In the case of the love marriage of Miss Kulsoom where seven women and girls of a family were arrested and tortured, one girl, Shazia, (16), remains missing after her abduction, allegedly by a member of the Punjab Provincial Assembly (MPA) from the ruling party, the PML-N. Please see the link on urgent appeal, issued on May 20, http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2009/3159/ PAKISTAN: Love marriage greeted by the torture of a family; one girl is abducted by a Punjab MP.
The Punjab provincial government was unable to go against Mr. Iftekhar Ahmed Khan Baloch, a member of the provincial assembly (MPA) and parliamentary secretary in the government. The inaction of the government and the ruling party in taking action against this member has put the life of a girl in serious danger. The family members of the girl are in hiding whilst others remain in Adiala jail, Rawalpindi on false charges of abduction and theft. In view of their incarceration they have not been able to lodge a case of the abduction of Miss Shazia as the member of the Punjab assembly is using his position as a public officer on the police of at least two districts namely, Sargodha and Jhang.
One more arrest was made in the desperate effort for the search of Miss Kulsoom who married Mr. Fazal Abbas of her own free will. Mr. Asif son of Lal Din, her maternal uncle, was arrested from Mandi Shah Jeona, Jhang district. He recently suffered a road accident and was taking bed rest but Mr. Iftekhar, the MPA, instructed the police in the two districts to take into custody anyone related to Mr. Fazal Abbas and Miss Kulsoom as hostages for the production of Kulsoom who remains in hiding. This was reported to human rights activists by a policeman of the Mandi Shah Jeona police station on the request of anonymity.
The media has also come under pressure after the release of the urgent appeal from the AHRC and the MPA is using his public position to stop the news in the media. One English newspaper came out with the story of the torture of the family members but tried to minimise the crime of the MPA by avoiding mention of the abduction of Miss Shazia, who was taken in his car when the women and girls of the family were arrested by the Airport police, Rawalpindi, Punjab.
The Punjab provincial governments inability to take action against its own party member is putting the life of a girl in danger and there is a good chance that she would be killed after being raped by several persons. The governments main responsibility is to protect the life of every citizen according to the constitution of Pakistan. But here in the name of political expediency the rulers are overlooking the crimes of their own assembly member.
Pakistan has signed the UN Convention on Torture (CAT) and also UN International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) which has made it obligatory for the signatory governments to protect the right to life and arbitrary arrest of the individuals.
The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the federal government to investigate the incident of the torture of the women in police custody. The government should make immediate arrangements for the recovery of 16-year-old Shazia. The government must arrest all the perpetrators involved in the case and release all persons who are being held on false charges at the behest of the MPA of PML-N in the Punjab assembly.
