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PAKISTAN: Two political party leaders are missing after their alleged arrest by the police and army intelligence personnel

December 11, 2006

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ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal

11 December 2006
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UA-396-2006: PAKISTAN: Two political party leaders are missing after their alleged arrest by the police and army intelligence personnel

PAKISTAN: Violation of freedom of assembly and expression; arbitrary arrest; disappearance; impunity; collapse of the rule of law
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) received information from its partner organisation, Action Committee for Civic Problems (ACCP), regarding the disappearance of two political party leaders after being arbitrarily arrested by the police during the peaceful protest meeting in Karachi city, Sindh province, Pakistan on 3 December 2006. The victims were allegedly shifted to an army torture camp and their whereabouts are unknown since then.

CASE DETAILS:

The Baloch National Movement and the Jamhoori Watan Party organized a protest in Layari, Karachi city, Sindh province on 3 December 2006 against the killing of a political leader Mr. Sardar Akber Bugti in an air attack in Balochistan province on 27 August 2006. The two political leaders, Mr. Ghulam Mohammad, the member of Executive Committee of the Baloch National Movement, and Mr. Sher Mohammad Baloch, Sindh provincial chapter president of Jamhoori Watan Party were due to address during the protest.

However, the planned protest was postponed due to heavy showers and the both parties then decided to hold a small close door meeting at Baloch Foot Ball Club's office instead. During the meeting, the aforementioned leaders were present there. According to the eye witnesses, all of a sudden more than 200 policemen led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police ( DSP) Mr. Shahnawaz Khan and Station House Officer (SHO) of Baghdadi Police Station Mr. Aijaz Rajpar arrived in 25 police vehicles and some other vans and cordoned off the whole area.

The police then arrested Mr. Ghulam Mohammad and Mr. Sher Mohammad Baloch and started beating them on the spot. When the people who were presented there resisted the police beating them, the police fired tear gas at the people and took the two politicians away with them. Some people then followed the police vehicle and witnessed that the police drove directly to the military torture camp at Shahra-e- Faisal close to the Governor's House of Sindh, instead of taking the two men to the Baghdadi police station. 

Their family members and friends immediately contacted the SHO of Baghdadi Mr. Aijaz Rajpar but he denied that the two men were in the custody of Baghdadi police station. The SHO allegedly told the family members that when they arrested the two political leaders, there were some secret intelligence service agents in police uniform and in plain clothes. The SHO told the family that the arrested two men are not with him but with those intelligence agents. The family members then contacted the army officers at the Corp commander office of Sindh but they also denied detaining the two political leaders.

The family then filed a habeas corpus petition on behalf of the two disappeared politicians with Sindh High Court on 6 December 2006. On the following day on December 7, the a division bench of the high court heard the petition and issued an notice for the next hearing on December 19 and directed the Ministry of Interior of Sindh, Defence Ministry, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Baghdadi, and SHO of the Baghdadi police station to submit their explanations regarding the alleged arrest and disappearance of the said two men. 

The family members and human rights activists are not satisfied that the Sindh High Court did not take up this case in urgency and fixed the next hearing over 10 days later, despite the fact that the arrested two men would be expected to be under severe torture. They also allege that there is possibility that the two men will be shifted to other province and finding their whereabouts will become more difficult. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Enforced disappearance of persons following illegal arrest is a common phenomenon in Pakistan since the military government took power in 1999. For example, in Balochistan province alone where Pakistan army conducts on-going military operations, the Federal Minister of the Interior reported on 5 December 2005 that 4,000 people have been arrested since 2001. Out of 4,000 persons, only less than 200 people have been produced to the courts. The actual number of the arrested will be much higher when the disappearance cases are included. Human rights groups claim that about 6,000 persons have been disappeared since their arrest from 2001 to the present day.

It is also estimated that during this year more than 100 persons have been disappeared after their arrests in Karachi city, Sindh province alone. In Sindh province, several journalists and political & human rights activists have been disappeared after their arrests. To see relevant cases of forced disappearance, pleases visit our previous appeals: UG-003-2006, UA- 227-2006, UG-013-2006, UA-145-2006, UP-127-2006, UA-171-2006, UA-169-2006 and UA -132-2006.

One good example will be the case of Mr. Abid Raza Zaidi, who was forcibly disappeared by the elite force personnel in Lahore, Punjab province on 4 October 2006, soon after he gave his testimony about his earlier illegal arrest, prolonged 110 day detention and constant brutal torture by the army and police officers at the conference jointly organised by Amnesty International and a local organization called Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (See further: UP-191-2006).

The Pakistan judiciary has not yet shown any courage to produce any disappeared persons although the fact that in some of the disappearance cases the persons are allegedly in the custody of army intelligence agencies was brought to its attention. In July 2005, some students of the Baloch Student Organisation including its leader Mr. Imdad Baloch and a writer Mr. Abdul Sattar told the media that they were detained in army camps in different parts of the country and severely tortured before being released. However, the courts never could ask the military intelligence agencies to produce the disappeared persons. The criminal justice system is at the mercy of the military government and the judges are scared that if they go beyond the limitations fixed by the army they will suffer dangerous consequences.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and demand the speedy production of the disappeared victims. Please also urge them to take all possible measures to find whereabouts of disappeared people after their illegal arrest since 2001. 

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

PAKISTAN: Two political party leaders are missing after their alleged arrest by the police and army intelligence personnel

Name of victims:
1. Mr. Ghulam Mohammad, the member of the Executive Committee of the Baloch National Movement (a political party)
2. Mr. Sher Mohammad Baloch, Sindh Provincial Chapter President of the Jamhoori Watan Party
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Shahnawaz Khan, Deputy Superintendent of Police of the Baghdadi police station, Karachi city, Sindh province
2. Mr. Aijaz Rajpar, Station Head Officer (SHO) of Baghdadi Police Station
3. Unidentified army intelligence service agents
4. Corp commander of Karachi, Military corp head quarter of Karachi
Date of incident: 3 December 2006
Place of incident: Arbitrarily arrested at the Baloch Foot Ball Club's office and allegedly taken to the military torture camp at Shahra-e- Faisal close to the Governor's House of Sindh

I am writing to bring to your urgent attention another disappearance case after arrest in Pakistan.

According to the information I have received, two political leaders, Mr. Ghulam Mohammad, the member of Executive Committee of the Baloch National Movement, and Mr. Sher Mohammad Baloch, Sindh provincial chapter president of Jamhoori Watan Party, were illegally arrested from a close door meeting in Lyari town of Karachi by the policemen led by the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) and Station House Officer (SHO) of Baghdadi Police Station on 3 December 2006. According to the eye witnesses, the police took them directly towards the military torture camp at Shahra Faisal close to the Governor's House of Sindh, instead of taking the two men to the Baghdadi police station. Since then, their whereabouts are unknown. 

I am very disappointed that the Baghdadi Police and other local authorities have denied of detaining these two men and did not provide any information of their whereabouts to the family members, who have the right to be informed about the two men's current situation. When visited by the family members, the SHO of Baghdadi attempted to avoid his responsibility of illegally arresting the two men and subsequent their disappearance by merely saying that at the time of the arrest, there were some secret intelligence service agents in police uniform and in plain clothes, who later took the two political leaders. The family members then contacted the army officers at Corp commander office of Sindh but they also denied of detaining the two political leaders.
 
I am also disappointed by the court's passive attitude shown in this case. After hearing the a habeas corpus petition filed by the family members on behalf of the two disappeared politicians on December 7, the Sindh High Court simply issued an notice for the next hearing 12 days later on December 19, without considering the fact that the arrested two men would be expected to go under severe torture. The Ministry of Interior of Sindh, Defence Ministry, Deputy Superintendent of Police of Baghdadi, and SHO of the Baghdadi police station were instructed to submit their explanations regarding the alleged arrest and disappearance of the said two men. However, the family members worries that due to the court's passive intervention, there is possibility that the two men will be shifted to other province and finding their whereabouts will get more difficult in that circumstance. 

Such illegal arrest and detention clearly violates the fundamental rights of citizens in Pakistan, in particular the freedom of expression, the right to security and the right to life that are protected by the Constitution of Pakistan as well as international Covenant for Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). I therefore strongly urge your immediate intervention into this matter and appeal you to ensure that the two arrested men are produced before court immediately. If there is any case against them, they should be tried according to due process.

I am also deeply concerned that enforced disappearance of persons following illegal arrest is a common phenomenon in Pakistan. For example, I was informed that according to the Federal Minister of the Interior's statement on 5 December 2005, only in Balochistan province alone, 4,000 people have been arrested since 2001 and out of 4,000 persons, only less than 200 people have been produced to the courts. Human rights groups claim that about 6,000 persons have been disappeared since their arrest from 2001 to date.

I therefore urge the Government of Pakistan to establish judicial body to inquire about all the alleged forced disappearance cases after arrest since 2001 to date and locate those disappeared people. The Government of Pakistan must also take all possible measures to prevent such crimes and punish the alleged perpetrators (state officers) involved in these crimes.

I request you to take up this matter in an urgent manner.


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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
Email: (please see - http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx)

2. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Choudhry
Chief Justice of Pakistan
Supreme Court of Pakistan,
Constitution Avenue,
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 9213767
Fax: + 92 51 921 3452
E-mail: cjpakistan@yahoo.com 

3. Dr. Faqir Hussan
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
Tel: +92 51 921 3770
E-mail: registrar@supremecourt.gov.pk 

4. Mr. Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao
Federal Minister of Interior
Room#404, 4th Floor, R Block,
Pak Secretariat
Islamabad (Pakistan)
Tel: +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624
E-mail: minister@interior.gov.pk

5. Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar
Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block,
Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad,
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-Mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk

6. Justice Sabih Uddin
Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
Email: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk 

7. Dr. Ishrat UL Ibad
Governor
Government of Sindh
Governor House Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 21 920 1201
Email: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk 

8. Ms Leila Zerrougui
Chairperson
Working Group on arbitrary detention
Attn: Mr Miguel de la Lama
OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTENTION: WORKING GROUP ARBITRARY DETENTION)

9. Ms. Hina Jilani
Special Representative of the Secretary General for human rights defenders
Att: Melinda Ching Simon
Room 1-040
C/o OHCHR-UNOG
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 93 88
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL REPRESENTATIVE HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS)


Thank you.

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


Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
UA-396-2006
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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.