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GENERAL APPEAL (Pakistan): Government's inaction regarding a series of attack on journalists

September 23, 2006

NOTICE: The AHRC have developed a new 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 those people. Fax numbers and postal addresses of the Pakistan authorities are attached below with this appeal. Thank you.]

 

URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAM

23 September 2006
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UG-019-2006: PAKISTAN: Government's inaction regarding a series of attack on journalists    

PAKISTAN: Disappearance; suppression of media freedom; failure of investigation; un-rule of law
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Dear friends,
 
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the following information from the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists regarding a serious of recent attack against the journalists in Pakistan. The government has not taken any action in any of the above mentioned cases to provide justice to the concerned victims. These incidents illustrate that how strictly the freedom of expression is restricted in Pakistan. 

At around 2:00pm on 20 September 2006, Mr. Saeed Sarbazi, the reporter of the Daily Business Recorder and the joint secretary of Karachi Press Club, was allegedly kidnapped by unknown men from Lyari town, the business center of Karachi city, while he was driving his vehicle to his newspaper company office. When the men forcibly attempted to take him away, many passers-by appealed against his abduction and the kidnappers allegedly identified themselves as officials of military intelligence. People followed the vehicle and witnessed that it went inside the Malir Cantonment, where there is known to be a military torture camp. Since then his whereabouts remain unknown.

Upon hearing of the incident, members of the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists and other human rights groups staged a walk out from the press gallery of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh and demonstrated in front of the assembly building. Several ministers of Singh provincial government, including the home minister, said that they were aware of the abduction of Mr. Sarbazi. 

Mr. Sarbazi hails from Balochistan, the west southern province of Pakistan, where the Pakistan government has been conducting military operations against the Balochi resistance groups since 2001. The government has also been criticized regarding aerial bombings using F16 air craft and gunship helicopters in several parts of the province, which resulted in the deaths of many civilians. According to the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, he was arrested with suspicion of having connections with the Balochi resistance groups.

Furthermore, the AHRC has received several reports regarding the alleged killing and assault of journalists by the police and henchmen of federal ministers. Details of each case are as follows:

1. On 13 September 2006, Mr. C.R. Shamsi, the deputy editor of Daily Ausaf, was allegedly beaten by the driver and guard of the federal labour minister in the presence of minister himself inside the National Assembly of Pakistan in Islamabad. He was reportedly on duty to cover the proceedings of the National Assembly. During the break time, he inquired of the labour minister about the 6 Wage Board Award which has been pending abeyance for 3 years. The minister was infuriated by his question and ordered his guard and driver to give the journalist "a better reply" to his question. The guard and the driver then severely assaulted Mr. Shamsi inside the premises of National Assembly. Due to assault, Mr. Shamsi suffered severe damage to his right ear and has been treated at the government hospital of Islamabad.  However, the hospital authority was prevented from taking medico legal action in this case and as a result, no police case has been filed against the minister, his guard and the driver. On September 14, the opposition parliamentarians from the both houses of the Senate and National Assembly, jointly protested the manhandling of Mr. Shamsi but no action has been taken against the labour minister.

2. On 16 September 2006, three journalists of different television channels namely Mr. Wadood Mushtaq of ARY Television, Mr. Nazir Awan of ATV and Mr. Zahid Malik, the cameraman of ARY Television were severely beaten by the police, while doing a coverage about the public meeting of a political party in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province. To avoid any public resentment during the meeting, the Punjab province police ordered police officers of all the districts to stop the broadcasting of ARY Television, which was showing the footage of the event. The ugly incident was started when Mr. Mukhtar Hussain Shah, the Deputy Superintendent of police (Investigation) and Mr. Younas Shah, the Station Head Officer of Lohari Gate police station wanted to park their vehicle at the same place where the vehicle of the television channel was parked. The police and media persons exchanged some arguments. The Deputy Superintendent ordered the police and SHO to beat the cameraman, after noticing that a camera of ARY Television is on. The Deputy Superintendent himself allegedly beat the media men. After the incident, the Chief Minister of Punjab ordered the arrests of police officers but till now no police officer has been arrested. It is reported that due to the assault, the spinal cord of Mr. Zahid Malik was broken, Mr. Mushtaq nose was broken and the left hand of Mr. Nazir Awan was broken.

3. On 15 September 2006, Mr. Maqbool Siyal of the Online News agency was shot to death by unknown men after receiving threats from the government agencies in Dera Ismail Khan, North Western Frontier Province. At that time, he was on his way to take an interview with a local politician from an opposition party, the Pakistan Peoples Party. However, Dera Ismail Khan police have not launched any investigation into the incident and simply regarded that his killing happened due to a sectarian conflict.

4. On 17 September 2006, Mr. Shakeel Anjum, the correspondent of -The News of Islamabad- the English daily newspaper- was arrested by the Islamabad police with the charge of triple murder after being attacked by unknown persons at his house. During the attack, his son and nephew were critically injured by the firing. Before his arrest, Mr. Shakeel had written an article against the alleged fake police encounter case in May 2005, which was conducted by Mr. Idrees Rathore of Islamabad police and resulted in killings of two young men. 

5. Mr. Mushtaq Ghuman, the reporter of Islambased Daily Business Recorder allegedly received threatening phone calls from the Intelligence Bureau after writing some corruption cases against Prime Minister.

The AHRC is deeply concerned by serious attacks on the journalists in Pakistan. In most of the cases, the Pakistan law enforcement officers & the government officers allegedly involved in those cases directly or indirectly encourage those attacks with no response to provide justice to the victims. Beside the above cases, the AHRC has also recently reported the case of Mr. Munir Mengal, the management director of Baloch Voice, who has been missing since 7 April 2006 after being arrested by the military intelligence (See further: UG-003-2006) and the case of Mr. Mehar uddin Marri, a journalist based in Badin district, whose whereabouts remains unknown after being arrested by the Badin police of Sindh on July 2 2006 (See further: UA-227-2006)

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write a letter to government authorities to produce the missing journalist Mr. Saeed Sarbazi. Please also show your concern about the maltreatment of journalist at large by the police and government agencies including ministers.

To support this appeal, please click:

Sample letter:

Dear _________,

PAKISTAN: Government's inaction regarding a series of attack on journalists        

CASE 1:
Name of the victim: Mr. Saeed Sarbazi, the reporter of the Daily Business Recorder and the joint secretary of Karachi Press Club
Alleged perpetrators: unknown men who identified themselves as military intelligence officials
Date of incident: At around 2:00pm on 20 September 2006
Place of the incident: According to the eyewitnesses, the victim was abducted from Lyari town in Karachi city, Sindh province, Pakistan and reportedly taken inside the Malir Cantonment, where is a military torture camp
Case status: Remains missing since September 20

CASE 2:
Name of the incident: Mr. C.R. Shamsi, the deputy editor of Daily Ausaf
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Ghulam Sarwar Khan, Federal Minister of Labour
2. The minister's driver & guard
Date of the incident: 13 September 2006
Place of the incident: Premises of the National Assembly of Pakistan in Islamabad
Case status: Mr. Shamsi suffered severe damage to his right ear. Meanwhile, no action has been taken against the labour minister and the hospital authority was allegedly stopped to take the medico legal action in the case to avoid police case.

CASE 3:
Name of the victims:
1. Mr. Wadood Mushtaq of ARY Television
2. Mr. Nazir Awan of ATV
3. Mr. Zahid Malik, the cameraman of ARY Television
Alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Mukhtar Hussain Shah, the Deputy Superintendent of police (Investigation)
2. Mr. Younas Shah, the Station Head Officer of Lohari Gate police station
3. Several police officers who were dispatched to the public meeting venue of a political party in Lahore
Date of the incident: 16 September 2006
Place of the incident: the public meeting venue of a political party in Lahore, the capital of Punjab province
Case status: Despite the Chief Minister's order to arrest responsible police officers, no one has been arrested. Due to assault, the spinal cord of Mr. Zahid Malik was broken, Mr. Mushtaq nose was broken and the left hand of Mr. Nazir Awan was broken.

CASE 4:
Name of the victim: Mr. Maqbool Siyal of the Online News agency (killed); reportedly received threats from the government agencies in Dera Ismail Khan before his killing
Alleged perpetrators: Masked unknown gunmen
Date of the incident: 15 September 2006
Place of the incident: Dera Ismail Khan, Dera Ismail Khan, Northwest Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan

CASE 5:
Name of the victim: Mr. Shakeel Anjum, the correspondent of -The News of Islamabad- the English daily newspaper
Alleged perpetrator: Mr. Idrees Rathore of the Shezad Town police station in Islamabad
Date of the incident: 17 September 2006
Case status: Wrongly implicated with triple murder case after reporting alleged extrajudicial killings of two men allegedly committed by Mr. Idrees Rathore of the Shezad Town police

CASE 6:
Name of the victim: Mr. Mushtaq Ghuman, the reporter of Islambased Daily Business Recorder 2006
Case status: Received threatening phone calls allegedly from the Intelligence Bureau after writing some corruption cases against Prime Minister

I am disturbed to learn a serious of serious attack against the journalists in Pakistan as described above. These incidents illustrate that how strictly the freedom of expression is restricted in Pakistan. 

I am particularly concerned that the government has not taken any action in any of the above mentioned cases to provide justice to the concerned victims. In fact, in the most of the cases, the police, the military or government officials are reportedly directly involved in the cases or indirectly encourage those attacks against the journalists by showing apparent inaction and silence to those cases.

I therefore, strongly urge you intervene into this matter immediately. I urge you to ensure that a prompt and thorough investigation are conducted all the concerned cases and threats and bring those responsible to justice as soon as possible. I also urge you to take urgent action to locate missing journalists and ensure their safe return to their families. I further demand that Federal Minister of labor Mr. Ghulam Sarwer should immediately resign from his position and is arrested and prosecuted by law. I also request you to ensure that adequate medical treatment is provided the concerned injured journalists. Lastly, I urge the Pakistan government to create an atmosphere which the journalists can work freely and take strict measures against the misuse of power by law enforcement officers against journalists.

Yours truly,


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SEND YOUR LETTER TO:

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

2. 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

3. Lt. General Khalid Maqbool
Governor of Punjab
Governor House
Mall Road, Lahore
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 9200023
E-mail: governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk

4. Choudhry Pervez Ihhahi
Chief Minister of Punjab
Chief Minister House
Lahore
PAKISTAN

5. Mr. Ishrat-ul- Ibad Khan
Governor
Government of Sindh
Governor House Karachi
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 21 920 1201
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk

6. Dr. Arbab Abdul Rahim
Chief Minister of Sindh
Chief Minister House
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 21 9202000

7. 9. Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights
S Block,
Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad,
PAKISTAN
Tel: + 92 51 920 2819
Fax: + 92 51 920 3119

8. Lt. Gen. Ali Muhammad Jan Aurakzai
Governor of NWFP
Governor's house
Peshawar
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 91 921 0751 or 921 0899

9. Mr. Akram Khan Durrani
Chief Minister of NWFP
Chief Minister's office
Peshawar
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 91 9211719
Fax: +92 91-9210707

10. Mr. Ambeyi Ligabo
Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression
c/o J Deriviero
OHCHR-UNOG
8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Tel: +41 22 917 9177
Fax: +41 22 917 9006 (ATTN: SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION)

11. 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 General
Document ID :
UG-019-2006
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.