PAKISTAN: A university vice chancellor is abducted; authorities prevent an official investigation

Dear friends, 

The Asian Human Rights Commission has learned that twenty days after the abduction of a high profile scientist in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), no official investigation has been held into his disappearance. Political agents in the federally administered tribal area have told the man’s family not to lodge a criminal complaint, and his abduction is not being dealt with within the law. The area is under tight military control and no insurgents have claimed responsibility for the crime or issued demands. A government enquiry is immediately necessary and if the professor has been arrested his safety must be accounted for, his case made available for legal scrutiny, and those responsible for the events must be held accountable. 

CASE DETAILS: 

According to information we have received from the victim’s family, Dr. Lutfullah Kakakhel was kidnapped on 6 November 2009 along with his driver and another employee. Dr. Kakakhel is the Vice-Chancellor of the Kohat University of Sciences and Technology (KUST) and former advisor to the NWFP governor. 

On the day of his abduction the professor was traveling from Peshawar through Darra Adam Khel, a known militant stronghold, at around 6pm. The car was near a graveyard, a madrassa and an Islamic machinery school when it was stopped by seven armed men, who took the passengers’ cell phones. Ten other people reportedly joined the armed group and demanded to know the identity of the professor. He and the two men were driven away in their car by the armed men shortly after, though the two employees were released 30 minutes later along the road. The whereabouts of Dr. Kakakhel remain unknown. 

The family wanted to register a case with the police, but have been repeatedly advised not to by both the area’s federal government’s representative (the political agent of Orakzai) and the governor of the NWFP. Both have claimed that efforts are being made to find the doctor outside of the legal mechanism. No progress has been seen by the family and the political interference in the complaints procedure is illegal. The family must be allowed to exercise their right to file a case of disappearance through the courts and the authorities must be seen to be doing their utmost to locate the doctor and secure his safe release from detention, according to the law. 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION: 

The area from which the Vice Chancellor was abducted has recently undergone severe military operations; many of its buildings have been demolished by artillery, soldiers patrol the streets and security checkpoints are frequent. Two months ago the government and army agencies announced that Darra Adam Khel had been cleared of militants. 

Dr. Kakakhel is a renowned professor who has helped establish universities of science and technology across the province, particularly during his former role as advisor to the provincial government. Students and professors from various universities have held numerous protests against the clear lack of official action being taken in the case. 

SUGGESTED ACTION: 

Please write to the authorities below demanding that a lawful investigation be immediately launched into the professor’s abduction, and urging his safe recovery. 

The AHRC has written a separate letter to the Chairperson of the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances. 

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER