ISLAMABAD – Soon after the Karachi University blast, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) has told the authorities to set up a commission to investigate the racial profiling and disappearance of Baloch students.
The directions came during a hearing into a harassment case filed by students of the Quaid-e-Azam University in Islamabad. Chief Justice of Islamabad High Court Athar Minallah said that courts could not turn a blind eye to human rights violations in the country.
He ordered that a commission be formed to probe harassment and disappearance of Baloch students. The chief justice also asked for suggestions on who can preside over the the commission. Hina Jilani and politician Afrasiab Khattak’s names were proposed amongst others.
During the proceedings, the lawyer for the students, Imaan Mazari, told the Court that Baloch students met the president twice and both times the president assured them their issues would be addressed.
Still, Mazari said, a Baloch student was picked up from Karachi recently and one from Lahore yesterday.
Seems like the government is not taking the concerns of the students seriously, the lawyer told the court. She suggested that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) should send notices to all universities in Pakistan, instructing them to stop harassment of Baloch students.
Justice Minallah noted that this was a real issue in the country, but governments and political leaders ignored it. He then asked who was responsible for this, to which Mazari replied that the responsibility lies with the chief executive and the relevant agencies.
The chief justice observed that if the racial profiling of Baloch students continues then the government should shut down the ministry of human rights.
“Don’t say that the state is weak,” he added.
The deputy attorney general, who was also present in the court, argued that there was a new government in office and he will have to take directions from them on the issue. He explained that Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had also recently visited Balochistan.
To which the chief justice asked if the cabinet did not know what was happening in the country?
“If there is a law and order situation, why are children being affected by it?” Justice Minallah inquired.
The chief justice further directed the secretary of the interior to visit the Baloch students and set up a mechanism to deal with their complaints.
