Dear Friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received updated information regarding the abduction of four women and two men amidst fighting between two influential armed tribes, the Thaheem and Qambrani. Police from RD 44 Police Station, Jacobabad, kept the women illegally, holding them for ransom for 11 days at a private location, releasing them only after getting rupees six hundred thousand and confiscating a rice threshing machine and fish farm. The abducted women, who belong to the poorest tribe of Saidan, are under severe pressure and tension; they are not saying anything about their ordeals under police custody. The police have implicated men from Saidan tribe in different cases, but no case has yet been registered against the fighting tribes.
UPDATED INFORMATION:
The police from RD 44 Police Station of Jacobabad have released abducted women and two men of the Saidan tribe after receiving Pakistani rupees six hundred thousand as ransom, besides the confiscation of a rice threshing machine worth rupees four hundred thousand, 800 kilograms of rice, and one fish farm worth of rupees two hundred thousand. The women belong to the Saidan tribe, who are poor cultivators. The persons abducted for ransom were picked by the police to pressurize fellow tribesmen to sell off their property to the Thaheem tribe, an influential and powerful tribe.
The bloody clash began on a dispute, involving the sale of 25 acres of land to the Qambrani tribe by the Saidan tribe. The Thaheem tribe has claimed that the land should have been sold to them as they have first priority in the area.
On October 15, armed men from two tribes of Sindh Province, the Qambrani and Thaheem tribes, archrivals that have been feuding for generations, took their positions against each other, in trenches. In the fight that ensued, four people were killed, one injured. The clash started early morning with one group opening fire on the other. According to the police report, among the deceased, one was from the Qambrani tribe and three were from Thaheem tribe.
Tensions prevail in the area and heavy police reinforcement has been called out from other districts to control the situation. A police report (FIR) had been filed by the Thaheem tribe, against 17 members of the Qambrani and Saidan tribes, of which 11 are women. The police picked up all those named, without investigation, and detained them at an undisclosed location.
In the latest development, the police have begun using methods of coercion and intimidation by implicating Saidan members in cases of theft and for keeping small arms like knives, and have been harassing Saidan tribesmen by tracing their phone calls and threatening them with dire consequences if they dare to report police delinquency to the media or any rights organization.
The Saidan women and men picked up by the police were initially kept at an undisclosed location. However, due to efforts of the Saidan tribesmen, their whereabouts were traced to RD 44 Police Station. The police demanded bribes in exchange for the release of the innocent victims.
As described in our original appeal, Mr. Sayed Razzaq Shah of the Saidan tribe, whose property was at the center of the dispute, continues to face the wrath of the police officers stationed at Maula Dad Police Station in Village Haji Thaeem Khan Goth, Jacobabad, Sindh Province.
According to Mr. Razzaq, on 26 October 2016, the police illegally impounded his fish farm and the machine installed at his rice farm worth four hundred thousand Pakistani Rupees. About 200 maunds of rice (approximately 8000 kg) were also seized by the police without warrant or authority. The poor tribesmen have been left to fend for themselves as the Thaheem tribe enjoys political clout in the area. The police are acting as Thaheem’s ancillary forces, leaving Saidan high and dry, and with no access to legal redress.
The poor tribe has suffered the loss of life and property as a direct result of the feud between two strong rival tribes, their only sin being that they dared to exercise their constitutional right to freely sell off their property to whomever they wanted to. The State is neglecting to protect its citizens by negating their right, as enunciated in Article 23 of the Constitution, which provides:
“Every citizen shall have the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property in any part of Pakistan, subject to the Constitution and any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest.”
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letters to the authorities calling on them to take stern disciplinary action against the delinquent police officers of Jacobabad police, particularly against the police officials from RD44 Police Station and Maula Dad Police Station in Village Haji Thaeem Khan Goth, Jacobabad, for illegally detaining women and men for ransom, for corruption, and for using coercive methods.
Please urge them to have the ransom money and confiscated properties grabbed by the Jacobabad police returned to the affected persons of the Saidan tribe. The displaced persons must be resettled on their land and be paid compensation. All the involved police officials must be suspended and an inquiry must be conducted.
The AHRC will write a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention for their intervention in the matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
PAKISTAN: Police release four abducted women and two men after taking ransom
Name of victims:
1. Mr. Syed A. Razzaq Shah, resident of Goth Ghulam Shah Union Council, Nawara, Maula Dad Taluka, District Jacobabad, Sindh Province
2. Ms. Zainab, abducted by police, resident of Goth Ghulam Shah Union Council, Nawara, Maula Dad Taluka, District Jacobabad, Sindh Province
3. Ms. Hasina, abducted by police, Goth Ghulam Shah Union Council Nawara, Maula Dad Taluka, District Jacobabad, Sindh Province
4. Ms. Hoor Bibi, abducted by police, resident of Goth Ghulam Shah Union Council Nawara, Maula Dad Taluka, District Jacobabad, Sindh Province
5. Ms. Hasina, abducted by police, Goth Ghulam Shah Union Council Nawara, Maula Dad Taluka, District Jacobabad, Sindh Province
6. Mr. Washloo Qambrani, killed in cross fire, resident of Goth Chachar Khan, Taluka Mauladad, District Jacobabad, Sindh Province
7. Mr. Rajo Khan Thaeem, killed in cross fire, resident of Goth Haji Khan Thaeem, Taluka Maula Dad, Jacobabad, Sindh Province
8. Mr. Haq Nawaz, killed in cross-fire, resident of Goth Haji Khan Thaeem, Taluka Maula Dad, Jacobabad, Sindh Province
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Sajjad Khoker, Senior Superintendent of Police, Jacobabad District, Sindh Province
2. Mr. Abdul Ghaffor Thaeem, tribal leader, resident of Maula Dad Road, Shikanpura, District Jacobabad, Sindh Province
3. Muhabat Khan Qambrani, tribal leader of Qambrani tribe, resident of Maula Dad Road Shikanpura, District Jacobabad, Sindh Province
4. Station House Officer (SHO) of Mauladad police station, Jacobabad, Sindh
5. Station House Officer of RD 44 Police Station, Jacobabad, Sindh
Date of incident: 15 October 2016
Place of incident: Taluka Maula Dad, Jacobabad District, Sindh Province
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the abduction of four women and two men amidst fighting between two influential armed tribes, the Thaheem and Qambrani. Police from RD 44 Police Station, Jacobabad, kept women illegally for ransom for 11 days at a private location and released them only after getting Pakistani Rupees six hundred thousand and confiscating a rice threshing machine and fish farm, amongst other things. The abducted women, who belong to the poorest tribe of Saidan, are under severe pressure and tension; they are not disclosing anything about their ordeals in police custody. The men from Saidan tribe are implicated in different cases, but no case has yet been registered against the fighting tribes.
I was shocked to receive the information that the police from RD 44 Police Station of Jacobabad have released abducted women and two men of the Saidan tribe after receiving Pakistani rupees six hundred thousand as ransom, besides the confiscation of a rice threshing machine worth rupees four hundred thousand, 800 kilograms of rice, and one fish farm worth of rupees two hundred thousand. The women belong to the Saidan tribe, who are poor cultivators. The persons abducted for ransom were picked by the police to pressurize fellow tribesmen to sell off their property to the Thaheem tribe, an influential and powerful tribe.
In my opinion this is the pure negligence of the provincial police and local administration that police are involved in abduction and ransom.
The bloody clash began on a dispute, involving the sale of 25 acres of land to the Qambrani tribe by the Saidan tribe. The Thaheem tribe has claimed that the land should have been sold to them as they have first priority in the area.
On October 15, armed men from two tribes of Sindh Province, the Qambrani and Thaheem tribes, archrivals that have
been feuding for generations, took their positions against each other, in trenches. In the fight that ensued, four people were killed, one injured. The clash started early morning with one group opening fire on the other. According to the police report, among the deceased, one was from the Qambrani tribe and three were from Thaheem tribe.
Tensions prevail in the area and heavy police reinforcement has been called out from other districts to control the situation. A police report (FIR) had been filed by the Thaheem tribe, against 17 members of the Qambrani and Saidan tribes, of which 11 are women. The police picked up all those named, without investigation, and detained them at an undisclosed location.
I am appalled that in the latest development, the police have begun using methods of coercion and intimidation by implicating Saidan members in cases of theft and for keeping small arms like knives, and have been harassing Saidan tribesmen by tracing their phone calls and threatening them with dire consequences if they dare to report police delinquency to the media or any rights organization.
For me the Sindh police is no more than a gang of dacoits who keep the men and women in private detention centers for getting the ransom. The Saidan women and men picked up by the police were initially kept at an undisclosed location. However, due to efforts of the Saidan tribesmen, their whereabouts were traced to RD 44 Police Station. The police demanded bribes in exchange for the release of the innocent victims.
As described in our original appeal, Mr. Sayed Razzaq Shah of the Saidan tribe, whose property was at the center of the dispute, continues to face the wrath of the police officers stationed at Maula Dad Police Station in Village Haji Thaeem Khan Goth, Jacobabad, Sindh Province.
According to Mr. Razzaq, on 26 October 2016, the police illegally impounded his fish farm and the machine installed at his rice farm worth four hundred thousand Pakistani Rupees. About 200 maunds of rice (approximately 8000 kg) were also seized by the police without warrant or authority. The poor tribesmen have been left to fend for themselves as the Thaheem tribe enjoys political clout in the area. The police are acting as Thaheem’s ancillary forces, leaving Saidan high and dry, and with no access to legal redress.
The poor tribe has suffered the loss of life and property as a direct result of the feud between two strong rival tribes, their only sin being that they dared to exercise their constitutional right to freely sell off their property to whomever they wanted to.
The State is neglecting to protect its citizens by negating their right, as enunciated in Article 23 of the Constitution, which provides:
“Every citizen shall have the right to acquire, hold and dispose of property in any part of Pakistan, subject to the Constitution and any reasonable restrictions imposed by law in the public interest.”
I, therefore, call upon you to take stern disciplinary action against the delinquent police officers of Jacobabad police, particularly against the police officials from RD44 Police Station and Maula Dad Police Station in Village Haji Thaeem Khan Goth, Jacobabad, for illegally detaining women and men for ransom, for corruption, and for using coercive methods.
I also urge you to have the ransom money and confiscated properties grabbed by the Jacobabad police returned to the affected persons of the Saidan tribe. The displaced persons must be resettled on their land and be paid compensation. All the involved police officials must be suspended and an inquiry must be conducted.
Yours Sincerely,
—————-
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1.Mr. Mian Mohammad Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
Tel: +92 51 920 6111,
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk, pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk
2. Mr. Murad Ali Shah
Chief Minister of Sindh
The Government of Sindh Province
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
Email: pressecy@cmsindh.gov.pk
3. Mr. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan
Minister
Ministry of Interior of Pakistan
R Block, Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9212026
Fax: +92 51 9202624
Email: interior.complaintcell@gmail.com, ministry.interior@gmail.com
4. Mr. Kamran Michael
Minister For Human Rights
Through Secretary, Ministry of Human Right
ministry of human rights
State Life Building No. 5, Blue Area, Jinnah Avenue, China Chowk,
Islamabad
Tel: 051-9216620,
Fax: 051-9216621,
Email: secretary@mohr.gov.pk
5. Mr. Tahir Shahbaz
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9213452
Email: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
6. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
7. Home minister,
Government of Sindh
Barrack 79, Pakistan Secretariat
Near MPA hostel
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9204456
Tel: +92 21 9201920-1
E-mail: secy.home@sindh.gov.pk
8. Justice Majida Rizvi
Regional Directorate of Human Rights,
Block no. 5, Sindh Secretariat No.4-A, Frere Road, Karachi.
Ph: 92-21-99205835
Fax: 92-21-99205837
Email: justicerazvi@hotmail.com
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
