The government of General Musharraf is planning to amend the Army Act of 1952 empowering the state intelligence agencies to keep suspected persons in custody as long as they require without producing them before courts. According to the media reports, which were substantiated by the high officials of ministry of defense and law, an amendment through the ordinance is about to be introduced to the Pakistan Army Act which will include civilians under the jurisdiction of military Court Martial, if they who are suspected of involvement in anti- state activities. This includes kidnapping, bombing, carrying arms and ammunition and will even cover cases of murder.
As reported in the “Daily The News”, Pakistan, Malik Qayyum, the Attorney General of Pakistan, confirmed that some new offences would be added to the Army Act to cover civilians. He also confirmed that the ordinance would come in to effect in the next few days. According to Attorney General, the proposed amendment to the Army Act would also redefine the role of agencies by giving them more powers of arbitrary detentions.
The reports of empowering the intelligence agencies have been circulating for some days and point out that this proposed ordinance will give sweeping powers to the agencies to detain any person, who is suspected, for a fixed period, during which the detention can not be challenged in any court. It is said that through the proposed ordinance military tribunals will have the power to try civilians.
There are also some reports that General Musharraf is again planning to impose emergency rule in an attempt to resist the decisions of Supreme Court which is in the final stage of hearing cases against him. The news about imposition of emergency has also compelled Ms. Benazir Bhutto, chairperson of Pakistan Peoples Party, to cancel her visit to Dubai to meet her children.
The Asian Human Rights Commission is very much concerned about the latest reports from Pakistan in respect of non-constitutional actions being taken by the General Musharraf to stop the process of democratization of the society. The AHRC condemns the proposed ordinance to amend the Army Act and the authorization of unlimited powers to state intelligence agencies to interrogate and keep the civilians in their custody and try them in military tribunals.
The proposed ordinance is about to be introduced at a time when higher courts, particularly the Supreme Court of Pakistan has taken action in the cases of disappearances after arrests. During the courts proceedings it was found that majority of disappeared persons to be in the custody of state intelligence agencies, particularly in military custody and all of them were tortured during their forced disappearance. There are reports that since 2001 more than 5000 persons have been disappeared and their whereabouts are unknown. The Chief Justice of Pakistan himself observed that intelligence agencies are responsible for enforced disappearances. In that background, if the intelligence agencies are given legal cover to abduct and torture in custody then no citizen will remain secure in the hands of military intelligence agencies and country will become a military state.
The AHRC is of the view that the non-constitution situation will put the country on the verge of collapse and the people will be directly affected by the situation. Therefore, the AHRC appeals to the international community and the UN, including all human rights organizations, to intervene in the non-constitutional, ultra virus, illegal and undemocratic actions of General Musharraf and use diplomatic pressure on the government of Pakistan to immediately hold free and fair elections, hand over the power to the elected representatives of the people without delay and restore the all civil institutions, allowing them to work freely and independently, without interference.
