ludUO

of citizens.
In November some observations made
by the army chief and the chief justice
created a short-lived impression of tension
between their institutions. Central to the
controversy was General Kayani’s plea
against unwarranted criticism of the armed
forces and their commanders and his remark
that no individual or institution had a
monopoly to decide what was right or wrong
in defining the ultimate national interest.
Whether the General had the SC in mind was
not clear but the Chief Justice probably
thought he had and declared that the days
when tanks and missiles guaranteed security
had passed and the SC was the ultimate
protector of the constitution. Further, when
somebody referred to the army’s respect for
the judiciary, the CJ said that it had already
been witnessed the previous day.
However, both sides exercised restraint
and whatever the matter was it was not heard
of again. Most probably it was realized that
lawlessness in Balochistan, disappearances,
or even occasional criticism of the military
top brass, were not matters worth a tiff
between the Big Two.
As the hearings continued into the last
month of the year the SC got extremely
critical of the federal and provincial
(Balochistan) governments for failing to
restore order and for defying the court’s
Their families waited for them
in vain.
orders. On December 05 it declared that the Balochistan government was
ruling at its own risk and cost.
In its interim order in the case regarding the law and order situation in
Balochistan on December 12, 2012, the Supreme Court said the Balochistan
government had lost the constitutional authority to govern the province and
could not be allowed to continue as a silent spectator to the violation of
fundamental rights.
The court said it was the constitutional obligation of the federation to
exercise all constitutional options to ensure that the fundamental rights of all
people were fully protected but nothing had been done. The court believed
that “even now it is the constitutional obligation (of the federation) under
33
State of Human Rights in 2012