QUETTA: Chief Justice of Pakistan Anwar Zaheer Jamali has said the Supreme Court would play its role in resolving the issue of missing persons.

Addressing a dinner hosted by the Balochistan High Court here on Monday night, he said the apex court would do its utmost to resolve the issue.

He said the matter had special importance for Balochistan because a large number of cases of missing persons were reported in the province and bar associations and human rights organisations had expressed serious concerns in this regard.

He said the apex court would fully support Chief Justice Mohammad Noor Meskanzai and other judges of the Balochistan High Court in resolving the issue.

“You will find the Supreme Court stand by the Balochistan High Court in solving the problem,” he said.

Justice Jamali said the Supreme Court was going to introduce reforms in superior as well as lower judiciary to dispose of complaints lodged by lawyers and the public. Both the bench and the bar would have to practise self-accountability to fix the faults in the system, he added.

He said that vacant seats in the superior judiciary and lower courts were being filled. “Nine judges have been appointed in the Sindh High Court and three vacancies in the Balochistan High Court would be filled soon through consensus of the Judicial Commission.”

The Chief Justice said the country unfortunately could not get a good leadership which could take people with it as a single nation.

“Everyone in our country speaks about their decisions but they do not talk about their personal responsibilities and obligations. Criticism has become our national character,” he said.

He said the nations, which felt their responsibilities and obligations, achieved goals of development. “The bar associations are cream of society.”

The Senior Judge of the Supreme Court, Justice Saqib Nisar, said all court verdicts would be based only on principles of justice. “The current head of the Supreme Court is an honest and competent person. He is a man of principles,” he added.

Chief Justice Mohammad Noor Meskanzai said that 190 petitions pertaining to missing persons had been filed in the BHC between 2007 and 2015.

“The BHC has disposed of 177 petitions and 110 missing persons have been recovered.”

He said the bench and the bar were working together and their relations were being strengthened.

Baz Mohammad Kakar, member of the Balochistan Bar Council; and Abdul Ghani Khilji, president and Farooq Lehri, senior vice president of the Balochistan High Court Bar Association also spoke on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, November 24th, 2015