Pak SC finds evidence implicating Frontier Corps in abductions in Balochistan

Islamabad, May 15 (ANI): The Pakistan Supreme Court has said there is evidence that the Frontier Corps (FC) was involved in abducting people in Balochistan.

A three-member bench headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry said respect for the force was gradually waning, as 95 percent of the people in Balochistan had alleged that FC was involved in the picking up of civilians in the province, reports the Daily Times.

The chief justice said missing persons are the key issue in the province, and the court cannot shut its eyes to it since there was evidence suggesting FC involvement.

FC IG Major General Obaidullah Khan Khattak denied his force's involvement in incidences of forced disappearance, and in response to CCTV footage played in the court that showed three missing persons being taken away in FC vehicle, he said someone impersonating as FC men had picked up the three.

Khattak said a search was under way to trace the men and assured all-out efforts for their recovery.

He contended that the footage showed only the rear side of the vehicle and did not qualify as evidence of abduction. In the last 18 months, he said, 1,931 attacks had been carried out against the police and the FC, and militants had claimed responsibility for 886 of them. (ANI)