Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance & Other Ill Treatment In the early years of the 21st Century, 2000 to
2025 gvnet.com/torture/Pakistan.htm
|
|||||||||||
|
CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Pakistan. Some of these links may lead to websites
that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No
attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content. HOW TO USE THIS WEBPAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Torture by Authorities are of
particular interest to you. You might
be interested in exploring the moral justification for inflicting pain or
inhumane or degrading treatment or punishment in order to obtain critical
information that may save countless lives, or to elicit a confession for a
criminal act, or to punish someone to teach him a lesson outside of the
courtroom. Perhaps your paper might
focus on some of the methods of torture, like fear, extreme temperatures,
starvation, thirst, sleep deprivation, suffocation, or immersion in freezing
water. On the other hand, you might
choose to write about the people acting in an official capacity who
perpetrate such cruelty. There is a
lot to the subject of Torture by Authorities.
Scan other countries as well as this one. Draw comparisons between activity in
adjacent countries and/or regions.
Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources
that are available on-line. ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Pakistan U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/pakistan/
[accessed 2 August
2021] DISAPPEARANCE Kidnappings and
forced disappearances of persons took place in nearly all areas of the
country. Some officials from intelligence agencies, police, and other
security forces reportedly held prisoners incommunicado and refused to
disclose their location. The independent nongovernmental organization (NGO)
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) estimated at least 2,100 political
dissenters and rights activists were missing in the country, although the
actual number may be higher. TORTURE AND OTHER CRUEL,
INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT Human rights
organizations claimed that torture was perpetrated by police, military, and
intelligence agency members, that they operated with impunity, and that the
government lacked serious efforts to curb the abuse. On June 24, a video
of three police officers abusing and stripping a man naked at a police
station in Peshawar went viral on social media. In January the inspector
general of Sindh, Kaleem Imam, claimed some
officers of the Counterterrorism Department (CTD) were involved in extortion
and wrongful confinement. He claimed some senior CTD officials had encouraged
these officers, rather than punishing them, for such abuses. Media and civil
society organizations reported cases of individuals dying in police custody
allegedly due to torture. On July 9, the body of a prisoner, Peeral Khaskheli, was found in
a police lock-up in Sanghar, Sindh. His family
claimed police were responsible for the death, while police claimed the
deceased committed suicide. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/pakistan/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 18 May
2020] F3. IS THERE
PROTECTION FROM THE ILLEGITIMATE USE OF PHYSICAL FORCE AND FREEDOM FROM WAR
AND INSURGENCIES? Civilians face the
threat of extralegal violence by state actors, including enforced
disappearances. The number of pending cases of people registered as missing since
2011 by the official Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances rose to
6,506 during 2019, of which 4,365 cases had reportedly been resolved by the
end of the year. However, there was no sign of the commission’s deliberations
leading to any effective sanctions against the agencies undertaking the
disappearances—although the commission tracks cases,
it has refrained from attributing responsibility. Most victims were from KPK,
the former FATA, or Baluchistan, and typically were held incommunicado by
security and intelligence agencies on suspicion of antistate
agitation, terrorism, rebellion, or espionage. Police torture of
professor Arbab sparks condemnation Yousaf Ali, The News,
Peshawar, 12 April 2020 www.thenews.com.pk/print/643250-police-torture-of-professor-arbab-sparks-condemnation [accessed 12 April
2020] According to Dr Arbab Khan Afridi, he was
alone in a small market opposite the University of Peshawar to buy some
vegetables the other day when he received a severe blow with baton on his
back. “When I looked back, I saw a policeman beating me harshly. After four
to five blows with quick succession, I fell down and became unconscious,” Instead of rushing
him to the hospital, the police took him to the Town Police Station where
they insisted on registering a case against him, he said. “Nobody was
listening to me. I was not aware of any violation committed by me and
insisted them to show me the reason for insulting and torturing me. My body
was aching and I felt severe pain in my arm which was later found to have
been fractured,” Arbab Khan Afridi said. Inhumane treatment alleged:
Man dies of ‘police torture’ in Faisalabad Kashif Farid,
The Express Tribune, Faisalabad, 22 December 2018 tribune.com.pk/story/1872200/1-inhumane-treatment-alleged-man-dies-police-torture-faisalabad/ [accessed 23
December 2018] According to
details, Falak Sher, a resident of Salay Wala Road, was taken into custody by Thikriwala police over suspicion of his involvement in a
robbery case. However, during the course of interrogation the police
officials allegedly tortured him. Later, the police
released the victim after allegedly taking Rs50,000
bribe from his family. When Falak reached home, his
condition deteriorated and he was immediately shifted to a private hospital
for treatment. But after struggling for his life for six days, he breathed
his last. ‘We
will take action against police officials who commit torture’: NCHR Daily Times,
Faisalabad, 29 May 2018 dailytimes.com.pk/246061/we-will-take-action-against-police-officials-who-commit-torture-nchr/ [accessed 29 May
2018] The National Commission
on Human Rights conducted its Preliminary Investigation into nearly 1,500
cases of torture reported by Justice Project Pakistan in just one district of
Faisalabad. The report states that
out of these 143 victims were suspended, 464 were forced to witness others
being tortured, 15 were subjected to sleep deprivation, 11 were exposed to
extreme heat or cold and 114 were sexually abused. The report also finds that
61 percent of women were sexually abused and 81 percent were subjected to
culturally inappropriate practices. Uproar
in Pakistan over 'torture and sexual abuse' of Christian youths Shamil Shams & Sattar Khan, Deutsche Welle,
Islamabad, 28 February 2018 www.dw.com/en/uproar-in-pakistan-over-torture-and-sexual-abuse-of-christian-youths/a-42771495 [accessed 24 March
2018] [accessed 24 March
2018] On Friday, Sajid Masih, a 24-year-old
blasphemy suspect, leapt from the fourth floor of the Federal Investigation
Agency's (FIA) Punjab headquarters in Lahore and severely injured himself. In
a video statement, Sajid alleged that he jumped
because the FIA officials tortured him and ordered him to "sexually
assault" Patras Masih,
his cousin and the main accused in an online blasphemy case. "They asked me
to abuse myself, but I refused to do so. Later, they asked me to sexually
assault my cousin, but I remained silent and jumped from the building,"
he said. Kurram woman alleges
son’s death by police torture DAWN News,
Parachinar, 25 November 2017 [accessed 25
November 2017] The woman said her
son was transferred from Parachinar to central jail Bannu,
adding her family was informed that Afzal had died in custody and that they
should arrange ambulance to shift the body to Parachinar. She said her son
bore several marks of violence, adding the body was shifted to hospital where
doctors also confirmed violence on it. The mother said her son’s neck and
ribs were broken due to severe torture, and urged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa governor
to order inquiry into the mysterious death of her son and bring culprits to
justice. Post-mortem
report: MQM worker’s body bore torture marks Farah Jamil, Aaj News, 6 May 2016 -- Source: Business Recorder aaj.tv/2016/05/post-mortem-report-mqm-workers-body-bore-torture-marks/ [accessed 17 August
2016] The post-mortem
report of MQM worker Aftab Ahmed, who died in
Rangers’ custody, said several torture marks were visible on his body. The examination report,
a copy of which is available with Business Recorder, stated that the body was
full of bruises and abrasions; reddish black marks were present at various
parts including chest, thighs, skull and buttocks. Skin had received multiple
abrasions. A nail of the left toe was partially torn off. Aftab Ahmad was arrested
by Rangers at his residence in Federal B. Area on May 1 for his alleged
involvement in several criminal cases. He was later produced before an
Anti-Terrorism Count (ATC) which handed over him to Rangers on a 90-day
detention. Police
use of brutal torture methods continues unabated Ashraf Javed, The Nation, Lahore, 9 May 2016 nation.com.pk/featured/09-May-2016/police-use-of-brutal-torture-methods-continues-unabated [accessed 10 August
2016] “They were paraded
naked, thrashed, punched, and kicked on their private parts. Their hands and feet
were tied to a charpoy and they were tortured brutally in upside down
position. The policemen also threw salt and pepper on the victim’s injuries
to force them to confess to the robberies (whether they had committed or
not)”. The police during
interrogation uses multiple methods of torture to
extort cash and information from crime suspects. Although the police are
asked to use scientific methods of investigations yet the suspects are
tortured by police to force them to confess the crimes. Torture
in Pakistan International
Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (irct) Developed in
collaboration with the Struggle for Change (SACH), September 2014 www.irct.org/Admin/Public/DWSDownload.aspx?File=%2fFiles%2fFiler%2fpublications%2fCountry+factsheets%2fCF+Pakistan+-+PUBLIC+EDIT+pdf.pdf [accessed 23 June
2015] Torture in Pakistan
is increasingly common throughout the country and takes different forms in different
circumstances. Reasons for the infliction of torture include to obtain a confession, information, or as punishment with the
purpose of causing mental and physical harm. The fight against torture
fails victims in the areas of prevention, rehabilitation and in access to
justice. Centre
takes a U-turn, may approach ICJ over Captain Saurabh Kalia
torture case Press Trust of
India, New Delhi, 2 June 2015 images.indianexpress.com/2015/06/kalia.jpg [accessed 18 June
2015] A postmortem report
by Army doctors indicated signs of "burns inflicted by cigarettes, ear
drums pierced by hot rods, broken bones and teeth, removing of eyes before
puncturing them, chopped limbs and private organs". Youth
died from severe police torture, autopsy reveals Lahore, 24 April
2015 nation.com.pk/lahore/24-Apr-2015/youth-died-from-severe-police-torture-autopsy-reveals [accessed 10 May
2015] The autopsy report
of 24-year-old Shahzad, a shopkeeper in Photo
Market on Nisbat Road, revealed that the youth died
of severe torture in police custody, rescuers and medical sources said on
Thursday. Hundreds of people
mostly shopkeepers took to the streets and staged demonstration against the
police brutality on Thursday. The protesters blocked the Chah
Miran Road by putting the body on the road, creating
worst traffic mess in the busy locality for more than an hour. Hospital sources
said Shahzad had sustained injuries and severe
bruising in the upper right back area and severe bruises of sharp circular shape
in the right chest area. There was also evidence of severe torture on the
muscle of the upper left shoulder, parallel to the spine in the lower neck
area, and evidence of severe torture under the skin and inside the muscle of
the right side of the chest. Pakistan
to execute juvenile who confessed under torture, says family Ranee Mohamed, News 1st
DIGITAL, 15 March 2015 [accessed 30 March
2015] An anti-terrorism
court in Pakistan has re-ordered the execution of a man convicted for a crime
his family and lawyers say was committed when he was a juvenile. They also say he was tortured into a
confession. Manzoor, Hussain’s
brother, met him in 2010 when he found out the details of the way he was
allegedly tortured. “His nails had been
removed and his thumb on his right hand was twisted because of being
broken. “He had cigarette stub marks
all over his arm.” Manzoor told CNN. Murder
he wrote: Medico-legal officer blows the whistle on police encounters Noman Ahmed, The
Express Tribune, Karachi, 22 February 2015 [accessed 30 March
2015] A whistleblower’s
assertions about the veracity of infamous ‘police encounters’ in the city
caused ripples within the police department on Sunday. So intimidated were the
police by the evidence he had against their ‘illegal tactics’ that they
allegedly forced him to erase all the findings of police encounter casualties
from his laptop computer. The revelations
were made by Dr Ali in a press conference following
his release from the kidnapping and ‘third-degree’ torture, allegedly carried
out by police personnel in civilian clothes. “I was kidnapped and subjected
to inhumane torture for not agreeing to tamper with the post-mortem report of
a police-encounter casualty,” said Dr Ali. Karachi:
Alleged target killer dies of police torture Dunya News, Karachi, 10
January,2015 dunyanews.tv/index.php/en/Pakistan/254536-Karachi-Alleged-target-killer-dies-of-police-tort [accessed 24 March
2015] An alleged target
killer Muttahida Qaumi
Movement (MQM) worker Faraz alias on Saturday has
died in the police custody due to torture in Khokhrapar
Police Station. Human
Rights Watch World Report 2015 - Events of 2014 Human Rights Watch,
29 January 2015 www.hrw.org/world-report/2015/...
or
www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/wr2015_web.pdf [accessed 18 March
2015] PAKISTAN COUNTERTERRORISM AND
LAW ENFORCEMENT ABUSES
- Accountability of law enforcement agencies showed no signs of improving in
2014. In June, one of the most egregious incidents of excessive use of force
against political protesters occurred in Model Town, a Lahore suburb. Police
fired without warning on supporters of the Pakistan Awami Tehreek (PAT), an
opposition political party, whose workers had tried to stop police demolition
of security barriers erected in front of PAT headquarters. Authorities
confirmed the deaths of at least eight PAT members. Another 80 PAT members
were injured. In July, the
government enacted new repressive counterterrorism legislation. The Protection
of Pakistan Act (PPA) is an extremely broad and ambiguously worded document
that grants the security forces broad powers to implement preventive
detention and carry out arrests without warrants. Such provisions can easily
provide legal cover for abuses by law enforcement agencies and open the door
for the violation of fundamental rights to freedom of speech, privacy,
peaceful assembly, and a fair trial. Heavy-handedness:
Police accused of illegal detention and torture The Express Tribune,
31 August 2014 tribune.com.pk/story/755835/heavy-handedness-police-accused-of-illegal-detention-and-torture/ [accessed 16
September 2014] When Abid Khan
heard the police were looking for his son, he decided to be a responsible
citizen and turn Abrar in. Moments later, Abrar would allegedly be stripped
naked and hung upside down as officers thrashed him with a whip and bamboo
sticks. The father said he
took Abrar to Mirpur police station when he heard the law enforcers were
looking for him. That is when, according to Abid, things turned ugly and the
police illegally detained his son to forcefully extract a confession. Abrar
was reportedly kept at the police station illegally for four days. “They beat him with
a whip, hung him upside down naked and also intermittently hit his private
parts with bamboo sticks,” he said. He told the DIG that when his elder son Mohsin
Khan took lunch for Abrar the next day, the police also beat him and used
abusive language. New Pakistan law
will likely worsen torture by police Kristine Beckerle,
Deborah Francois and Babur Khwaja, , The Baltimore Sun, 28 August 2014 www.baltimoresun.com/news/opinion/oped/bs-ed-pakistan-police-20140828,0,7851768.story [accessed 16
September 2014] Police in
Faisalabad, Pakistan's third largest city, tortured more than 1,400 people
during a six-year period, according to a report researched and written by the
Allard K. Lowenstein International Human Rights Clinic at Yale Law School,
for Justice Project Pakistan (JPP), a non-governmental organization based in
Lahore, Pakistan. The report, which
we authored, documents how law enforcement uses its power to inflict pain
largely with impunity. Police beat detainees, hang them by their arms or feet
for hours on end, force them to witness the torture of others, and strip them
naked and parade them in public. Taxila police
torture cell unearthed Khalid Mehmood, The
Nation, Wah Cantt, 13 August 2014 www.nation.com.pk/national/13-Aug-2014/taxila-police-torture-cell-unearthed [accessed 14 August
2014] A man disclosed to
the media that the Taxila Police were running a private torture cell at the
house of a local political activist near Nawababad - an area in the
constituency of Federal Interior Minister Ch Nisar Ali Khan. Telling his
terrible tale at a lawyer’s chamber, Awal Khan alleged that the police took
him and his friend Hameed Khan to the cell on July 9 for extorting
Rs5,00,000. “We were also kept at private torture cells in Gujranwala and
Lahore, followed by detention at an under-construction house of a police
inspector in Rawalpindi. We were tortured, given electric shocks and our
nails were pulled out,” he said. Layyah torture
victim moves court against cops Owais Jafri, The
Express Tribune, Layyah, 7 June 2014 tribune.com.pk/story/718337/thana-culture-layyah-torture-victim-moves-court-against-cops/ [accessed 8 June
2014] The 55-year-old
said there was a land dispute between Ashar and MPA Qaiser Magsi. He said Magsi had occupied the land for
many years before Ashar took him to court and won the case. He said he had been warned against working
on Ashar’s land several times. He said on April 27, he, his mother, wife and
children, were dragged out of their home by ASI Muhammad Nawaz and Constable
Muhammad Zafar. He said when they
resisted, they were beaten by the officials. He said Chobara SHO
Yousuf Lashari arrived later and the SHO told the ASI to beat him. He said at the time, the SHO got a call on
his mobile phone and he said he had complied with “the orders” and would soon
visit “the farmhouse.” He said he
said he was badly beaten and forced to kiss the feet of the ASI several
times. He said at some point he
fainted and woke in Chobara police station. He said the police
demanded Rs50,000 for his release but let him go when he paid Rs35,000. Police torture on
political workers unacceptable Samaa, Islamabad,
February 11, 2014 www.samaa.tv/%E2%80%98ice%20rre%20%20iica%20wrker%20acceae%E2%80%99-76895-1.html [accessed 16
February 2014] www.samaa.tv/pakistan/2014/02/police-torture-on-political-workers-unacceptable/ [accessed 1 August
2017] Former Punjab
governor Latif Khosa, MQM leader Waseem Akhtar and senior journalist Muhammad
Malick agreed that the brutal police treatment meted out to the MQM’s workers
was unacceptable and highly deplorable.
Appearing in SAMAA’s current affairs program, “Nadeem Malik Live”
today, Waseem Akhtar said situation is getting worse day by day in Karachi as
the city was turned into a police state. Our innocent
workers are being picked and subjected to inhuman torture at police
stations,” he said, adding that 45 MQM’s activists were still missing. Police overnight
torture held MQM worker, dump him in hospital Geo TV News,
Karachi, 9 February 2014 www.geo.tv/article-137180-Police-overnight-torture-held-MQM-worker-dump-him-in-hospital [accessed 11 Feb
2014] The bridegroom, an
MQM worker Fahad held last night after third degree police torture has been
admitted into a private hospital in critical condition on Sunday morning
here, Geo News reported. Sources said that
Fahad was in the overnight custody of East Zone police and his body bore
severe torture marks. Custodial death: 11
policemen charged with torture, killing Owais Jafri, The
Express Tribune, Multan, 17 December 2013 tribune.com.pk/story/646407/custodial-death-11-policemen-charged-with-torture-killing/ [accessed 17 Dec
2013] The Vehari district
police officer (DPO) on Monday dismissed 11 police officials from service for
their involvement in the custodial torture of a murder suspect that resulted
in his death. He said a police
investigation had revealed that Mehmood was taken to the house of a landlord,
Bholi Gujjar, by the policemen where he was tortured. He was later taken to
district headquarters hospital in Vehari where he succumbed to his injuries. The DPO said the autopsy
report had revealed that the man died from severe torture. It said he had
been given electric shocks and burnt. Holes had also been drilled into his
body. Government gives up
on tortured Kargil hero: Delhi gets cold feet on taking Islamabad to International
Court of Justice Harish V Nair, Mail
Online India, 19 November 2013 [accessed 21 Nov
2013] Capt. Kalia, of the
4 Jat Regiment, was the first Army officer to report large-scale incursions
by the Pakistan Army in the Kargil region in 1999. He was captured by
Pakistani troops along with five soldiers on May 15. The bodies were handed
over to India by the Pakistan Army on June 9. The bodies had been burnt with
cigarettes, the ear-drums pierced with hot rods, eyes punctured and removed,
most teeth and bones broken, and limbs and genitals cut or chopped off. The
injuries were found to pre-date death. Police custody: Man
tortured to death during interrogation Owais Jafri, Express
Tribune, Multan, 18 August 2013 tribune.com.pk/story/591626/police-custody-man-tortured-to-death-during-interrogation/ [accessed 17 Aug
2013] An autopsy report
from Nishtar Hospital on Friday confirmed that a man who had been taken into
police custody for interrogation on Wednesday was tortured to death. The autopsy report said there were signs
of torture all over the man’s body, including his genitals. Javaid Azhar, 22,
had been taken into custody for interrogation regarding the kidnapping and
murder of Tariq Hassan, a 7-year old child, resident of Tariq Abad. Police took Azhar into custody on
Wednesday believing apparently that he could lead them to the
kidnappers. On Thursday, they handed
Javaid Azhar’s body over to his family saying that he had had a cardiac
arrest. Azhar’s family demanded that
the policemen responsible for Azhar’s death be hanged. LHC takes notice of
police torture The News
International, Lahore, 23 June 2013 www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-2-185459-LHC-takes-notice-of-police-torture [accessed 24 June
2013] www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2014/02/01/city/lahore/lhc-takes-notice-of-death-from-police-torture/ [accessed 29 August
2016] The Lahore High Court
on Saturday took notice of torturing a man to death by police in Faisalabad
and directed the District & Sessions Judge concerned to probe the matter
and submit a detailed report. Ali Raza Abad said
police raided a gambling den in Kaleem Shaheed Colony and tortured a man,
Ghulam Rasool, to death. After the incident, the family of Ghulam Rasool
staged a protest in Chohar Majra Chowk placing his body on the road and
demanding registration of case against ASI Waqas for killing Ghulam Rasool. Brutal torture by
SHO leaves man dead Staff Report, Daily
Times, Lahore, 8 June 2013 archives.dailytimes.com.pk/lahore/08-Jun-2013/brutal-torture-by-sho-leaves-man-dead [accessed 25 March
2014] www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/435334-cops-torture-man-to-death [accessed 1 August
2017] A 35-year-old man
was tortured to death by SHO Shahdra police station and his four subordinates
in their private torture cell here on Friday. The deceased was identified
as Siraj Din, hailing from Faisalabad. Police investigator said that Shahdra
police had arrested the victim during last few days due to his involvement in
different crimes. He further said that victim was arrested and shifted to
some personal place of SHO Shahdra and SI Muhammad Afzal Virk with the help
of four constables. He said they had
been torturing him and he felt unconscious in the meantime. Police rushed him
to Mayo hospital where doctors pronounced him dead. The investigator said on
the complaint of SI Muhammad Varyam they registered a case against their SHO
and four constables under section 302 of PPC for torturing to death an
accused. Police have arrested SHO and four constables and shifted the body to
the mortuary for autopsy. Police torture
teenager, release him after taking bribe Daily Times,
Karachi, 5 June 2013 archives.dailytimes.com.pk/karachi/05-Jun-2013/police-torture-teenager-release-him-after-taking-bribe [accessed 25 March
2014] Police, after
arresting a teenage seminary student in Gulberg, badly tortured him before
handing him back to the family for a bribe of Rs 10,000. According to the
family, three policemen, Mohammad Fateh, Mazhar Ali and Ali Ashar, arrested
victim Mohammad Ali. When Ali’s family reached the police station, policemen
refused to hand over the teenager. Police later handed over the boy in an
unconscious state after taking a bribe of Rs 10,000. The family staged a
protest outside the Governor House against the policemen. Following the
protest, Governor Sindh took notice of the incident and ordered to register
the case and arrest the policemen. DSP Altaf Hussain later informed that
three policemen were suspended for torturing the student. Hussain said that
FIR was registered, and one accused, Fateh, has been arrested. He said that
the remaining two policemen managed to escape, adding that the investigation
was underway. MQM worker was
tortured to death: Doctors Faraz Khan, The
Express Tribune, Karachi, 29 May 2013 tribune.com.pk/story/555735/mqm-worker-was-tortured-to-death-doctors/ [accessed 29 May
2013] Before the cause of
death of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement’s activist, Ajmal Baig, could have been
dragged on amid accusations and lack of evidence, the postmortem report
issued on Tuesday confirmed that Baig died due to the injuries he suffered
from being tortured. The victim’s
postmortem was carried out at the Karachi Civil Hospital by Dr Farhat Mirza
and Dr Qarar Abbasi under the presence of the judicial magistrate. “When the police
brought him (Baig) into the hospital on May 21, he had the same torture marks
on his body,” the medico-legal officer, Dr Qarar Abbasi, told The Express
Tribune. “I had told the policemen that Baig needed proper treatment but
despite his injures, he was sent to jail.” According to the
medical report, the limbs of the deceased were swollen as parts of his body were
severely tortured, including legs, hands, back and buttocks. According to the
doctors, the deceased was also given electric shocks and could have survived
if he had been provided proper treatment. “Obviously, his
internal organs were also damaged due to the extreme torture and lack of
treatment. We have sent samples to the laboratory to verify the damages to
the internal parts of his body.” Stories of torture
on Indians in Pakistani jails don’t seem to end! Now, Lal Singh recalls the
horror Bhaskar News, 10 May
2013 daily.bhaskar.com/article/NAT-TOP-stories-of-torture-on-indians-in-pakistani-jails-don---t-seem-to-end-now-lal-sin-4259588-PHO.html [accessed 10 May
2013] Singh said that he
crossed over the Pakistan border by mistake and the Pakistan police arrested
him on charges of being a spy. He said that the Pakistan police interrogated
him a number of times during his tenure in the jail and used to beat him
mercilessly. Singh said that he tried to convince them that he was just being
a victim of mistaken identity but they won’t listen and he was sentenced to 2
years of imprisonment. Human Rights in
Pakistan Human Rights Watch [accessed 10
February 2013] The judicial ouster
of Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani, attacks on civilians by militant groups,
growing electricity shortages, and rising food and fuel prices all
contributed to turbulence in Pakistan. Religious minorities – such as the
Shia-Muslim Hazara community – were killed in large numbers with no one held
to account. The military dominated politics in Pakistan and operated above
the law. A number of terrorism suspects and the military’s opponents were
forcibly disappeared. The police committed widespread abuses, including
torturing criminal suspects and committing extrajudicial killings, while law
enforcement broke down in the face of attacks by armed militant groups.
Abuses by state security forces and militant groups worsened in mineral-rich Balochistan. AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL From an old article -- URL not available Article was
published sometime prior to 2015 VIOLATIONS BY
SECURITY FORCES Security forces
continued to act with impunity and were accused of widespread human rights
violations, including arbitrary arrests, enforced disappearances, torture,
deaths in custody and extrajudicial executions targeting political activists,
journalists, and suspected members of armed groups. In the northwest tribal
areas, the armed forces exploited new and old security laws to provide cover
for these violations beyond the reach of the courts. UNLAWFUL KILLINGS Hundreds of
unlawful killings, including extrajudicial executions and deaths in custody,
were widely reported. They were most common in the northwest tribal areas,
and Balochistan and Sindh provinces. On several
occasions during the year, the Peshawar High Court ordered investigations
into the more than 100 bodies found dumped across Peshawar, capital of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa province. Muzaffar Bhutto, leader of
an ethnic Sindhi political party, was found dead on 22 May in Bukhari village
near Hyderabad, Sindh, after he was abducted by men in plain clothes
accompanied by police 15 months earlier. His body reportedly bore torture
marks and bullet wounds but no one was brought to justice for his abduction
or killing. ENFORCED
DISAPPEARANCES The Supreme Court
was granted unprecedented access to some victims of enforced disappearances,
including seven surviving members of the “Adiala
11” in February, and several others from Balochistan
throughout the year. The Chief Justice threatened to order the arrest of law
enforcement personnel for failing to provide a legal basis for arrests and
detentions in Balochistan, and the Peshawar High
Court continued to pressure the authorities to provide details of all
individuals held in security detention in the northwest tribal areas.
However, reports of enforced disappearances continued across the country,
especially in Balochistan province and the
north-west tribal areas; no serving or retired security personnel were
brought to justice for their alleged involvement in these or other
violations. The UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances
made its first ever visit to the country in September, but key officials
refused to meet them, including the head of the Commission of Inquiry on
Enforced Disappearances, Chief Justices of the Supreme Court and most High
Courts, and senior security and military representatives. The body of Baloch
Republican Party leader Sangat Sana was found
dumped on the outskirts of Turbat, Balochistan, on 13 February. More than two years earlier,
he was seen being taken by several men in plain clothes at a police roadblock
at the Bolan Pass on the Quetta-Sindh highway. ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 4 Civil Liberties: 5 Status: Partly Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/pakistan [accessed 10
February 2013] LONG
URL ç 2009 Country Reports begin on Page 21 [accessed 13 May
2020] Police routinely
engage in crime, excessive force, torture, and arbitrary detention; extort
money from prisoners and their families; accept bribes to file or withdraw
charges; rape female detainees; and commit extrajudicial killings. Prison
conditions are extremely poor, with overcrowding a particular problem. Case
backlogs mean that the majority of prisoners are awaiting trial. Government
critics are particularly at risk of arbitrary arrest, torture,
“disappearance,” or denial of basic due process rights. Progress on creating
an official human rights commission empowered to investigate cases and
redress grievances has been slow, and although a number of cases are
investigated and some prosecutions do occur, impunity remains the norm.
Feudal landlords, tribal groups, and some militant groups operate private
jails where detainees are routinely maltreated. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61710.htm [accessed 10
February 2013] 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61710.htm [accessed 4 July
2019] TORTURE
AND OTHER CRUEL, INHUMAN, OR DEGRADING TREATMENT OR PUNISHMENT – The law
prohibits torture and other cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment; however,
security forces tortured and abused persons. Under provisions of the
Anti-Terrorist Act, coerced confessions are admissible in special courts,
although police did not used this provision to
obtain convictions. Security force
personnel continued to torture persons in custody throughout the country.
Human rights organizations reported that methods included beating; burning
with cigarettes, whipping the soles of the feet, prolonged isolation,
electric shock, denial of food or sleep, hanging upside down, and forced
spreading of the legs with bar fetters. Security force personnel reportedly
raped women and children during interrogations. The nongovernmental
organization (NGO) Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid recorded 1,356
cases of torture during the year. Torture occasionally resulted in death or
serious injury (see section 1.a.). In April Shabbir
Hussain, Zafar Abass, and Muhammad Sadiq claimed that police detained and tortured them on
false charges of theft. During their detention in Hafizabad,
Punjab, police allegedly beat them in front of their accuser, forced them to
drink their own urine and eat mud, and hung them upside down. The Lahore High
Court ordered the police to register cases against the officer involved. On June 23, police
in Vehari severely beat and stitched together the
lips of prisoner Mohammad Hussain after he argued with a police officer. At
year's end authorities suspended seven policemen for their involvement. The United Nation's
implicated Pakistani peacekeepers assigned to the United Nations Mission in
the Congo (MONUC) in the organization's sexual abuse scandal. The government
took steps to investigate and punish those reportedly involved. In March
Human Rights Watch (HRW) reported that in August 2004 domestic and foreign
security forces secretly abducted and subsequently tortured two foreign
nationals, brothers Zain Afzal and Kashan Afzal, to extract confessions of
involvement in terrorist activities. HRW reported that authorities released
the brothers on April 22 without charge. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this
webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Torture by Police, Forced Disappearance
& Other Ill Treatment in the early years of the 21st Century-
Pakistan", http://gvnet.com/torture/Pakistan.htm, [accessed
<date>] |
