ISLAMABAD: Islamabad High Court (IHC) Forms Commission Led by Senate President Sadiq Sanjrani to Consider Complaints of Baloch students.
IHC Chief Judge Athar Minallah took in decision on Thursday during hearings of petition filed by human rights activist and lawyer Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir against harassment of baloch students, who protested in Islamabad last month over disappearance of their missing colleague Hafiz Baluj.
The court noted that the case had been pending since February, but the response of in public officials were alarmingly indifferent.
At a previous hearing, Judge Minallah asked President Arif Alvi to dispel the impression of ethnic profiling of Baloch students.
At Thursday’s hearing, Ms. Mazar-i-Hazir told the court that the president had given assurances to the students. However, Bebgar Imdad, student at the National University of Modern languages in Islamabad, was selected up yesterday from Punjab University, she said. Another student, Dr. Dildar Baloch, was selected up from Karachi, she added.
According to the petition, the students allege that they are being subjected to enforced disappearances and racial profiling by law enforcement agencies across the country.
Racial profiling refers to practice of suspicion, targeting or discrimination against man because of their nationality or religion instead of individual suspicion.
Judge Minallah noted that the report submitted on on behalf of of Quaid-e-Azam University appears to have shown that the discontent was not unfounded.
The court held that this was unacceptable. for any citizen had reasonable grounds for believing that he or she might be subjected to racial discrimination, that one of worst forms of human rights violations and unacceptable in society governed by the Constitution.
It appeared to the court on the basis of what was observed during these proceedings that complaints of racial discrimination, enforced disappearances and lack of of The reaction of state officials is not unreasonable, Judge Minallah noted.
Subsequently, the court set up a commission to investigate and investigate these complaints. of students from Balochistan.
According to the decision of the court, the commission will include Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani, former Senator Afrasiab Khattak, PTI Central Representative secretary general Asad Umar, Senator Raza Rabbani, Senator Kamran Murtaza, Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, Balochistan former main secretary Nasir Khosa, Deputy Chairman of the Bar Council of Pakistan Ali Ahmed Kurd and Secretaries of interior and human rights ministries.
“The Commission investigates and investigates complaints of students from the province of Balochistan regarding racial profiling, enforced disappearances and absence of safety when visiting hometowns. After that, the commission will formulate recommendations and submit its report to the court,” the court ruling says.
Court directed human rights secretary coordinate with committee members and submit a report on or before fixed the date.
This is also supervised the interior secretary to set up mechanism for receiving complaints from students from Balochistan and ensure that they are not afraid to visit their hometowns.
next hearing set for may 13.
Published in Dawn, April 29, 2022
