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PAKISTAN: A trade union activist is still missing after his abduction

November 13, 2009

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-154-2009

 

13 November 2009
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PAKISTAN: A trade union activist is still missing after his abduction

ISSUES: Abduction; trade unions; police negligence; civil and political rights
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission has received information that a trade union activist was abducted after making bail, following his support for a series of union protests. Since his abduction more than two weeks ago, various security staff at his bank have been absent from work, and the vehicle used to abduct him was the kind used by his employer. There are strong concerns for his safety. The management of the Muslim Commercial Bank has been filing cases against trade union leaders for disturbing the operations of their bank.

CASE DETAILS:

Mr. Imran Usman and Mr. S. M. Umer, activists of the Muslim Commercial Bank Staff Union, were arrested by Mitha Dar Police Station on October 29 regarding cases filed by the bank management against them on 28 October. They were called for disturbing the bank's operation by illegally instigating a union protest and encouraging bank employees to participate. The protest however, was within their constitutional rights.

After paying bail they were released at 1am on October 30. Mr. Imran returning home with friends when six to eight men in a blue Toyota van—the kind used by security staff at the bank-- dragged Mr. Imran into it at gunpoint and left the area. It is a common practice of the Karachi City Police to arrest people in this manner, and witnesses thought he had been arrested by police from another station. The bank management had filed cases against him in three different police stations. Imran was in charge of circulating information between employees at different branches.

The next day an official with the Karachi Police confirmed that Mr. Imran was not with the police and an abduction case was registered at Mitha Dar Police Station on October 31, naming security staff as suspects. Since then the suspects have not been seen at work. This has increased suspicions about the security staff, which include retired army officers Colonel Akbar Khan, Major Gul Nawaz Cheema and Captain Mohammad Haneef.

BACKROUND INFORMATION:

The Muslim Commercial Bank Staff Union (MCB) started its trade union activities on 13 October to lobby for salary increases, and to call for the restoration of sacked employees (including trade union activists) during and after the implementation of section 27/B of the Banking Companies Ordinance of 1962 in 1997, when the bank was privatised. During this period, more than 4,500 employees were retrenched, including messengers, drivers and other lower-ranking staff. Most of them have legally challenged their retrenchment but their cases are pending in courts. There have been industrial disputes between the MCB and the staff union since 1997.

The MCB failed to get the help of the Sindh High Court when the union started its campaign on October 9. On 13 October the court passed a provisional order granting permission for protests, as long as they were held at least 50ft from the bank’s head office, so as to allow for the daily operations of the bank to run smoothly. The court also extended the hearing to 27 October. However the following day bank management claimed that the 50ft rule had been breached and the court–without hearing from the trade union–issued a Contempt Notice against the Inspector General of Police for allowing the union to hold its protest at the doors of the union offices. On 3 November union members challenged this before a high court judge and requested an inquiry from into the manipulation of the legal processes of the court by the bank management. The court disposed of the bank management’s petition and the union was allowed to carry on with its peaceful protests as according to the order of the October 13.

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Section 27-B was incorporated in the Banking Companies Ordinance (BCO) during the government of Former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif. It prohibits carrying weapons, carrying out union activities during office hours, subjecting bank officials to physical harassment or abuse, misuse of bank resources for union activities. It also prohibits non-employees from being office bearers of bank unions.

In response, a private member bill – the Banking Companies (Amendment) Act, 2009 – was tabled by Senator Raza Rabbani in June, and is still being debated. It recommended that Section 27-B be deleted, and claims that it violates the spirit and rights conferred by article 17 of the Constitution of Pakistan 1973, as well as the charter of the International Labour Organization to which Pakistan is signatory, and the provisions of the Industrial Relations Ordinance, 2009. The latter allows for 25% of trade union members to be from outside the organisation.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) has appeared before the senate standing committee to argue that Section 27-B neither curtails the right to form trade unions guaranteed under the Constitution, nor violates instruments of international law.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please write letters to the authorities urging them to ensure the safe recovery of Mr. Imran Usman, to investigate his abduction and bring charges against those responsible. Please also express your concern about the manipulation of legal proceedings by the Muslim Commercial Bank to suppress legal union activities.

The AHRC has also sent letter to the UN Working Group on enforced or involuntary disappearances and the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion calling for their intervention in to the case.

To support this appeal please click here:

SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

PAKISTAN: A trade union activist is still missing after his abduction

Name of victim:
Mr. Imran Usman, member of the Muslim Commercial Bank Staff Union at I. I. Chundrigar Road, Karachi, Sindh Province
Name of alleged perpetrator:
1. Retired Colonel Akbar Khan, Security officer at Muslim Commercial Bank, at the head office, I. I. Chundrigar road, Karachi, Sindh province.
2. Retired Major Gul Nawaz Cheema, Security officer at Muslim Commercial Bank, at the head office, I. I. Chundrigar road, Karachi, Sindh province.
3. Captain Mohammad Haneef, Security officer at Muslim Commercial Bank, at the head office, I. I. Chundrigar road, Karachi, Sindh province

Date of incident: October 31, 2009
Place of incident: Talpur road, in the jurisdiction of the Mitha Dar police station, Karachi, Sindh.

I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the abduction and disappearance of a trade union activist, allegedly by security staff of the Muslim Commercial Bank (MCB), and the manipulation of the legal process by the bank to obstruct union activities.

According to the information I have received, Mr. Imran Usman, an activist in the MCB Staff Union, was arrested by Mitha Dar Police Station, Karachi, on October 29 2009, after being charged with illegal protest activities by his employer, and was released on bail. On his release at 1am on October 31 he was abducted at gun point in front of a group of his friends, and dragged into a van--identified as a vehicle belonging to the bank--by six to eight persons. His whereabouts have since been unknown.

I am told that the Chief of the Karachi Police has confirmed that Mr. Imran is not in the custody of the police, and suspiciously, three security staff with military backgrounds, named above, have not appeared at work since. An abduction case was registered at Mitha Dar Police Station on October 31, naming security staff as suspects. I hear that officers have inexplicably not taken serious note of the case.

It should be noted that trade union activities are a constitutional right and yet the bank management has acted with little regard for this; using the legal process to suppress and impede union staff movements. The obstruction of peaceful protests is also in violation of the provisions of the charter of the International Labour Organization to which Pakistan is signatory. Section 27/B of the Banking Companies Ordinance (BCO), cited by the MCB, is itself contrary to the provisions of Industrial Relations Ordinance 2009, which allows for peaceful trade union activities under the law.

I therefore call upon you to ensure that trade union activities in Pakistan are being protected according to international law and the Constitution of Pakistan, which itself allows for the right of freedom of association and the right to assembly. I also urge that you ensure that everything possible is now done to have Mr. Imran safely recovered, and his abductors brought before the law.

Yours sincerely,


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1.Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111

Dr. Ishrat-ul-Ebad Khan
Governor of Sindh province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 5043
Tel: +92 21 920 1201
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk

3. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy@cmsindh.gov.pk

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. Ms. Tauqir Fatima Bhutto
Minister of women development
7th Floor, New Sindh Secretariat, Karachi, Sindh province
Fax: 92-21-99213886
Email: bhutto.tauqeer@hotmail.com

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

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Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-154-2009
Countries :
Issues :
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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.