ISLAMABAD: Islam­abad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Aamer Farooq on Friday advis­ed the capital police chief to concentrate on controlling street crimes rather than flexing their muscles against protesters.

Justice Farooq was hearing a petition filed against the arrest of Baloch people, who came to Islamabad to protest against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan.

During the proceedings, the chief justice asked the IGP about the whereabouts of some 50 women who, according to the counsel for the protesters, were missing.

The police chief replied that the women went to the Women Police Station on their own, and their entry was marked by the authorised officer.

IHC CJ Aamer Farooq says people from Balochistan have a constitutional right to protest

He explained that the women were not taken into custody, they were free and were asked to go anywhere they want. However, he clai­med, the women preferred to stay at the police station.

At this, Justice Farooq quipped, “Who wants to stay at police station [of their own] will? Do you serve Continental or Chinese food at the police station?”

He then sought an explanation from the IGP as to why the women were forced into a bus and where the police took them.

The officer informed the court that the women were not detained, but were taken to the Women’s Hostel in Sector I-10. He said the police department is ready to facilitate their return home.

Chief Justice Farooq remarked that the women had not come to the capital to stay at the hostel, but to record their protest, which is their constitutional right.

He advised the IGP to share the location of the women with the petitioners.

Senior journalist Hamid Mir told the court that he visited the Women Police Station on Thursday night and witnessed police officials, both men and women, forcing the women protesters into two buses.

He said a bus driver told him that police had hired him to drop some students, but after witnessing the episode, he refused to start the bus.

Justice Farooq directed police to take the petitioners and the journalist to the place where the women were staying, to ensure transparency.

He remarked that “protests do turn ugly, but this shouldn’t be the response. If someone commits crime, law doesn’t permit him to be harmed”.

He then asked the police about the number of people detained in police stations.

The police chief replied that police had initially arrested 215 persons, out of whom 33 were released by a magistrate. Police arrested another 52 protesters on Thursday, he added.

Justice Farooq snubbed the IGP over his failure to control street crimes and using force against protesters.

“Law and order in Islamabad is deteriorating day by day. You need to focus on that,” he advised.

The IGP, on the other hand claimed a decrease in the crime rate and offered to produce data in this regard as proof.

Published in Dawn, December 23rd, 2023