ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court on Thursday disposed of a petition concerning the killing of members of the Pakistan Hindu community in India on the assurance of the federal government, declaring it cannot interfere in the “policy matters”.
The bodies of 11 people from a single family were found in a field in the Jodhpur district of Rajasthan state in August 2020. The family had migrated from Pakistan and only one member of the family now remains.
A three-member bench headed by Justice Umar Ata Bandial heard a petition filed by Sharmati Makhni against the killing of her family.
The court said that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was looking into the matter. It said that the government had assured the court that it would order an investigation into the incident through the Foreign Office.
The court said that it could not interfere in the policy matters of the government. It further said that the Foreign Office was looking into the case.
The counsel for the petitioner, Syed Qalb-e-Hassan, said his client wanted the foreign minister to speak to the Indian government on the matter. At this, Justice Mansoor Ali Shah wondered what the court could do to help the petitioner?
The lawyer said that the court should instruct the federal government as it was a very sensitive affair. Justice Bandial responded that it was a policy matter and the court could not pass any instruction.
