An interview conducted by the Asian Human Rights Commission. The views expressed do not necessarily reflect those of the AHRC.
Pakistan–A woman speaks out against bad policing and torture
Ms Taranum Khan is a Program Officer at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan in Karachi. She is a lawyer by profession and works on different issues including violence against women. She has joined many courses from different international organizations and has also participated in the Folk School program of the Asian Human Rights Commission. She later said that that she has learned a lot from this programme and been able to communicate with representatives from many Asian countries. She went on to say that this was a wonderful experience in understanding the approach towards human rights issues.
What do you think about the policing system in your country?
The policing system in our country is of the worst kind and there is no effort to change it. The policing system and laws relating to the police should be changed according to the latest developments in the investigation system. I think that there should be changes in the curriculum of the police training and subjects of human rights should be included in the curriculum. If that is included, there should be concrete practical steps to follow the international norms of human rights.
The people hate the police because the attitude of the police is very insulting towards them. The police generally misuse their power to implicate people in false cases then demand bribes, using violence and abusive language. When a person is arrested, the police resort to torture. The successive governments also do not look at the reforms in the police and particularly the martial law governments have used the police to repress the people. Therefore the police always behave as if the ordinary citizens are liable to be punished. Anybody who is arrested or wanted in any case is suspected of being a criminal before any investigation is carried out.
What do you think about the use of torture?
Torture by the police is very bad and its purposes are to humiliate the citizens. The police always resorted to physical torture but now they have adopted new methods so that the marks of torture should not be visible so that there is no evidence. In many cases, the police inflict injuries on specific parts of the body where marks will appear only later. The main purpose of the torture is to take confessional statements or to get money from the arrested person. In ordinary cases, the police torture the people on behalf of powerful or rich people. In cases of women, the police not only torture physically, but strip them naked in the police station or use very filthy language to insult and humiliate them. And in many cases they rape women.
What are your views on the public relations of the police?
To have a good or a better relationship between the police and the public will take a long, long time because the police have the mindset that arrested persons are criminals. Therefore, in that mindset, how can one expect the police to change their attitude? The police only foster good relationships with the rich and powerful. For the ordinary people, whenever the word ‘police’ comes to mind, the image of torture automatically appears.
The question is how can one feel easy going to a police station? This question cannot be answered without the proper training and education of the police. Until and unless the police have a concept of human rights they will always resort to torture and humiliation of the citizens. The police are also from the same society but when one wears the uniform, he or she thinks that they are above the ordinary citizen and power is the only way to deal with the people.
If you have a problem, would you go to a police station to get help?
No one likes to go to the police station. The concept of the police station is a nightmare, particularly for women. Everybody is scared of the police. If anyone has to go to the police station, even for an application or verification of any document for official purposes, he or she would not go alone because of the terror of the police. If there are female police stations, which indeed there are, why are women asked to go to male police stations?
Is there a domestic violence law in your country and what is your opinion of it?
In our Criminal Procedure Code, the laws against domestic violence are very negligible. For example, in the cases of acid throwing or burning, the First Information Report (FIR) can be lodged only if the victim is burnt 65% and for women who are burnt less than 65%, no FIR can be lodged. This is very discriminatory and gives impunity to the perpetrators. In many cases, women die after many days of being burnt over 40% or 50%.
Women who are victims of domestic violence by her in-laws or her relatives do not report to the police station because there is no explicit law for domestic violence. The bill against domestic violence is still pending before the assembly, but lawmakers do not think that this is a national issue. Women of Pakistan need laws against domestic violence and more importantly its proper implementation.
