The inquiry tribunal, constituted to probe targeted killing incidents in the city, has sought proper security, place and staff from the Home Department before starting the proceedings.
Presiding Officer of Inquiry Tribunal Justice (retd) Ali Sain Dino Metlo sent a letter to Home Department for providing him proper security and a suitable place where he could record deposition of the witnesses as well as staff and funds for miscellaneous expenses to run the working of the tribunal.
The Sindh government had constituted a tribunal last week following the killing of more than 80 people in the city, including the activists of Muttahida Qaumi Movement and Awami National Party.
The tribunal has to identify elements and groups involved in targeted killings and suggest effective measures to stop such incidents. Both the MQM and ANP had been accusing each other of their involvement and patronizing the culprits involved in targeted killings after the government launched an operation to retrieve state land from the encroachers in various parts of the city. Sources said that the tribunal would start its functioning soon after the provision of proper security to the presiding officer as well as accommodation or place for recording statements of the witnesses besides necessary funds for meeting miscellaneous expenses.
This was the second tribunal constituted by the PPP-led provincial government during the last two years. The first tribunal headed by Justice Ali Mohammad Baloch was constituted by the government in December 2008 for November-December 2008 ethnic violence, but it failed to even initiate the proceedings as the Home Department did not extend the time for the tribunal to enable the presiding officer to record the statements of witnesses and submit his findings. As many as 120 witnesses had filed their affidavits before the tribunal but the same could not be examined by the tribunal due to lapse of tribunal’s notified time.
That tribunal was also given the task to identify groups and elements responsible for spurring and instigating the violence, to assess the state of preparedness on the part of law-enforcement agencies and the quality of response shown by them and to suggest effective measures to prevent recurrence of such incidents in future.
More than 40 people were killed and over 200 were injured following incidents of violence that erupted in different parts of Karachi including Banaras, Orangi Town, Qasba Colony, Sohrab Goth, SITE and F.B Area on November 30 and which continued for four consecutive days. Miscreants also set on fire millions of rupees worth public and private property during the riots.
It is pertinent to mention here that inquiry tribunals were also constituted for Nishtar Park tragedy in 2006 and October 18 Karsaz blast during PPP rally in 2007-08, which claimed lives of hundreds of people but due to different circumstances these inquiries could also not come to their logical conclusion. The Arbab Ghulam Rahim-led Sindh government in September 2006 did not extend time for Nishtar Park tragedy tribunal that was presided by then Judge of Sindh High Court Justice Rehmat Hussain Jaffery so that it could complete the inquiry report, while in April 2008 the newly formed PPP government dissolved the tribunal headed by Justice (retd) Dr. Ghous Mohammad that was conducting inquiry of October 18 Karsaz rally blasts.
The Sindh government also constituted inquiry tribunal for April 9 violence at City Courts that also claimed the lives of 11 citizens, including Altaf Abbasi advocate, who was burnt by arsonists in his office at Tahir Plaza along with five of his visiting litigants. However, the findings of the tribunal were not made public by the Home Department nor any culprit was arrested in connection with the April 9 violence.
