Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received new information about an extreme case of rape, attempted murder, corruption and impunity that took place in 2008 and 2009. The incident involved members of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), a ruling partner of the Zardari government, but police have failed to protect the victims two sisters and have released an extremely poor, gender-biased investigation report. The report reduces the case to that of a family ‘feud’. It does not address the year-long struggle of the women to have the case credibly filed and investigated.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
The AHRC has received a police report from the Hyderabad District Police Office in response to UAC-108-2009, via the Prime Minister’s Secretariat. We regret to report that the document is shockingly inadequate and discriminates strongly against the female victims involved. It can be read here.
As documented last year, sisters Zainab Zia, 24 and Shehla Zia, 21, between them allegedly suffered rape, acid burning, attempted abduction, beatings, death threats and an attempt to have them certified in a psychiatric unit. A network of provincial ruling party members was implicated, while police officers connected to the case displayed willful negligence.
The inquiry report by the District Police Officer, found here concludes that the series of violent, criminal incidents did not take place and that the matter ‘pertains to an ongoing feud’ between the families. Among the failures of the report are a number of significant omissions, including the alleged involvement of the accused and his accomplices with the Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM).
As already noted by the AHRC, the two women’s access to the law was blocked many times by law enforcement officers.
A case of corruption:
The victims allege that during the months of September and October 2008 they attempted to lodge an FIR several times, but that each time they were blocked by Station Head Officer (SHO) Hassan Ali Abdi, a former MQM member and apparent associate of the perpetrator. An investigation into MQM influence over the Hyderabad Police Station, and into the objectivism of SHO Hassan Ali Abdi remains central to this case. It is of concern that even though SHO Ali Abdi was allegedly able to interrupt due process, a legitimate investigation being carried out by Inspector Nasir Nawab was reportedly interrupted; he was suspended and his investigation stopped. Neither of these allegations is responded to in the police report.
Of anti-female sentiment:
The DPO does however make sustained references to the private and personal life of the rape victim and her sister, resulting in a clear defamation of their characters. His judgments are unprofessional and unfounded. In his dismissal of the likelihood of rape he reasons that: “It also seems hard to explain that after such heinous/ serious allegations involving the rape of her daughter, the mother can still maintain cordial relations with her son-in-law’, while taking none of the social, cultural or economic pressures of the situation into account. The AHRC does not believe that such judgments should part of a credible criminal investigation.
The district police officer also questions the women’s relationship to Saleem Qaudri, who was reported to have helped rescue them from being burned, before sheltering them and marrying Zainab. The marriage was a preemptive move: it only partially saved him from later attempts by the perpetrators to accuse him of the abduction and rape of the women (he was arrested and had to appear in court). Rather than mention this, the report labels him derisively as a soul healer who ‘fully controls and manipulates both girls’. It gives no credible basis for this judgment and detracts attention from the issues of sexual violence and obstructed justice.
The District Officers report makes no reference to the fact that police protection was applied for by the women, and refused.
Though the report asserts clearly that it was three months before Zainab underwent a police-sanctioned medical examination for rape, it has not looked into why this crucial step was delayed. We are told that the police actively refused to provide the legal papers needed at the hospital. Although the eventual examination was unsurprisingly inconclusive due to this, the DPO instead chooses to single out the doctor’s comment that “she has been married for 2 months, so it is not possible to find any sign of rape in a married women”.
Of absent protection and political will:
Witnesses to the rape and acid-throwing incident have not been given sufficient protection by police and they report having received threats from those linked to the party in office. No witness statements are recorded in the police report, which leads the AHRC to wonder about the many other aspects of due process that are not being observed.
We call for the Hyderabad Cantonment Police Station to be credibly investigated and for the case of rape and acid-throwing to be independently probed.
The delays in processing this case, and the degree to which political influence is involved must also be thoroughly investigated and explained. The report shows extremely strong signs of impunity. In his failure to mention the link of MQM members to the case the DPO has not mentioned or investigated several allegations, including an attempt to forcibly admit the victims into a psychiatric hospital, the refusal of police to file a case of abduction, an attack on Saleem Qaudri in a local restaurant and the suspension of Inspector Nasir Nawab during his investigation.
At this level of inaction a judicial and law enforcement system begins to lose every visible trace of independence and creditability. Without strong, decisive and transparent action against persons who commit human rights violations, the law will continue to resemble a commodity, available for those who can afford to trade in it.
Hyderabads officers, political party members and judges have not only violated the spectrum of its own constitutional laws but have failed to adhere to the human rights enshrined by the UNs International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Pakistan signed lasted year.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please join us in demanding a prompt and impartial inquiry into the case, after having removed the offending officers and judges who have acted on influence or intimidation by members of the MQM.
Please be informed that the AHRC has written to the UN Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers requesting their intervention.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
PAKISTAN: A report from the Hyderabad police reveals strong negligence and prejudice
in the investigation of a rape case
Name of victims:
1. Ms. Zainab Zia, 24, wife of Saleem Qaudri
2. Ms. Shehla Zia, 21
3. Mr Saleem Qaudri
4. Mr Aslam Hyderi, witness to rape incident
5. Asif Qaudri, witness
6. Mohammad Azfal, witness
Name of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Javed Odho, District Police Officer
2. Mr. Mohammad Ali
3. Mr. Mohammad Ismail
4. Hassan Ali Abdi, Station Head Officer
5. Sohail Yousuf, member of Sindh Assembly
6. Siraj Rajput, member of MQM coordination committee
7. Kamran Khanzada
Date of incident: Latfabad, Hyderabad district, Sindh province
Place of incident: 10th September 2008 until present
I am writing to voice my deepest concern regarding a police report from the Hyderabad District Police Officer (via the Prime Minister’s Secretariat) sent to the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) concerning a case that took place in 2008 and 2009. As documented last year, sisters Zainab Zia, 24 and Shehla Zia, 21, between them allegedly suffered rape, acid burning, attempted abduction, beatings, death threats and an attempt to have them certified in a psychiatric unit. A network of provincial ruling party members was implicated, while police officers connected to the case displayed willful negligence.
The report is insubstantial and discriminates strongly against the female victims involved, reducing the case to that of a family ‘feud’. It does not address the year-long struggle of the women to have the case credibly filed and investigated.
At this level of inaction I believe that a judicial and law enforcement system begins to lose every visible trace of independence and credibility. Without strong, decisive and transparent action against persons who commit human rights violations, the law will continue to resemble a commodity, available for those who can afford to trade in it. It appears that Hyderabads officers, political party members and judges have not only violated the spectrum of its own constitutional laws in this case, but have failed to adhere to the human rights enshrined by the UNs International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Pakistan signed lasted year.
According to the AHRC:
The victims allege that during the months of September and October 2008 they attempted to lodge an FIR several times, but that each time they were blocked by Station Head Officer (SHO) Hassan Ali Abdi, a former MQM member and apparent associate of the perpetrator. An investigation into MQM influence over the Hyderabad Police Station, and into the objectivism of SHO Hassan Ali Abdi remains central to this case. It is of concern that even though SHO Ali Abdi was allegedly able to interrupt due process, a legitimate investigation being carried out by Inspector Nasir Nawab was reportedly interrupted; he was suspended and his investigation stopped. Neither of these allegations is responded to in the police report.
The DPO does however make sustained references to the private and personal life of the rape victim and her sister, resulting in a clear defamation of their characters. His judgments are unprofessional and unfounded. In his dismissal of the likelihood of rape he reasons that: “It also seems hard to explain that after such heinous/ serious allegations involving the rape of her daughter, the mother can still maintain cordial relations with her son-in-law’, while taking none of the social, cultural or economic pressures of the situation into account. The AHRC does not believe that such judgments should part of a credible criminal investigation.
The district police officer also questions the women’s relationship to Saleem Qaudri, who was reported to have helped rescue them from being burned, before sheltering them and marrying Zainab. The marriage was a preemptive move: it only partially saved him from later attempts by the perpetrators to accuse him of the abduction and rape of the women (he was arrested and had to appear in court). Rather than mention this, the report labels him derisively as a soul healer who ‘fully controls and manipulates both girls’. It gives no credible basis for this judgment and detracts attention from the issues of sexual violence and obstructed justice.
The District Officers report makes no reference to the fact that police protection was applied for by the women, and refused.
Though the report asserts clearly that it was three months before Zainab underwent a police-sanctioned medical examination for rape, it has not looked into why this crucial step was delayed. We are told that the police actively refused to provide the legal papers needed at the hospital. Although the eventual examination was unsurprisingly inconclusive due to this, the DPO instead chooses to single out the doctor’s comment that “she has been married for 2 months, so it is not possible to find any sign of rape in a married women”.
Witnesses to the rape and acid-throwing incident have not been given sufficient protection by police and they report having received threats from those linked to the party in office. No witness statements are recorded in the police report, which leads the AHRC to wonder about the many other aspects of due process that are not being observed.
We call for the Hyderabad Cantonment Police Station to be credibly investigated and for the case of rape and acid-throwing to be independently probed.
The delays in processing this case, and the degree to which political influence is involved must also be thoroughly investigated and explained. The report shows extremely strong signs of impunity. In his failure to mention the link of MQM members to the case the DPO has not mentioned or investigated several allegations, including an attempt to forcibly admit the victims into a psychiatric hospital, the refusal of police to file a case of abduction, an attack on Saleem Qaudri in a local restaurant and the suspension of Inspector Nasir Nawab during his investigation.
———
I would like to reiterate my support for the claims above, and call for your swift and legitimate intervention into this case.
Yours sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9221596
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk
2. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
E-mail: pppsindh@yahoo.com
3. 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
4. Mr. Muhammad Ayaz Soomro
Minister for Law, Parliamantry Affairs & Criminal Prosecution Service
Sindh Assembly Building,
Court road, Karachi, Sindh province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9211982
E-mail: secy.law@sindh.gov.pk
5. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk
6. 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
7. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
7. 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
Yours sincerely,
______________________
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)
