Home / News / Urgent Appeals / PAKISTAN: An Air Force personnel arbitrarily detained for 16 months, tortured and retrenched without legal benefits
 

PAKISTAN: An Air Force personnel arbitrarily detained for 16 months, tortured and retrenched without legal benefits

June 28, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-067-2009



29 June 2009
------------------------------------------------------
PAKISTAN: An Air Force personnel arbitrarily detained for 16 months, tortured and retrenched without legal benefits

ISSUES: Torture; arbitrary detention; right to liberty and security; administration of justice; armed forces

------------------------------------------------------


Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that an employee of the Pakistan Air Force (PAF) was illegally detained and tortured by the Special Investigation Branch (SIB) of the PAF on charges of terrorism and securing funds for a terrorist organisation. After 16 months of illegal detention he was fired from his job without any benefits which included his pension. He was first targeted by the government when he refused to vote in the referendum of 2002, conducted by former President General Pervez Musharraf. He was then implicated along with 200 officers on charges of attempting to murder Musharraf. During the period of his arrest, a corporal of the air force died by means of torture and five were executed on charges of plotting to murder Musharraf. In addition, the 200 PAF and army personnel that were held in detention were charged with acts of sedition.

CASE DETAILS:

On March 30, 2004, Mr. Tanveer Iqbal a former Chief Technician of the logistics branch, 102, Air Engineering Depot, at the PAF Faisal Base in Karachi, was abducted by the Special Investigation Branch of the PAF. Iqbal joined the Pakistan Air Force on December 11, 1985 as an Airman and served until his arrest on March 30, 2004. He was charged with committing acts of terrorism. He was released from the PAF Faisal Base in Karachi on July 28, 2005.

During the 16 months that Iqbal was illegally detained, various types of interrogation methods were utilized, including physical torture, sleep deprivation and beating to the extent that he suffered lasting damage to his left ear. Throughout this time, his family, one wife and 5 children, stayed at the residential quarters of the PAF Faisal Base in the same vicinity as Iqbal, but were denied any access in either visiting or speaking via telephone with Iqbal. After his arrest he was handed over to different investigating agencies for many days, where he was allegedly subjected to mental and physical torture in order to obtain a confessional statement. The victim claims that PAF Unit 501 beat him to the extent that he sought medical treatment for damage to his left ear at the PAF Hospital Masroor.

In 2002, Mr. Tanveer Iqbal, along with five airmen in his unit refused to vote in favour of General Musharraf’s referendum, which would reelect Musharraf for an additional five years as the constitutional president. Musharraf, being Chief of Army Staff, seized power through a military coup in October 1999. Mr. Tanveer Iqbal, states that during the referendum one had to vote openly before their commandant officer and it was mandatory for every employee of PAF to vote on “yes” in favour of General Musharraf. After the referendum, Mr. Tanveer Iqbal had knowledge that more than 200 airmen voted against Musharraf and as a result were labeled suspected terrorists. Additionally what fuelled the attack on the airmen was the resentment of the Pakistan Air Force, mostly the majority of the lower ranked officers towards granting the USA and other Pakistan allies, an air base to refill their jets at Jacobabad airport in the Sindh province. Those who expressed their opposition were targeted and arrested.

Tanveer Iqbal was charged with committing acts of terrorism. At the end of the interrogation he was tried in the Field General Court Marshal (FGCM). He was charged with the following: attempting to attack General Musharraf’s convoy at the Chichi Bridge in 2003, meeting and training of Jihadists in Afghanistan and being the unit leader of Jash e Mohammad, a militant organization that was involved in a plane hijacking in India. All charges were proved false and he was acquitted in May 2005 but remained in incommunicado until July 28, 2005. He was then relieved from the service after 19 years without any complaints. He was deprived of the stipulated tenure of service, denied payment /allowances and others monitory benefits including pension and salary during his detention in PAF custody. His half portion of monthly salary was also withheld from March 30, 2004 to July 28, 2005.

His house at Village Dharra, Teshsil Oghi (town), District Mansehra, North West Frontier Province, has been destroyed in the earth quake of October 8, 2005. His house has completely been destroyed and he has to shift with his family to another place. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

According to the Defence of Human Rights Islamabad, an NGO, after General Musharraf’s referendum in 2002, the 200 airmen were subjected to disappearances by the Special Investigation Branch (SIB). During their incommunicado, they faced humiliation, brutal and barbaric torture and coercive interrogation tactics. One corporal Hashmat of Kohat, lost his life, while suffering torture, in PAF custody at AHQ Islamabad. In order to obtain confessions to crimes they did not commit, they were beaten into submission. They were told that their families are in custody of the secret agencies. They had them threatened to cooperate and to confess otherwise their wives would be raped. Consequently, after 130 days in detention, the victims were forced admit the crime due to torture.

The victims were then court-martialled by the PAF officer’s tribunal. It has been claimed that the trial was held in secret and the proceedings were tempered with. In order to substantiate the false charges, those who testified against the victims were forced to sign false confessions and appeared in court handcuffed and blindfolded. False accusations of terrorist activities resulted in many victims being awarded the death penalty.
Since the court-martial of these victims in 2005, any appeals that were made have been rejected by the Supreme Court (SC) as well as their case being denied any redress by higher civil courts.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the relevant authorities urging them to thoroughly investigate the crimes committed by law enforcement authorities and demand the release of those imprisoned illegally. Please also urge upon the authorities to provide Mr. Tanveer Iqbal the back benefits of his service including pension and medical facilities.
To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

PAKISTAN: An Air Force personnel arbitrarily detained for 16 months, tortured and retrenched without legal benefits

Name of victim: Mr. Tanveer Iqbal, former Chief Technician of the logistics branch, 102, Air Engineering Depot, at the PAF Faisal Base, Karachi, Sindh. His postal address is Village Dharra, Teshsil Oghi (town), District Mansehra, North West Frontier Province (NWFP)

Name of alleged perpetrators: The Special Investigation Branch of the Pakistan Air Force, Faisal Base, Karachi; Pakistan Air Force (PAF) Unit 501, Faisal Base, Karachi Sindh
Date of incident: from March 30, 2004 to July 28, 2005
Place of incident: PAF Faisal in Karachi

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the case of torture reported in the Pakistan Air Force in Karachi.

I am informed that the victim in this case, Mr. Tanveer Iqbal, a former Chief Technician of the logistics branch, 102, Air Engineering Depot, at the PAF Faisal Base in Karachi was abducted on March 30, 2004 and kept in illegal detention at the Faisal Base of PAF, Karachi for more than 16 months and tortured by the Special Investigation Branch of the Pakistan Air Force in Karachi and 501 unit at the same base. I am informed that the victim was working as a Chief Technician for the PAF Faisal Base in Karachi when he was arrested. After his field general court martial was completed and he was found innocent on May 2005, but again was held in illegal detention for more than three months. Even when he was later acquitted of all charges he was not allowed to meet his family members. During his 16 months of detention his family was not aware of his whereabouts.

It is also shocking for me that when Mr. Tanveer was acquitted from all charges and declared innocent, the Pakistan Air Force retrenched him illegally from his job and was not paid any legal dues including pension just to please General Musharraf, the former military ruler. He is still being treated as a terrorist and he is denied of all his legal rights from the Pakistan Air Force.

I have also been informed that he and some other airman voted against Musharraf during the referendum and they were forced to cast votes in favour of Musharraf before the commanding officer of Air force which could have been a motivating factor in his arrest. Mr. Tanveer Iqbal and other victims were arrested on March 30, 2004 on the charges of attempting to murder General Musharraf in 2003 after one year of the incident. The facts from this case reveal that opposition to Musharraf’s referendum was a motivating factor in the arrests, torture and convictions of the victims involved.

I urge upon you to provide all his legal dues and back benefits of his 19 years of work in PAF according to the constitution of Pakistan and the law of the land. Denying him of his legal dues is the contravention of Article 12 of the Constitution of the Pakistan including the contravention of Article 11 (2) of Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Section 120 of the Pakistan Air Force Act 1953. His detention in the Pakistan Air Force Base on false charges is also contravention to the provision of sections 102 and 103 of PAF Act 1953, Rule 44 and 4,5 of PAF Act Rules 1953. He was also compelled to sign the confessional statement before his court marshal is also contravention of Article 13 of constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan of 1973.

I appeal to you and hope that you will provide justice to him and also to other victims of the PAF who are continuously denied their lawful rights.

Yours sincerely,

PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:


1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari 


President 


President's Secretariat

Islamabad 


PAKISTAN 


Fax: + 92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835 


E-mail: (please see and post your appeal in the website - http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)

Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk

 

2. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani 


Prime minister 


Prime Minister House

Islamabad 


PAKISTAN 


Fax: +92 51 922 1596 


Tel: +92 51 920 6111 


E-mail: webmaster@infopak.gov.pk

 

3. Ch. Ahmad Mukhtar 

Federal Minister for Defence

Pak Secretariate, Islamabad

PAKISTAN

Fax: +92 51 9271113

 


4. Mr. A Rehman Malik 


Minister for Interior 


R Block Pak Secretariat 


Islamabad 
PAKISTAN 


Tel: +92 51 9212026 


Fax: +92 51 9202624 


E-mail: ministry.interior@gmail.com or interior.complaintcell@gmail.com

 

5. Dr. Faqir Hussain 


Registrar 


Supreme Court of Pakistan 


Constitution Avenue

Islamabad 


PAKISTAN 


Fax: + 92 51 9213452 


E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-067-2009
Issues :
Document Actions
Share |
Subscribe to our Mailing List
Follow AHRC
Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.