PAKISTAN: A woman health worker raped and forced by police to withdraw her complaint‏

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Update: AHRC-UAC-048-2011
28 February 2011

Send an appeal letter

ISSUES: Rape; violence against women; impunity; rule of law

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a lady health worker, a government employee, was raped by a notorious gangster with the help of two police informers. The First Information Report (FIR), a criminal case for legal proceedings was lodged by the police intentionally after five days of the attack in order to destroy the evidence. The police, instead of filing a rape case, filed a case of attempted rape so that perpetrators could not be tried for committing the heinous crime. The high raking police officers of the concerned district are coercing the victim to settle the case with perpetrators.

The alleged rapist was arrested for attempted rape but the police informers, who restrained the woman and who had beaten her during the rape, are enjoying the protection of the police.

CASE NARRATIVE:
Rehana Malik, 30, a lady health worker at Civil Hospital, Digri town, Mirpurkhas district, Sindh province, also an employee of the health department of the government of Sindh, was raped in her house while her husband was out for his daily job. On December 9, 2010 at 8 pm three police informers and gangsters entered her house, locked her children in a room and one gangster, Gulzar Arain, who is known to run a drug den, overpowered and raped the victim with the help of two police informers, Shahid Jat and Shoukat Jat. The attackers also injured her during the rape and stole Rs. 85,000. (USD 1000) and jewelry of the same amount. The perpetrator, Arian raped her while the two accomplices held her hands and legs for the rape. After the rape the attackers threatened her that if she went to the police she would be raped in an open place.

However, after the incident she went to Digri police station at 9.30 pm where she was told by the station house officer (SHO), Mr. Zulfiqar Khoso that as it was night nobody could record her statement and to come back the next day. She returned and spent the whole next day trying to file her report but in the evening was told that she should go back to home and the police station would send someone to see her. In the meanwhile news of the rape was reported in the media. The police telephoned her to come to the house of Haji, an influential person of the town. There she found that police officials were also present. Haji and police officials pressured her to accept Rs. 10,000 (USD117) as compensation which she refused. One of the police officials, Munawar, the assistant sub inspector (ASI) took her signature on a plain paper forcefully saying he would make an application on her behalf. She asked the police officials to file a case of rape so that she could have a medical report.

It was only after five days of her rape, on December 13, that the FIR was filed. However, the FIR only mentioned that it had been an attempted rape. The report that Rehana had made mentioned that the accused person, Arain, actually raped her but this version was rejected by the SHO. The police cleverly deleted the names of the two other police informers from the FIR. She was given permission to have her medical checkup but as per their intention, any evidence of the assault had then been lost. On December 14, the SHO of Digri police station visited her house and pressured her to withdraw the case of rape against the perpetrators otherwise she would face problems for her family. On January 21, 2011, a human right activist, Hasrat Leghari, had written an application on behalf her to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the president, the prime minister and other authorities. On February 22, she was asked to come to police station and record her statement. But once again the police refused to take her statement and created their own. In the meantime the accused person, Arain, was arrested on the charges of attempt to rape her but the two police informers were not arrested. An application from the victim was moved to the Session Court of Mirpurkhas district that the police were providing protection to the perpetrators. On receiving her application the session judge rejected the bail application of the accused person.

On February 26, Mr. Zulfiqar Mehar, the district police officer (DPO), the highest police officer of the district, also tried to coerce her to withdraw the case and said she would not get any positive response in the case. He further told her that the perpetrators would take revenge against her in the future.

Send an appeal letter

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
Mrs. Rehana was working as health officer in Digri town at civil hospital since 2006 and has become popular in the neighbourhood for her work. Gulzar Arain, the gangster and police informer had been stalking her since 2009 whenever she went out for field work. He demanded that she have sex with him otherwise she would face dire consequences. On November 22 the accused person came to her house in the absence of her husband along with the two police informers, Shoukat and Shahid, and threatened that if she did not agree to have sex with him he would come and rape her so that she could not be able to show her face to the people. She reported this to the police but in typical fashion the police told her to come back if and when the crime was committed as before that they could not go against him.

Her husband is a labourer and has to go to another town for his job.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letter to the authorities to take action against the police officials of Digri town and the district police officer (DPO) of Mirpurkhas district for providing protection to the perpetrators of the rape. Also urge them to provide protection to the victim and her family and prosecute the perpetrators.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of violence against women calling for his intervention into this matter.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear ___________,

PAKISTAN: A lady health worker raped and forced by police to withdraw her complaint

Name of victim: Mrs. Rehana Malik, wife of Gulhassan, a lady health worker, resident of Digri town, district Mirpurkhas, Sindh province

Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Gulzar Arain, police informer and gangster, resident of Goth Ganga Ram (goth Bagan wali), Digri, Sindh province
2. Mr. Shaukat Jat, police informer, Resident of Goth Ganga Ram (goth Bagan wali), Digri, Sindh province
3. Mr. Shahid Jat, police informer, Resident of Goth Ganga Ram (goth Bagan wali), Digri, Sindh province
4. Assistant Sub Inspector, Munawar, Digri police station, Digri town, Sindh province
5. Sub-Inspector Zulfiqar Khoso, Station Headquarter Officer (SHO), Digri police station, Digri town, Sindh province
6. Mr. Zulfiqar Mehar, District Police Officer (DPO), Mirpurkhas, Sindh province

Date of incident: 9 December 2010
Place of incident: Digri town, Mirpurkhas district, Sindh province

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the rape of a lady health worker by a police informer and his accomplices and the support that the police are providing to the perpetrators.

I am appalled to know that a lady health worker of government of Sindh was raped by the police informer and gangsters but police have taken no action and not a single man was arrested on the rape charges. The two accomplices of the accused person are free and threatening the victim. The high police officials including DPO are using their official positions to influence the victim to withdraw her case against the perpetrators. This is very shameful act by the police whose duty is to protect the citizens from crime.

Rehana Malik, 30, a lady health worker at Civil Hospital, Digri town, Mirpurkhas district, Sindh province, also an employee of the health department of the government of Sindh, was raped in her house while her husband was out for his daily job. On December 9, 2010 at 8 pm three police informers and gangsters entered her house, locked her children in a room and one gangster, Gulzar Arain, who is known to run a drug den, overpowered and raped the victim with the help of two police informers, Shahid Jat and Shoukat Jat. The attackers also injured her during the rape and stole Rs. 85,000. (USD 1000) and jewelry of the same amount. The perpetrator, Arian raped her while the two accomplices held her hands and legs for the rape. After the rape the attackers threatened her that if she went to the police she would be raped in an open place.

However, after the incident she went to Digri police station at 9.30 pm where she was told by the station house officer (SHO), Mr. Zulfiqar Khoso that as it was night nobody could record her statement and to come back the next day. She returned and spent the whole next day trying to file her report but in the evening was told that she should go back to home and the police station would send someone to see her. In the meanwhile news of the rape was reported in the media. The police telephoned her to come the house of Haji, an influential person of the town. There she found that police officials were also present. Haji and police officials pressured her to accept Rs. 10,000 (USD117) as compensation which she refused. One of the police officials, Munawar, the assistant sub inspector (ASI) took her signature on a plain paper forcefully saying he would make an application on her behalf. She asked the police officials to file a case of rape so that she could have a medical report.

It was only after five days of her rape, on December 13, that the FIR was filed. However, the FIR only mentioned that it had been an attempted rape. The report that Rehana had made mentioned that the accused person, Arain, actually raped her but this version was rejected by the SHO. The police cleverly deleted the names of the two other police informers from the FIR. She was given permission to have her medical checkup but as per their intention, any evidence of the assault had then been lost. On December 14, the SHO of Digri police station visited her house and pressured her to withdraw the case of rape against the perpetrators otherwise she would face problems for her family. On January 21, 2011, a human right activist, Hasrat Leghari, had written an application on behalf her to the Chief Justice of Pakistan, the president, the prime minister and other authorities. On February 22, she was asked to come to police station and record her statement. But once again the police refused to take her statement and created their own. In the meantime the accused person, Arain, was arrested on the charges of attempt to rape her but the two police informers were not arrested. An application from the victim was moved to the Session Court of Mirpurkhas district that the police were providing protection to the perpetrators. On receiving her application the session judge rejected the bail application of the accused person.

On February 26, Mr. Zulfiqar Mehar, the district police officer (DPO), the highest police officer of the district, also tried to coerce her to withdraw the case and said she would not get any positive response in the case. He further told her that the perpetrators would take revenge against her in the future.

I am shocked to know that police are turning the case into attempt to rape just to save the police informer and drug peddlers. These types of crimes are happening daily in Pakistan because there is no effort from the government to make reforms in the policing system and make it accountable in the law. The police find it easy to manipulate the cases in their own favour to save perpetrators.

I urge you to prosecute all the police officials who are turning the case of rape in to attempt to murder and threatening victim to take back her case. Please also provide security and protection to the victim and her family and also register a case of rape against the perpetrators.

Yours sincerely,

—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9204801/9214171
Fax: +92 51 9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk

2. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9221596
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk

3. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
E-mail: pppsindh@yahoo.com

4. Mr. Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

5. Mr. Muhammad Ayaz Soomro
Minister for Law, Parliamentary Affairs & Criminal Prosecution Service
Sindh Assembly Building,
Court road, Karachi, Sindh province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9211982
E-mail: secy.law@sindh.gov.pk

6. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk

7. Ms. Nadia Gabol
Minister for Human Rights
Government of Sindh,
Pakistan secretariat, Barrack 92,
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9207044
Tel: +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043 +92 21 9207043
E-mail: lukshmil@yahoo.com

8. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk

9. Inspector General of Police
Police Head office, I. I. Chundrigar road
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9212051
E-mail: ppo.sindh@sindhpolice.gov.pk

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)

Send an appeal letter
.

PAKISTAN: Government is silent in the wake of call for nuclear jihad by religious extremist

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has consistently reported in the recent weeks on the issue of the government’s refusal to take action on the incitement to murder and civil disobedience by religious extremists. Several high profile cases have been reported on both matters by the AHRC and other international NGOs, however, the government has taken no action to either arrest or halt the messages of hatred and intimidation. Mullahs are openly using the loud speaker systems of their Mosques to broadcast their messages of hatred which is, itself, against the law. However, once again the government has not made any attempt to prevent this.

Taking advantage of the government’s appeasement policy towards religious intolerance and the killing of people, the extremists have openly started preaching the use of nuclear weapons against a neighbouring country in the name of Jihad. Now in a recent and shocking incident in Lahore on February 6, 2011, an extremist by the name of Hafiz Saeed, the leader of the Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), spoke in a public rally of 20,000 people calling for Jihad in the form of a nuclear war against India. Saeed is wanted in connection with the bombings in Mumbai and the JuD itself is banned in Pakistan. However, once again the government has turned a blind eye and taken no action to either arrest this man or control the situation. This is, indeed a routine attitude of the government. In an effort to fend off responsibility for the bombings Saeed accused India of masterminding the attacks for political gain.

In his speech to the crowd Saeed said, “I want to give a message to (Prime Minister) Manmohan Singh–quit Kashmir or get ready to face a war…….The jihad should continue as long as Kashmir remains under Indian occupation”. He went on to say that there would be “no problem if the fighting leads to nuclear war between Pakistan and India”.

It is already bad enough that the government takes no action against religious extremists calling for the death of anyone they feel might be against their version of Islam but here we have a situation where a person wanted in connection with terrorism is openly calling for Jihad, a holy war against a sovereign nation and a nuclear war at that!

It is incomprehensible that any sovereign government, elected by the people, and with the mandate and obligation to protect the people, would allow such a public announcement to be made. The government of Asif Ali Zadari must seriously examine its policy of appeasement towards religious extremists. When a government takes no action against the call for Jihad that might result in a nuclear war it must realise that other governments, especially neighbouring governments will be watching the situation closely. In an attempt to avoid further trouble at home, Zadari might just be calling down more trouble on the innocents of a country that is now being intimidated by religious extremists.

By tolerating such threats of the use of nuclear weapons it seems that the government does not fully appreciate the horror of a nuclear attack. They only need examine the pictures of Hiroshima and Nagasaki to experience the devastation and misery caused, a misery that lingers even today 66 years after the bombs were dropped. Nuclear radiation has no respect for borders and the Jihadists may be calling down death and destruction on the people of the entire continent, not only their ‘enemies’. What is the point of turning the prize they seek, Kashmir, into a nuclear waste dump?

The most dangerous interpretation of such announcements would be that the nuclear assets of the country are not in safe hands and Muslim extremists have or can have access to these weapons. By failing to reign in the extremists and stop their messages of hate the government is, in fact, colluding with them.

War mongering in the name of religion or any other cause is a crime against humanity and this is especially so when it may result in a nuclear war. The government must immediately take uncompromising action against those militants who are openly calling for the use of nuclear weapons against a neighbouring country. Humanity cannot and will not sit idle and watch two nations destroy, not only themselves, but threaten the entire world with destruction. The government of Pakistan must not only ensure that the country’s nuclear weapons are safe from extremists but also assure the rest of the world that this is so.

The AHRC urges the government of Pakistan to take immediate action against the extremists. Cases must be filed against them and they must be arrested, charged and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Their speeches of hate and their war mongering must be halted forthwith.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation that monitors human rights in Asia, documents violations and advocates for justice and institutional reform to ensure the protection and promotion of these rights. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

PAKISTAN: Appeal to amend the Blasphemy Laws‏

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-183-2010

To support this appeal, please click here:
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/support.php?ua=UAC-183-2010

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding the introduction of a private member’s bill to the National Assembly Secretariat that would end the death penalty for blasphemy, curtail abuse of the blasphemy laws for the purpose of harassing and victimising religious minorities and take steps to ensure equal protection for all religions under the law. The bill was introduced by People’s Party member of the National Assembly Ms. Sherry Rehman, former federal minister, who said, “The bill amends both the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CRPC), the two main sources of criminal law. The aim is to amend the codes to ensure protection of Pakistan’s minorities and vulnerable citizens, who routinely face judgments and verdicts in the lower courts where mob pressure is often mobilised to obtain a conviction.”

CASE NARRATIVE
Following the Asia Bibi case, in which a Christian woman was sentenced to death under the blasphemy laws, Ms. Rehman has introduced an amendment to the Pakistan Penal Code and the Code of Criminal Procedure. The amendment would end the death penalty for blasphemy and take steps toward ensuring equal protections for religious minorities under the law in Pakistan.

Currently, extreme militant Muslim organisations may use blasphemy laws as a way to pressure and oppress religious minority groups. So far, the government has failed to protect the lives and property of the minority community. Although there is formal protection in place for religious minorities in the Constitution and although the blasphemy law has made it compulsory that no police officer below the rank of Superintendent of Police can investigate the charges, these statutes are rarely respected.

Religious minority groups in Pakistan remain vulnerable due to the continued use and abuse of blasphemy charges, despite section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code. The police, who fail to follow the code and who operate under the directives of extremists in the community, must face strong legal action. Charges of blasphemy are still met with the death penalty in Pakistan.

The deliberate institutionalisation of Islam’s status as protected and predominant promoted the perpetuation of religious intolerance by Islamic fundamentalists. According to data collected through different sources at least 1030 persons were charged under these anti-blasphemy clauses from 1986 to August 2009, while over 30 persons were killed extra-judicially by angry mobs or individuals.

Militant Muslim organisations are using blasphemy as a tool as the best way to keep religious minority groups under pressure and even forcibly take land. The State is failing to protect the lives and property of the minority community.

In August 2009 after the attack on the Christian population in Gojra, Punjab province, in which seven Christians were burnt to death, the Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani again announced plans to review “laws detrimental to religious harmony” in a committee comprising of constitutional experts, the minister for minorities, the religious affairs minister and other representatives, but the government has again hesitated to initiate change due to their unwillingness to antagonize fundamentalist groups.

To support this appeal, please click here:
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/support.php?ua=UAC-183-2010

Recent cases in Pakistan suggest a criminal collaboration among government authorities, police, and fundamentalist organisations, in which the Muslim clergy, on receiving bribes from land-grabbers in the National and Provincial Assemblies, colluded with local police to expropriate land owned by minorities by bringing allegations of blasphemy against them. The situation is especially worrying in Punjab province after the formation of the PML-N government, which has a record of intolerant policies against Christians and Ahmadis in particular.

SUGGESTED ACTION
The introduction of an amendment in the National Assembly that would limit the abuse of blasphemy laws is a major development in Pakistan and must be supported strongly. Please write letters to legislators, officials, and civil society leaders urging them to support and lobby for this law.

The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of religious minorities calling for his intervention into the misuse of blasphemy law.

To support this appeal, please click here:
http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/support.php?ua=UAC-183-2010
.
.

Aafia Siddiqui should be pardoned: Sign the Petition

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-199-2010
September 24, 2010

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN/USA: Dr. Aafia Siddiqui should be pardoned from her sentence of 86 years

Please sign the online petition urging President Obama to grant amnesty.

Dr. Aafia Siddiqui was arrested in March 2003 by Pakistani intelligence personnel and allegedly handed over to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). Subsequently she was detained in Bagram in Afghanistan, a facility used by the American government to hold persons suspected of being agents of Al Qaida.

Although she has testified in open court about her detention in Bagram it has never been properly explained by the FBI.

There are several discrepancies with the case put forward by the American government. They have never been able to properly explain how a woman, weakened by five years of imprisonment and mistreatment was able to wrestle a weapon away from a fully trained soldier. No Americans were actually injured in the incident but they found it necessary to shot her. This is reminiscent of a police encounter killing which is common in Pakistan and Bangladesh and India.

Dr. Siddique was shot during the incident and was not given the necessary medical treatment for some months.

The case against Dr. Aafia has brought to light the extent of human rights violations carried out by the allied forces in the name of the war on terror.

It is significant that there was no information available on Dr. Siddiqui until the Asian Human Rights Commission issued its first Urgent Appeal on July 24, 2008. (link) It was shortly after the publication of this appeal that the FBI announced that she had been arrested on July 17, 2008. However, as stated above, there have been no explanations as to her whereabouts after she was arrested in March 2003.

Dr. Siddiqui was arrested with her three children, the youngest of which was an infant. The two older children have been found, however, the fate of the third one remains unknown but he is feared to have died. The children were only found after an international protest raised the issue.

Her trial does not appear to have been fair and there were several discrepancies, she was regularly denied contact with members of her family and her lawyers who believe that her mental condition is seriously in doubt. This is no doubt due to her long years of imprisonment, and mistreatment.

In view of the trauma caused to Dr. Siddiqui by her arrest, incarceration at Bagram and the loss of her children, there can be nothing worse for a mother than not knowing the condition and whereabouts of her children, we feel that for whatever crime she is accused of committing, she has suffered enough. The sentence of 86 years is far in excess of any reasonable punishment.

Therefore the Asian Human Rights Commission urges President Obama to grant her amnesty in order that she can received treatment for her mental condition and trauma and live out her remaining years with her two surviving children.

The AHRC also urges President Zadari to use his good offices to encourage his American counterpart to grant Dr. Siddiqui the amnesty she deserves for the very great hardship she has endured.

Sign the online petition urging President Obama to grant amnesty.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

PAKISTAN: The killing of two Christian brothers

AHRC-STM-151-2010
July 20, 2010

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
PAKISTAN: The killing of two Christian brothers is the result of the negligence and bias of the Punjab government and police

The abuse of the Blasphemy law, misuse of mosque loudspeakers and the impunity offered to Muslim extremists are the main causes of the persecution of religious minorities.

The shooting deaths of Rashid Emmanuel and in broad daylight in front of hundreds of people in the district courts compound in Faisalabad on July 19 came as no surprise. As was expected Muslim extremists carried out the murder just five days after the issuance of an Urgent Appeal by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) in which it was feared that they were vulnerable to attack. The AHRC had also demanded that immediate action be taken to provide protection for the men so that their case might be taken up in accordance with the laws and procedures of the country. Please see the Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-102-2010.

The investigation officer of Police, Mr. Muhammad Hussain was also seriously injured during the attack as he tried to seize one of the attackers all of whom escaped unhindered. The two brothers had been arrested on charges of Blasphemy on the complaint of a printer on July 2, 2010.

Both brothers were produced before the court of Civil Judge, Mr. Aamir Habib, for their remand. Banned Muslim extremist groups, which enjoy freedom from the government of Punjab province, made announcements through the mosque loudspeakers asking Muslims to gather at the district courts building when the Christian brothers would be produced. They also spread rumors one day before that the Christian brothers would be free to go home from the Civil Lines Police Station, Faisalabad.

During the court proceedings the investigating officer told the court that there was no evidence of Blasphemy against the brothers and that therefore the police had no cause to further remand them in custody. The court ordered that Rashid Emmanuel and Sajjid Emmanuel be held in Judicial custody until the next date to issue further orders.

As both the brothers came out from the court suddenly some persons emerged from the crowd and opened fire at them. The elder brother Rashid died instantly whereas the younger one Sajjid died on the way to hospital. The police officer, Muhammad Hussain also received a bullet injury and is in critical condition.

Despite the threats by extremist elements from the banned Muslim militant groups to kill the Christian brothers the administration of Faisalabad city and the Punjab government did not take any security measures for their protection. Only three police officials, including the investigation officer, were assigned for the production of the accused brothers at the court whereas the Christian community had already asked the administration to provide sufficient policemen to protect them.

The AHRC has also mentioned in its Urgent Appeal that violent rallies by radical Muslims in the area have called for the men’s death, and Christians have reportedly begun to leave the neighbourhood. They fear that a new attack is planned for the end of the month, around the anniversary of a deadly attack on Christians 50km away in Korian village, Tehsil Gojra where six people were set alight and burned to death. Mosque loudspeakers are also being freely used to incite violence, which is illegal.

The killing of the Christian brothers in broad daylight was due to the sheer negligence and biased attitude of the Punjab provincial government and police. The Punjab government is notorious in appeasing the banned Muslim militant organisations. The Punjab provincial government, during the bye elections in 2009 has released some extremist leaders from the jails, who were involved in sectarian violence and killings, which helped them to win the elections. The younger brother of the Chief Minister of Punjab is also associated with one of the banned militant Muslim groups and is involved in spreading communal and sectarian violence.

It is very sad that after the killing of the two brothers some groups have attacked the Daud Nagar of Warispura, Faisalabad where there is 100,000 strong Christian communities. Different groups carried out processions inside the Christian area until the late hours of the night and threatened the residents. They warned them that they will face the same fate as happened in Gojra last year where nine people were killed and six were burned to death.

The other factor which suppresses the freedom of religious minority groups in Pakistan is the illegal use of loudspeakers from the mosques against the religious minorities as the easiest tool to instigate the Muslim population. The government is not taking any action against the misuse of loudspeakers. According to the law it is illegal for the loudspeakers in mosques to be used for anything other than Friday sermons in Arabic and the call to prayer.

Religious minority groups in Pakistan remain vulnerable due to the continued use and abuse of blasphemy charges, despite section 295C of the Pakistan Penal Code. This must be strongly implemented if minorities are to be protected. Police who fail to follow the code and who operate under the directives of extremists in the community must face strong legal action. Charges of blasphemy are still met with the death penalty in Pakistan, and desecrating the Quran carries a life sentence.

The AHRC urges the government to appoint a judicial commission to probe the incident of killing of the two Christian brothers and the attacks on the Christian community, the high police officials must be prosecuted for their negligence in providing security to the Christians when it was very obvious that the extremists would attack them.

The government should immediately abolish the Blasphemy law which was introduced by a fundamentalist military dictator in the 1980s for the purpose of prosecuting religious minorities. The government should also follow the amendment made in the Blasphemy law that no FIR for Blasphemy can be filed without an officer of the rank of Superintendent of Police. Therefore the government should take action against the responsible police officers who, without proper investigations, filed the FIR for Blasphemy at the pressure from some Muslim extremist groups.

The government should also provide compensation to the family of the assassinated brothers.

Asian Human Rights Commission
19/F, Go-Up Commercial Building,
998 Canton Road, Kowloon, Hongkong S.A.R.
Tel: +(852) – 2698-6339 Fax: +(852) – 2698-6367
twitter/youtube/facebook: humanrightsasia

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.
.
.

PAKISTAN: Police gang rape a teenage boy in custody and distribute footage on the Internet

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-060-2009
March 14, 2009

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

The law enforcement community in Pakistan has been shamed once more by an incident in which three officers arrested a boy, beat and raped him in custody, and distributed a video of the rape. A year later the boy is still in remand and the policemen have not been charged.

According to the national manager of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC), Ms Sadia Baloch, seventeen-year-old Zeeshan Budd was picked up on the evening of January 17, 2008, between his grandmother’s and his parent’s house in the jurisdiction of Shah Lateef Town in Punjab. The boy says he had asked to hitch a ride on a motorbike and had been arrested along with the driver, who was apparently wanted by the police. Police tell a different story: that they responded to a complaint about a stolen bike and mobile phone, and picked up the boy alone.

Ms Baloch says that Zeeshan was not informed of his charges, his family was not told of his arrest that night and he was neither sent to a remand home nor appointed a probation officer, which is required under Pakistan’s Juvenile Justice System Ordinance. Instead he was stripped at the police station, beaten and interrogated, during which the three officers raped him, including Head Constable Arif Sharr and Constable Mohammad Ashraf. Video of the rape was recorded on an officer’s mobile phone. When the police contacted the family the next day, Zeeshan’s grandmother Kulsoom Akhter agreed to pay half the requested bribe — Rs 50,000 — so that he’d be released. However the boy was kept, sent to court and the officers distributed parts of the video of his rape to internet cafes close to the boy’s family’s home.

The officers’ actions are a clear and severe violation of child rights and human rights. They contravene the Constitution of Pakistan, the Juvenile Justice System Ordinance and the UN Conventions of the Rights of the Child, which Pakistan ratified in 1990. (Under the Majority Act 1875, a child is defined as a person under 18 years of age; the voting age is 18 years and the national identity card is also issued at this age.)

Akhter appeared at her grandson’s court case with evidence of his rape, but a medical check up ordered by the judge was delayed for a week by the police, reducing the chance of medical evidence being found. Despite harassment and a smear campaign from police, and despite being ostracised in their community, Zeeshan’s relatives filed petition 601-602 in the Malir Court at the end of 2008, demanding that an FIR be lodged against the officers. In the meantime eight cases of robbery were taken against Zeeshan, still in jail, which his family claims are clumsily fabricated. A judge has ordered an investigation into his abuse, but the FIR report has yet to be signed.

Since its formation, the AHRC has publicised countless violent crimes committed by Pakistan police officers against detainees and there are common threads running through them all: they are usually creatively brutal, the victims young and poor, and the crimes barely covered up; officers appear confident that their actions will not be called into question. This can be seen in the case of a 17-year-old girl last year who was kept offsite by a police station sub-inspector after her arrest and raped repeatedly (AHRC-UAC-164-2008), and in the case of Hazoor Buksh, who had his penis severed by a drunk officer in 2007 (UA-032-2007) before being forced to claim that he did it himself with a broken tea cup in a suicide attempt. Zeeshan’s case is remarkable only for the security clearly felt by police when they publicised the torture themselves on video.

The AHRC insists that an FIR be lodged against Zeeshan’s rapists, and against the officers in the vicinity of the crime who did nothing to stop it. A thorough investigation must be launched. The boy must be released and he and his family offered protection for the duration of the case, and given appropriate rehabilitation and compensation.

But much more must be done. The many rapes, torture and murders that happen in police custody in Pakistan must stop. A scrupulous and unremitting sweep of the policing system is long overdue. Individuals entering into police custody too often emerge brutally scarred — emotionally and physically — and the government must determine how the situation has become so bad, and what can be done to rectify it. Officers themselves must be placed under observation, and those implicated in brutal crimes must be fired, not transferred. A nation-wide clarification of acceptable interrogation methods is necessary, and strict re-training is clearly in order.

Without a legitimate police force — which is often the front line of the legal process — a country is weakened and its citizens made vulnerable. Without law and order, vigilante justice and corruption thrive; Pakistan has a reputation for both. The fact that children can be brutally raped by police on camera and still nothing is done, should be a matter of deep shame.

The authorities need to combat this widely held notion, in and outside the country, that being a policeman in Pakistan simply gives you a greater license to commit crime.

ahrchk.net

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

Pak Armed Forces threaten journalists covering Zarina Marri case

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-023-2009
January 31, 2009

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: The Public Relations Department of the Armed Forces threatens the journalists covering the case of Zarina Marri

The Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR), a public relations department of the armed forces of Pakistan denied the allegations that Ms. Zarina Marri (23) was in a military torture cell and used as a sex slave to induce arrested nationalist activists to sign state concocted confessions. Please see the statement issued by AHRC about:
ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2009statements/1843

The ISPR has also asked from the newspapers and other media, who have given coverage about the missing Zarina, to produce the first information report (FIR) about her arrest. In the effort to effectively deny the torture and forcing female prisoners to become sex slaves in army torture cells the officials of the ISPR have threatened newspapers and the electronic media with dire consequences if they continue to report on the issue of Zarina Marri.

The director of ISPR, who holds the rank of Major General, has personally contacted different news papers who had written editorials demanding probe into the allegations that the army is running torture cells and hold female prisoners. He threatened the newspapers that their official advertisements and its payments will be stopped if they continue with their ‘malicious campaign’ against the army. Some television channels came out about the threats but the federal minister for information then denied that director of the ISPR has made any such threats. He told the newspapers not to involve the Pakistan army in such campaign.

It is regretted that, instead of probing the case the army officials have started threatening the editors and column writers to stop reporting on the issue of army torture cells and their inhuman treatment with the women. The government of Mr. Asif Zardari, the President of Pakistan, should start a probe through a judicial commission on the allegations that the army is using torture cells and has been doing so since the Musharaf era. Since so many persons have testified before the courts and media there should be no difficulty for the government to bring the perpetrators who misused their power in the name of national security and war on terror, before the law.

It is the responsibility of the civilian government to come out with the statements on the allegations of military torture cells and not the duty of the army generals which shows that army is still more powerful in state affairs then the elected government. The AHRC urges that officials of the ISPR be instructed to stop threatening the journalists. Furthermore they must issue statements in the presence of ministry of information and government on the allegations of using women as sex slaves in the military custody.

ahrchk.net

No action taken to recover 18 year old

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AHRC-STM-024-2009
February 2, 2009

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: No action taken for the recovery of an 18 year old girl who was raped and kidnapped by the relatives of a minister

An 18-year-old girl, Ms R, of Pathan Mohalla, Mithiani, Tehsil and district Naushahro Feroz, Sindh province, trafficked to a family through marriage, has been raped by her father-in-law and other male members of his family for a period of almost one month. After she managed to escape, a Jirga (illegal court) was held and they ordered that the girl be returned to her parents. However, a second Jirga, conducted by Mr. Noorul Khan Bhurt, nephew of a Provincial Minister on Livestock, ordered that she be returned to her husband and his family on the basis that the girl’s parents had accepted money in exchange for the girl’s marriage. With the order of the second Jirga, the girl was kidnapped on October 21, 2008 and since that date her whereabouts remain unknown. Because of the involvement of the Provincial Minister the police are not taking action against the abduction and continuous rape of the girl. Please refer to our urgent appeal AHRC-UAC-008-2009 (A girl was raped and kidnapped by the relatives of a minister and her whereabouts are unknown).

After the passing of more than three months the Sindh provincial government has not taken any action to recover the girl from the clutches of the relatives of the Minister and his family. The safety and security of, not only Ms. R, but all the people under their jurisdiction is the prime duty of the provincial government. However, instead of living up to this responsibility government is instead protecting the minister and his henchmen. It is also reported that after the issuance of the urgent appeal from the AHRC, the Mithiani police station, whose station house officer was allegedly involved in providing safe passage to the abductors, has contacted the parents of the girl and threatened that if they continued to involve the minister and his nephew they would be arrested on murder charges. As per the details given in the aforementioned UA one of the attackers that raided the house of Ms. R’s family was shot dead.

The Asian Human rights Commission urges provincial government to recover the girl from the abductors and respect her rights provided by the International Covenant on Civil Political Rights (ICCPR), to which Pakistan is signatory. It is obligatory for the government to follow the covenant and protect the life of each and every citizen without discrimination. The government must take stern action against the perpetrators and their henchmen regardless of their positions in the government, their power or their wealth. Pakistan has also ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against women (CEDAW) but has avoided implementing the convention in its true spirit. Taking the path of least resistance it is keeping the existing political system running because of the powerful feudal lords and tribal leaders who hold Jirgas against women.

ahrchk.net

Urgent Appeals: PAKISTAN Military ignores tribunal’s decision

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM
Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-003-2009
19 January 2009
PAKISTAN: Military ignores tribunal’s decision
ISSUES: Administration of justice

Dear Friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information regarding a case where the military officials are continuing to ignore a court order. The decision made by the Federal Service Tribunal (FST) concerning the employment of two peasants, formerly employed by the military, is yet to be complied with.

CASE DETAILS:
Mr. James Masih and Mr. Ghani Masih worked as dry stock attendants at the military farm in Panjnad, Okara district, Punjab province. They were fired by the military authorities (through an order dated April 29, 2004), on the charge of being the brothers of Mr. Younus Iqbal Masih. Masih is the chief of The Anjuman Mazaraeen Okara (The Peasant Association of Okara), a rights organisation that fights against the continued efforts of the Pakistan military to change their title of ‘tenant’, to that of ‘contractual labourer’.

At the beginning of the retrenchment process, military authorities (in a charge sheet dated 10 December 2002) claimed that the men’s performance and standards of discipline weren’t up to the required standard, and they were involved in undesirable activities. However at the end of the inquiry when the two were fired, it was put down to the fact that both men were still “enjoying good relations with (their) brother” and thus helping him in his “subversive activities.”

The brothers took their case to the Federal Service Tribunal, Lahore, which challenged the military with an impugn judgment (the verdict for one person applying to the other defendants in the case), and ordered them through the federal secretary of the defense ministry, to conduct a new, coherent inquiry. In the next charge sheet (February 13, 2004) the military authorities claimed that the brother in question “was engaged in subversive activities and (his) retention in service is prejudicial to national security. So, (he is) liable to be dismissed from service.”

After the victim submitted his reply, another inquiry was set in motion by the military authorities, led by Dr. Muhammad Amer Ayub, a veterinary officer. The vet concluded that the man had actively supported his brother Younus Masih and other tenants in their uprising against military farms management. They were dismissed from December 31, 2003.

The appellant filed his departmental appeal (May 13 2004) before the assistant director of headquarters at the military farm, but no decision came back to him. He then filed an instant appeal before the Federal Service Tribunal on July 28, 2004.

On November 6, 2008, the Federal Services Tribunal ruled that the firing of the man was illegal and that he should be reinstated, with the period since his dismissal treated and paid for as leave. The tribunal observed that: “we feel that (an) appellant should not be penalised for his hardship with his brother and father, and should not be made to pay for (their) sins.” Being an impugned judgment, the decision applies to all 32 persons who were retrenched by the military authorities during the 2001 movement of the peasants of military farms.

The military authorities and Ministry of Defense have refused to follow the decision of the Federal Service Tribunal, which is binding for every official ministry and departments. The victims remain jobless and are still barred from entering their former homes at the farm.

The military officials need to be taken to task and reminded of their role in the country. The brothers must be immediately returned to their jobs and homes, and compensated for the wages lost so far. The military officers also clearly need to be given something useful to do; it is unlikely that such activities can be held up as a worthy use of Pakistan’s defense budget.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The Punjab (Provincial) Board of Revenue has leased out large tracts of agricultural land, tilled by tenants and their forefathers for over 80 years, to military farms and other organisations like the Punjab Seed Corporation. The leases have already expired, but instead of vacating the land, the military have publicly claimed ownership of it. The military authorities have been pressing the Board of Revenue to transfer the ownership of these lands from the peasants to the military. Their latest move – the request of a permanent land transfer of over 20,000 acres in Okara and Lahore by the Ministry of Defense in February 1, 2000 – occurred just three months after the Musharraf coup. Nevertheless, the board refused (in a letter dated April 13, 2001).

In June 2000 the administration of Okara’s military farms–the largest of the many state farms spreads over 17,000 acres–told the tenants that they would no longer be considered as tenants but instead would have to sign limited-year contracts on their own land. They were told to pay cash rent to military authorities instead of the usual harvest shares. The tenants refused because they knew that while tenancy laws protected them from eviction, their jobs would not be safe as contract workers. The contract in question banned the personal use of trees and soil of the land, bound contractors’ loyalty and obedience to the military officers and made the contractor responsible for preventing crimes. The slightest breach of the contract would lead to its cancellation. As the situation has grown more polarised, officers have begun demanding the outright ownership of the land.

The total area under lease to military farms in various districts of Punjab amounts to 166,204 acres and the military argument, that the area is close to the border, only applies to 1,450 acres in the district of Kasur. In fact, like other exclusive defense housing societies found in major cities, these military farms have nothing to do with the defense of the country.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to the government authorities below, demanding the re-instatement of the two peasants at the military farm in Panjdnad, Okara, with back benefits from the day they were unjustly fired.

To support this appeal, please click here:
www.ahrchk.net

PAKISTAN: To stop honour killings there must be a bigger crackdown on illegal Jirgas – Getting away with murder in Pakistan

AHRC-STM-273-2008
October 24, 2008

A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission

PAKISTAN: To stop honour killings there must be a bigger crackdown on illegal Jirgas – Getting away with murder in Pakistan

Several months ago eight women, three of them minors, were buried alive in Balochistan, reportedly by the same men. Those responsible have close ties to the provincial government and to the police, and investigations into the case have gone through a Kafkan array of delays and setbacks. For information on these cases please refer to: AHRC-UAC-182-2008 and AHRC-STM-234-2008. These brutal cases and the bungled follow up is a good example of how murder cases are dealt with in Pakistan’s feudal north – especially those that involve women. It is an illustration of the government’s ineptitude in combating two illegal practices: honour killings and Jirgas, the tribal courts that order them.

Over 4,000 people have died in Jirga sanctified murders over the last six years and two thirds of them have been women. Their deaths have often under the most barbaric of circumstances. Many are charged with having a relationship out of marriage which is often a fabricated claim and others are suspected of planning love marriages (in direct opposition to the marriages planned by their families). It is believed that these killings have become a way of resolving property disputes, particularly by male family members who resent losing property to another family through marriage.

In the feudal, fiercely patriarchal north, women’s lives are worth little. It is a matter of prestige to have more than one wife, and young girls are often sold into marriage to settle disputes. In one case earlier this month, under the orders of a Jirga and with the knowledge and apparent acquiescence of the police, three young girls (aged 10, 12, 13) were handed over as compensation to a man who claimed that their father (as two of the girls were children of his brothers he was also the uncle) had slept with his wife. The complainant had openly killed the wife, as he had his previous wife.

Those that commit such ‘honour crimes’ or karo-kiri are supposed to be punished with a life sentence, but the true culprits are rarely punished. Supported by tribal chiefs and traditional Jirga law, the practice is increasing. More people are being extra judicially murdered than ever before.

To conquer these practices, which go against the nation’s constitution, Pakistan needs to look deep into its own system and make strong, confident changes. It is time for the government to show its seriousness about becoming a respectable twenty-first century power, and safeguarding the rights of its people. As noted by Dr Farzana Bari and Sarwar Bari in a statement last month, “many think that with such a misogynist and criminal mindset of our public representatives, what hope do we have to survive as a nation and pull ourselves out of multiple crises?”

Actions needed:
Creating new laws will not do much good, since many of the existing laws are not implemented. Instead there must be a bigger crackdown on illegal Jirgas and those conducting them must be brought before the law and punished without exception. Those who have killed through Jirgas must be tried for murder; a country must have only one law for murder, without distinctions or impunity.

Many men serving in parliament today have been a part of Jirga courts and a serious resolution of the issue will never be met with such men in power. Those who have conducted Jirgas should be banned from holding public office, and those already in office must be ejected. Political will is required for curbing this menace; a clear signal should be sent that the constitutional law of Pakistan needs to be respected.

Honour killings are murder and the legal rights of the relatives of the victims must be recognized and acted on. This includes the right to an investigation and trial. Under Article 2 of the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights), which Pakistan has signed, the state is under obligation to take measures to protect rights and provide remedy for victims of rights violations. Those who carry out extra-judicial violence must be made to see that it will no longer be tolerated. Victims and their families must understand that there is a process by which they can seek justice.

To make sure that these steps are taken an independent monitoring body needs to be established, funded and given free reign.

It is a government’s responsibility to educate; a strong educational network must be created that can work against what has become an entrenched practice, particularly in the tribal northern areas which remain isolated, ideologically, from the rest of the country. If the government is genuinely serious about tackling honour killings and modernizing its legal system, this is the very least it can do.

About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.