KARACHI: The Supreme Court directed the police on Friday to arrest all those involved in the “honour” killing of two girls in Shikarpur.

A three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Tassaduq Hussain Jillani, was seized with the suo motu proceedings against a jirga that was held for settling a dispute over honour killings.

According to media reports, PML-F MNA Ghous Bakhsh Mahar had presided over the jirga to settle the dispute between two tribes. Both parties had accepted the jirga decision, but no one was punished for killing the girls, who were paternal cousins.

The bench, also comprising Justices Khilji Arif Hussain and Amir Muslim Hani, ordered the police to conduct transparent investigation into the incident and submit a report within a week.

The investigation officer informed the court that the father of one of the girls, Abdullah Mahar, had lodged an FIR against his brother Sanaullah Mahar who, according to him, had killed the girls over some domestic dispute.

The IO said efforts were under way to arrest the prime suspect.

APPOINTMENT: The same bench directed the federal and Sindh governments to ensure the appointment of Sindh police chief within a week.

The bench gave the two governments until March 23 for finalising the name of the would-be inspector general so that a notification to this effect could be issued within a week.

Deputy Attorney General Aslam Butt informed the court that federal authorities, after consulting the prime minister, had recommended on Feb 27 Balochistan IGP Mushtaq Ahmed Sukhera, Quetta police chief Mir Zubair Mehmood and Captain Liaqat Ali Malik for the post of Sindh police chief.

He said the establishment secretary would notify the appointment after the provincial government picked out one of the recommended names.

Advocate General Fatah Malik told the court that the provincial government had reservations over the names recommended by the federal government. He said the police chief in Punjab was appointed at the whims of the Punjab chief minister, but the Sindh government was not given the officer of its choice.

He said the officers recommended could not bring peace to Sindh.

The bench then directed the Sindh government to recommend a name for the post and said it would expect that the authority would issue the notification about the IG’s appointment within the time period given by it.

The post has been lying vacant since former IG Shahid Nadeem Baloch retired on Feb 20. Additional IGP Iqbal Mehmood has been holding the charge of provincial police chief since then.