. Now what would be the drop scene of the whole govt’s drama is anyone’s guess. But statements from PPP leadership have opened a new Pandora’s box and the political parties have started targeting the PPP.

Head of National Party Dr Malik Abdul Baloch said that killing of Bugti is not only tragic for Balochistan, but also for the entire country and his killers should be brought to justice. Unless his killers are punished the situation in Balochistan cannot improve.

PML-N convener and provincial minister Sardar Sanaullah Zahri said Pervez Musharraf and his supporters were responsible for the killing of Bugti and due to their doctorial steps Pakistan was today at the brink of destruction. He said Inshallah that day was not far off when Pervez Musharraf would be brought to justice through the Interpol. Zahri said PPP general secretary’s remarks were his personal views but his party would go to any length to bring the killers to justice.

Balochistan National Party acting president Dr Jahenzeb Jamaldini has criticized the PPP general secretary’s remarks saying that it was for the first time that someone from the present government had the guts to tell the truth. We were of the belief from the day one that the present rulers were incapable of arresting the killers of Bugti.

Some of the political analysts are of the view that the conflicting statements by the PPP provincial president and general secretary could not only prove damaging to the party’s reputation in Balochistan, but could also derail the reconciliation process.