Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission wishes to inform you of two more alleged disappearance cases from Sindh province in Pakistan which separately took place in July and August 2006. To date the whereabouts of the victims remain unknown. The victims have gone missing after allegedly being taken by police and army personnel. In one case, the victim was allegedly abducted by the police. In the second case, the victim was arrested by the plain clothed security personnel only because his name was similar with that of a wanted terrorist. In both cases, the police denied of arresting the men and had refused to register the complaints lodged by their families until the courts issued an order. Both victims do not have any political affiliations.
CASE DETAILS:
CASE 1
A young primary school teacher named Mr. Maula Bux (32) was allegedly kidnapped by four persons in police uniform in broad daylight after he attended a hearing of a case against him at the Civil Court in Sehwan Shareef, Jamshoro District, Sindh province, Pakistan on 7 July 2006. The four men came in a white latest model Honda City bearing no license number plate. Two of the men assaulted Mr. Bux and forcibly put him in the car. They then told a fried of Mr. Bux, who was present there, not to tell anyone about Mr. Bux’s arrest and identified themselves as policemen from the Sehwan police station.
However, when Mr. Bux’s family contacted the Sehwan police station soon after learning of his arrest, the Sehwan police allegedly denied his arrest saying that they did know anthing about Mr. Bux’s arrest. Since then, Mr. Bux’s whereabouts remains unknown. While denying the victim’s arrest, the Sehwan police allegedly told the family that Mr. Bux would return home very soon and informed him that, according to their information, he is with the military secret service.
The Sehwan police also refused to register the case of Mr. Bux’s disappearance lodged by his family. The family then approached Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan in November 2006 and Chief Justice ordered Sehwan police to register a First Information Report (FIR) regarding the victim’s disappearance. According to Chief Justice’s order, the Sehwan police finally registered the case of Mr. Bux’s disappearance and abduction on 3 December 2006.
Mr. Bux’s mother reportedly died one month after her son’s disappearance. Mr. Bux is married with four children; two out of four are mentally disabled.
Mr. Bux lives in Bhitt Jabal village, Sehwan town, Jamshoro district, Sindh Province, where a multinational oil drilling company M/S Lasmo, which changed its name as M/S ENI, has been drilling for oil and natural gas in the area. The local people have been protesting against this company that it does not provide any employment to the local people but only takes natural resources in the area that the locals should benefit from.
According to the family, a case against Mr. Bux and fifteen other local persons was lodged in Sehwan Shareef with charges of disturbing law and order, inciting the people against the said company and the government in 1998. Mr. Bux was abducted soon after attending the hearing regarding this case.
CASE 2
Mr. Mohammad Zafar Yaseen, a Pakistan-born South African businessman, was allegedly arrested by security forces in plain clothes at around 1:30am on 22 August 2006 and taken to unknown place. His whereabouts remain unknown to date.
According to the victim’s father Mr. Mohammad Yaseen, in the early hours of August 22, several vehicles came to his house and more than dozen persons in plain clothes forcibly entered the house at A-18, Kazimabad, Model Colony Block 3, Karachi city, Sindh province. They then asked the males in the house their names. As soon as they heard the name of Mr. Mohammad Zafar Yaseen, they took him in their custody.
When the family asked the raiding party the reason for the victim’s arrest, they told the family that his name is similar to one “Qari Zafar”, who belongs to a fundamentalist Islamic party and is wanted in the bomb blast case of the U.S. consulate in Karachi city in 2003.
The family appealed that the victim is not the same man whom they want and that his name is also not similar accept “Zafar”. However, the raiding party assured the family members and told them that the victim would be released the next day after clarifying his identity.
On the following day on August 23, the victim’s family contacted the Model Colony police station but the police said that they had not arrested anybody last night and the victim was not in their custody. However, the Model colony police told the family that the military secret service agents must have arrested the victim because “Qari Zafar” has been in hiding since 2003 and the victim might be released soon after verification of his identity because it is the army’s routine practice.
On August 24, the family then attempted to lodge the case of the victim’s abduction and disappearance with the Model Colony police who refused to register it.
The Model colony police continued to refuse to register the case until November 2006. The Station Head Officer (SHO) of Model colony police station finally later registered the case of illegal entrance of the house and abduction of the victim only after receiving the order from the Sessions’ Court of East, Karachi. The victim’s father also filed an application with the Supreme Court on October 7 but has received no response from it to date.
ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:
Enforced disappearance of persons following illegal arrest is a common phenomenon in Pakistan since the military government took power in 1999. The situation has become worse after September 11 incident in the United States. In the update to its September report on enforced disappearances in Pakistan that was issued on December 8, Amnesty International says that in cooperating with the USA led “War on Terror”, the Pakistan government has committed human rights violations against hundreds of Pakistani and foreign nationals. The report also pointed out that hundreds of people were arbitrary arrested and detained in secret, becoming victims of enforced disappearances and that many of them have been tortured and their families were also subjected to further harassment and threats. Furthermore, the right to habeas corpus has been systematically undermined; state agents have refused to comply with courts directions or have lied in courts. It is alleged that hundreds of detainees are unlawfully transferred (some times in return of money) to other countries, including the US Naval base in Guantanamo Bay, Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan or other secret detention centers. To see the AI’s report, please go to: http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGASA330522006
The AHRC is also deeply concerned that not only so-called “terrorist suspects” but also critics of the governments, journalists or even ordinary people have been victimized of enforced disappearances by the government in Pakistan. To learn more about those cases, please refer to our previous appeals:
UA-396-2006: PAKISTAN: Two political party leaders are missing after their alleged arrest by the police and army intelligence personnel
UA-227-2006: PAKISTAN: Three persons are missing after allegedly being taken by the police and army personnel
UA-145-2006: PAKISTAN: Journalists to stage protest over rights of those in the media
UP-127-2006: PAKISTAN: Missing journalist found dead in Pakistan
UA-169-2006: PAKISTAN: Two members of the Jeay Sindh Quomi Mahaz Nationalist Party abducted in the latest report of forced disappearance
UA-171-2006: PAKISTAN: Twelve persons disappeared following their arrest by the police
UP-191-2006: PAKISTAN: Torture victim abducted after testifying about abuse
UA-132-2006: PAKISTAN: Fears for whereabouts of disappeared political leader in Pakistan
UG-003-2006: PAKISTAN: Alarming situation of forced disappearance of political and human rights activists in Balochistan
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the relevant authorities listed below and demand their immediate intervention into these two enforced disappearance cases. Please urge them to take prompt action to locate the victims and ensure their safe return to the family. Please also urge them to bring those responsible for illegal arrest and abduction and establish strict discipline among the security forces to prevent enforced disappearances.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ______,
PAKISTAN: Two more persons are missing after allegedly arrested by the security forces
CASE 1:
Name of victim: Mr. Maula Bux, aged 32, a primary school teacher residing in Bhitt Jabal village, Sehwan district, Sindh Province, Pakistan
Alleged perpetrators: The four men in police uniform in the latest model of Honda City white car bearing no license number plate; They identified themselves as police officers from the Sehwan police station; The Sehwan police denied the victim’s arrest and alleges that the victim is with the military secret service
Date of abduction: 7 July 2006
Place of abduction: Near the Bhitt Jabal village
CASE 2:
Name of victim: Mr. Mohammad Zafar Yaseen, a Pakistan-born South African businessman
Alleged perpetrators: Dozens of men in plain clothes, who are believed as security personnel
Date of abduction: At around 1:30am on 22 August 2006
Place of abduction: The victim’s house: A-18, Kazimabad, Model Colony Block 3, Karachi city, Sindh province, Pakistan
I am deeply concerned about another two more cases of the alleged illegal arrest and subsequent disappearances of two men in Pakistan.
According to the information I have received, Mr. Maula Bux was allegedly kidnapped by four persons in police uniform in broad daylight on 7 July 2006. The four men came in a white, latest model Honda City bearing no license number plate. The abductors reportedly identified themselves as policemen from the Sehwan police station to Mr. Bux’s friend. However, the Sehwan police station has been denying of arresting the victim but allegedly told the victim’s family that he was with the military secret service “according to their information”. I was also informed that the Sehwan police only registered the case of Mr. Bux’s disappearance on 3 December 2006 only after receiving the order of Chief Justice of Supreme Court. Mr. Bux’s whereabouts remains unknown.
Mr. Bux was abducted soon after attending the hearing regarding this case against him at the Civil Court in Sehwan Shareef, Jamshoro District, Sindh province. The case against the victim and fifteen other local persons was brought to the court, after they had been charged with inciting the people against the government and a multinational oil drilling company named M/S ENI, which has been drilling the oil and natural gas in the area. The local people have been protesting against this company that it does not provide any employment to the local people but only takes natural resources in the area that should be due share to locals.
In another case, Mr. Mohammad Zafar Yaseen, a Pakistan-born South African businessman, was allegedly arrested by security forces in plain cloths from his house on 22 August 2006. His whereabouts remains unknown to date. According to the family, he was taken by the raiding party just because his name is similar to one “Qari Zafar”, who is a wanted man in a bomb blast case of U.S. consulate in Karachi city in 2003.
I was further informed that the Model Colony police denied of arresting the victim and allegedly told the family that the military secret service agents must have arrested the victim and would be released soon after verification of his identity because it is the army’s routine practice. In this case, the Model Colony police also refused to register the case of the victim’s abduction and disappearance. The Station Head Officer (SHO) of Model colony police station finally later registered the case in late November 2006 only after receiving the order from the Sessions’ Court of East, Karachi. I was also informed that the victim’s father filed a habeas corpus with the Supreme Court on October 7 but received no response from the highest court to date.
I am alarmed by huge number of enforced disappearance cases following illegal arrest of the persons in Pakistan. It seems to me that as being illustrated in these two cases, not only so-called “terrorist suspects” but also critics of the governments, journalists or even ordinary people have been victimized of enforced disappearances. I am also concerned that the right to habeas corpus has been systematically undermined and state agents have refused to comply with courts directions in several cases.
In light of above, I strongly urge you to take prompt action to locate the two victims and ensure their safe return to the family. I also urge you to identify those responsible for illegal arrest and abduction of the victims and bring them before court. I further request you to put your all effort in your official capacity to establish strict discipline among the security forces to prevent illegal arrest and enforced disappearances in the country. Those who commit such crimes should be punished by law.
I look for your urgent intervention into this case.
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTER TO:
1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
Presidents 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)
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ahrchk@ahrchk.org)
