One Judge Martyred, One Injured, Three Missing — Chief Justice Should Focus on Protection of Judicial Officers Instead of Pitting Politics and Lawyers Against Each Other: Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar
Quetta (Daily Qudrat Quetta): Pakistan Bar Council member Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar, expressing serious concern over the successive attacks, martyrdom, and disappearances of judicial officers in Balochistan, has said that the situation faced by judicial officers in Balochistan over the past few months is extremely alarming — one judge was martyred, one was injured, while three judicial officers have gone missing. In such circumstances, serious questions are being raised about the protection of the judiciary and the functioning of the institution. The Chief Justice of Balochistan should focus on the protection of judicial officers instead of interfering in bar affairs.
In his issued statement, Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar said that on October 7, 2025, Qazi Muhammad Jan was abducted from Kharan. After that, on July 23, 2026, Session Judge Abdul Hakim Kakar was targeted by gunfire in Mastung while he was traveling from Quetta to Mastung; in the attack, he and his gunman were martyred, while Additional District and Session Judge Tariq Ali Lashari was injured. Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar said that on September 6, contact was lost with Senior Civil Judge Hub Ali Beg during a journey between Kalat and Khuzdar, while the vehicle remains missing. He said that on October 7, 2026, reports emerged of Additional Session Judge Panjgur Asadullah Raisani also going missing while traveling from Quetta to Panjgur. He had departed for Panjgur in a vehicle accompanied by his gunman but could not reach his destination.
Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar said that this is not merely a matter of the security of a few individuals but a matter of the protection of the entire judicial system. If a judge is not safe while traveling to perform his official duties, then in the present circumstances the Chief Justice of Balochistan should focus his attention on the fundamental issues of the judiciary instead of interfering in bar affairs and the politics of lawyers.
He said that the Chief Justice’s continued interference in Bar Council affairs, unnecessary and personal remarks against elected bar representatives in various cases, and making bar affairs the subject of judicial proceedings is no longer merely a coincidence but has become a serious institutional issue.
Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar said that the judicial chair does not give any individual a license to interfere in bar politics, Bar Council elections, or the affairs of elected representatives, or to pit lawyers against each other. If someone has such a keen interest in politics, they should enter the political arena and play their role there.
Using a judicial position to express political or personal differences is neither appropriate for the dignity of the judiciary nor for the system of justice.
Munir Ahmed Khan Kakar said that the primary priority of the leadership and administration of the Balochistan High Court should be the protection of the judiciary, the security of district courts, effective protective arrangements for judicial officers, and the immediate resolution of pending security matters. He alleged that the Chief Justice of Balochistan is focusing on interference in bar affairs, while on the other hand the issue of the protection of judicial officers is becoming increasingly serious. He said he cannot understand what expediency the Chief Justice of Balochistan is caught in, that instead of strengthening the institution, he is becoming a cause of its destruction for others.
He said that the lawyers’ community will not compromise on the independence of the judiciary and the protection of judges. The judiciary must be taken out of bar politics and focus on its actual official role — the provision of free, safe, and effective justice.
