• Passing the buck, govt departments inform SHC that response on draft rules awaited for eight years
• Bench expresses serious resentment against inordinate delay

KARACHI: The Sindh High Court was on Wednesday informed that the provincial home department had been waiting for a response from stakeholders on the draft Sindh Witness Protection Rules for the past eight years.

The home department submitted in its comments filed before a two-judge bench headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi that in 2016 it had circulated the proposed draft rules to various officials and departments but despite the lapse of around eight years their response was still awaited.

The SHC has been expressing serious resentment against the authorities concerned over an inordinate delay to take necessary steps for proper implementation of the witness protection law enacted over a decade ago.

The law and home departments have filed their comments and attempted to shift the blame on others over an excessive hold-up to enforce the law.

The law department asserted that it had verified the drafted rules in September 2014 and thereafter had no information whether such rules were approved and notified by the home department or otherwise while the home department maintained that proposed rules were circulated to the finance and law departments as well as various other offices in 2016, but their response was still awaited.

A petition was filed last year seeking proper implementation of the Sindh Witness Protection Act, 2013 and at the previous hearing the SHC had ordered the authorities to take necessary steps for proper implementation of the law and warned that the secretaries of the home and law departments would be summoned if the compliance was not made.

When the two-judge bench took up the matter for hearing on Wednesday, the law and home departments filed their comments.

The reply filed on behalf of the law secretary asserted that the law was enacted and notified in June 2013 and being custodian of law, the home department drafted rules and the same were verified/vetted by the law department in September 2014.

After such progress, the law department had no information whether these rules were approved and notified by the home department or otherwise and the administrative department would be in better position to explain the court about further progress, it added.

The home department in its comments contended that witness protection advisory board under the chairmanship of home secretary and witness protection unit had already been notified while an additional inspector general of police (AIGP) had been requested in 2016 to nominate officers for constitution of the committee, but the response had not been received yet.

It also maintained that comments were also called from AIGP of counter terrorism department and secretary/member advisory board about procedure to appoint witness protection officers in 2016, however their response was still awaited.

“A copy of the draft proposed Sindh Protection Rules, 2016 under Witness Protection Act, 2013 was circulated to the various offices viz. a viz. prosecutor general Sindh, AIGP CTD Sindh, law department, finance department and inspector general of police Sindh vide home department No. SO(LE-I)HD/6/70/2023 dated: 20-09-2016. However, the replies are yet not received”, it concluded.

After taking the comments on record, the bench adjourned the hearing till May 30.

Citing the home and law departments, inspector general of Sindh police and prosecutor general of Sindh as respondents, the petitioner submitted that the Sindh Witness Protection Act, 2013 was enacted in 2013 to provide protection to witnesses, but the respondents had made no positive efforts so far for the enforcement of the law in letter and spirit.

He also submitted that the law provided a framework for the protection of witnesses in Sindh and to ensure a safe and secure environment to record their testimonies in criminal cases, but neither requisite fund to set up a witness protection unit had been released yet, nor it was properly implemented.

The petitioner maintained that the witness protection programme was required to be set up under Section 4(1), witness protection advisory board under Section 5(1), witness protection unit under Section 6(1) and establishment of a committee for making recommendation in terms of placing a witness under protection under Section 9 of the act.

The petitioner asked the court to direct the respondents to immediately frame rules as required under Section 29 of the act and also establish the witness protection unit, advisory board besides other measures as mandated in the law.

Witnesses without protection

The provincial assembly had passed the Sindh Witness Protection Act, 2013 for absolute government security to witnesses in criminal cases, including life protection, reasonable accommodation, financial assistance and compensation to legal heirs if the protected person is killed or dies during the process.

However, the witnesses are still without protection as the provincial authorities have yet to enforce the law in letter and spirit.

Legal experts believe that poor implementation of the law has discouraged witnesses from testifying, adding that legislation about protection of witnesses and other people connected with trials had already been existed in the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997, which clearly states that the government should extend protection to witnesses and others during the investigation, trial and thereafter. But those provisions were hardly implemented, they added.

The special law on the subject matter was enacted around 11 years ago, but in the absence of a witness protection unit, it appears to be almost impossible for witnesses to appear in courts and depose against the accused in terrorism-related cases while in the past, the key prosecution witnesses had turned hostile by deviating from their previous stance in several high-profile and sectarian killing cases due to fear and sense of insecurity.

Published in Dawn, May 9th, 2024