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PAKISTAN: Police inaction on attack and threats against a charitable clinic serving for poor

October 15, 2008

[NOTICE: The AHRC has developed this automatic letter-sending system using the "button" below. However, in this appeal, we could not include e-mail addresses of some of the Pakistan authorities. We encourage you to send your appeal letters via fax or post to them. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-229-2008

15 October 2008
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PAKISTAN: Police inaction on attack and threats against a charitable clinic serving for poor

ISSUES: Police negligence; threats; corruption
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a clinic serving the poor was attacked by a gang, which resulted in two persons being injured and damage to the clinic on 29 September 2008 in Karachi, Sindh province. The police refused to intervene in this attack and have yet to start an investigation. It is reported that the attackers are working for 'Crime News', weekly magazine and have been involved in cases of blackmail and extortion in the area. Despite repeated complaints, the police have not taken any action and the ministry of information has allegedly provided them protection.

CASE DETAILS:

The 'Dawa Ghar'('medical home' in local language), a clinic in Taiser town, Gadap, Karachi, Sindh province, has provided medical treatment to the poor at a very minimal fee for the last seven years. According to the information received, when two lady doctors were attending maternity cases in the clinic at 10:30pm on September 29, a group of 12 to 15 persons, some wearing 'Weekly Crime News' shirts came in and told the medical staffs that they wanted to make movie and snap photographs of some medicines and patients. 

Ms. Parveen, the chairperson of the hospital and other staffs stopped them asking them to show their identity but, the group ignored this and took out some bottles and jars from their bags and started making a movie. While the staffs tried to resist they were beaten and as the result of the attack, two lady volunteers got injured. 

In the meantime, a telephone call came from Mr. Ali Rizvi, the managing editor of the weekly magazine, 'Crime News' and he asked Parveen to pay Rupees 300,000 (USD 4,286) to the leader of the attackers. When Parveen refused it, saying that she has been running a volunteer organisation purely on the funding of some philanthropists and that she did not have such a big amount. She also refued to pay any extortion. Rizvi scolded her in filthy language and threatened that if she or her organisation refused to pay the monthly extortion, it will face dire consequences.

Those attackers also damaged costly medical instruments and took Rupees 70,000 (USD 1,000), the amount for 'Zakat' that has been kept to distribute to needy people during fasting month (Ramadan) of Muslims.

The staff of the clinic contacted the Surjani Police Station and asked for help but the officers refused to come as they could not go without the orders of the Station House Officer (SHO) who was not present at that time. People in the area intervened and the attackers left the place by firing a gun in the air and threatening the volunteers that the newspaper would put them behind the bars for running "mysterious activities in the name of clinic".

On September 30, Parveen lodged a report to the Surjani Police Station concerning this attack and threats from the said newspaper. As she came back to her clinic, she got a phone call from Rizvi. He said that he knew that a police report was lodged from her and that he had good connections with the police as most of the low ranking police officers have been supporting the newspaper, 'Crime News'. He threatened her saying that the magazine is run by Mr. Ramzan Natha, the notorious leader of gangsters who are experts in killing targeted person by fabricating car accidents. However, the police have yet investigated in this case.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The Hassan Saeed welfare Trust has been working for the poor of the poorest people in the Karachi, the capital of Sindh province since seven years. It consists of people who want to work for charities but want to remain unknown according to the basic teaching of the Islam. 

It has two major projects in the Surjani town and Khuda Ki Basti, the poorest areas of the Karachi where people even do not have two times of meals a day. The, one is, Khana Ghar, which provides one time meal in Rupee 2 (USD 0.02) per person and the second one is Saeed Medical centre and Maternity home (Dawa Ghar) for the poor. This center has two lady doctors who are providing free medical service in the evening. Each and every newspapers and electronic media houses have given large coverage to the charitable services of Hassan Saeed Trust and Ms. Parveen Saeed for poor people in very low profile way.

It is reported that the weekly magazine, 'Crime News' is run by a underworld leader known as Natha group whose chief, Aslam Natha was killed in a gang war in 1990s and now his son Ramzan Natha is running the newspaper under the patronage of the police. It is also reported that despite many complaints of blackmail and extortion have been informed, the police have not taken any action and the ministry of information have allegedly provided protection.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the authorities listed below demanding to investigate the attack against the charitable clinic by the thugs and thoroughly inquire into the police failure to immediate response to this attack.

Please be informed that the AHRC has also written separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of Torture calling for intervention in this matter.

To support this appeal, please click here:

SAMPEL LETTER:

Dear ______,

PAKISTAN: Police inaction to attack and threats against a clinic serving for poor

Name of victims:
1. Ms. Parveen Saeed, chairperson, Hassan Saeed medical and maternity home,
House number 1713, phase 1, Khuda ki Basti, Taiser town, Gadap, Karachi, Sindh province
2. Two women volunteering at the clinic
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. about 12 to 15 thugs working for 'Crime News', weekly magazine
2. Mr. Ali Rizvi, managing editor, weekly crime news, Lasbella chowk, Karachi, Sindh province
3. Police officers attached to Surjani Police Station
Date of incident: 29 September 2008
Place of incident: Hassan Saeed medical and maternity home, House number 1713, phase 1, Khuda ki Basti, Taiser town, Gadap, Karachi, Sindh province

I am disturbed by the negligence and inaction of the police to the case of attack and threat to a clinic serving for the poor in Taiser town, Gadap, Karachi, Sindh province. 

According to the information that I have received, a group of 12 to 15 people, some of whom wearing 'Weekly Crime News' shirts raided the 'Dawa Ghar' (maternity home) at 10:30pm on September 29 and obstructed their work under the guise of making a movie without permission from Ms. Parveen, chairperson of the clinic. While being resisted by medical workers, they beat them. As a result of this attack, two women volunteers were injured.

During this time, Mr. Ali Rizvi, the managing editor of the 'Crime News' called Parveen over the phone and asked her to pay Rupees 300,000 (USD 4,286) to the leader of the attackers. As she refused, he scolded her in filthy language and threatened that if she or her organisation refused to pay monthly extortion, it will face dire consequences. Soon after, the attackers damaged costly medical instruments and took Rupees 70,000 (USD 1,000). 

The staff of the clinic contacted the Surjani Police Station for help but the officers refused to come for intervention as they could not go without the orders of the Station House Officer (SHO) who was allegedly not present at that time. Meanwhile, this fracas was finished by the intervention of people in the area and when the attackers left, they fired in the air and threatened the volunteers that the newspaper, 'Crime News' would put them behind the bars for running a 'mysterious activities in the name of clinic'.
I am aware that Parveen lodged a report at the police station on September 30 concerning the attack and threats from the said newspaper. She reported that she received a phone call from Rizvi saying that he knew that a police report was lodged by her and insisting that he has good connections with the police supporting his newspaper. She also alleges that Rizvi threatened to kill her and make it look like a car accident. However, the police have, so far, not taken any action.

I therefore urge you to thoroughly investigate the attack on the clinic, which caused two women injured, damaged medical instruments and stolen money so that those attackers are properly prosecuted and punished according to law. I also urge you to investigate the failure of immediate intervention by the police, when being informed, with an excuse that they could not come to the spot without the orders of the SHO, and the failure of investigation in the case that has already been reported.

I further urge you to investigate the reason why the police have not taken any action regarding the case of extortion despite many complaints in that regard have been reported in the area. Protection must be provided to Parveen and the workers of the clinic since she received threats.

Finally, I take this opportunity to draw your attention to the fact that it will be a mockery if the government fails to investigate and prosecute the perpetrators of abuse and provide protection to those people who have worked for the poor in the area, instead of the government.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President's Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835

2. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gillani
Prime minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: 92-51-9221596
Tel: +92-51-9206111
E-mail: webmaster@infopak.gov.pk
 
3. Mr. Rehman Malik
Advisor for Ministry of Interior
Room No. 404, 4th Floor, R Block,
Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2624
Tel: +92 51 921 2026
E-mail: minister@interior.gov.pk
 
4. 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

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

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
Tel: +92 21 9207043
Fax: +92 21 9207044
E-mail: lukshmil@yahoo.com
 
8. Secretary
(Criminal Prosecution) SGA &CD Department
Government of Sindh
Sindh Secretariat,
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 21 9213327-6
Fax: +92 21 9213873
E-mail: secy.cpsd@sindh.gov.pk
 
9. Dr. Zulfiqar Ali Mirza
Minister for Home
Government of Sindh
Barrack 79, Pakistan Secretariate
Near MPA hostel
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9204456
Tel: +92 21 9201920-1 
E-mail: secy.home@sindh.gov.pk

10. Ms. Shazia Marri
Minister for Information and Archiology
Government of Sindh
Sindh Assembly Building
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 4416
E-mail: secy.information@sindh.gov.pk

Thank you.

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

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-229-2008
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.