Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received the information below about another “honour killing” in Pakistan. In this case, two teenage girls, Ms. Tahmeena, 17, and Ms. Aabida, 18, were killed because they visited the home of their grandparents without permission. Those allegedly responsible for the crime are an influential landlord in the village of Jano in the town of Shikarpur in Sindh Province, Abdul Rasheed Bhutto, and eight other accomplices. The killing was later justified in a tribal jirga (a local council) assembled by the alleged perpetrators. Presently, the bodies of the girls have not been found after they were removed from the crime scene by those involved in the girls’ death.
Moreover, although a first information report (FIR) was filed with the police station in New Faojdari, the police have failed to take action in the case or to protect Mr. Fazaluddin, the brother of Tahmeena and cousin of Aabida, who made the complaint and the other family members involved in lodging the FIR. Meanwhile, the family is being pressured by Abdul Rasheed Bhutto to withdraw the case and is being socially ostracised by other tribal members in the village.
The inaction of the police makes a mockery of a recent decision by the High Court in Sindh Province in which all tribal jirgas are declared to be illegal and efforts to organise them are banned. In addition, the court decision prescribes several steps that law enforcement agencies should take against jirgas.
AHRC thus calls for its urgent appeal network to demand a thorough police investigation into the death of Tahmeena and Aabida and enforcement of the Sindh High Court’s decision against the parallel justice system of tribal jirgas in Pakistan. In addition, the police should provide protection to the family, and compensation should be given to the family.
Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:
Name of the Victims:
(1) Ms. Tahmeena, 17, d/o Abdul Ghafoor, by caste Bhutto, unmarried
(2) Ms. Aabida, 18, d/o Dad Mohammad by caste Bhutto, unmarried
Alleged Perpetrators:
(1) Abdul Rasheed s/o Hajji Ghulam Nabi (landlord who made the decision to kill the victims)
(2) Younis s/o Allah Ditto
(3) Jamaluddin s/o Hajji Shafi Mohammad
(4) Hajji Abdul Karim s/o Allah Warayo
(5) Ghulam Sarwar s/o Ghulam Rasool
(6) Sulaiman s/o Hajji Islam
(7) Hajji Nazeer s/o Abdul Khalique
(8) Haajji Shafi Mohammad s/o Hajji Hurmal
(9) Sanaullah s/o Moulvi Abdul Rehman
All are from the Bhutta caste and are residents of the village of Jano in the town of Shikarpur.
Complainant: Fazaluddin s/o Abdul Ghafoor Bhutto, r/o village of Jano, town of Shikarpur, brother of victim No. 1 and cousin of victim No. 2
Witnesses:
(1) Dad Mohamamd s/o Mohamamd Sachal, by caste Bhutto, uncle of the complainant, father of victim No. 2
(2) Hidayatullah s/o Abdul Ghafoor, by caste Bhutto, brother of the complainant
Date of Incident: 1:00 a.m. on May 4, 2004
Case Reported on: May 4, 2004, at 6:20 p.m. at the New Faojdari police station
Place of Incident: Village of Jano, town of Shikarpur, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan
CASE DETAILS:
On May 7, 2004, Mr. Fazaluddin, the complainant, appeared before the Human Rights Education Forum (HREF) to seek help after his sister and cousin, Ms. Tahmeena, 17, and Ms. Aabida, 18, were killed. He told HREF staff members that his sister and cousin were killed under the fake allegation of “honour killings” by the influential landlord of his village, Abdul Rasheed (accused No. 1). The decision of such heinous killings was made in a “tribal jirga” that was convened later through an agreement among all of the perpetrators above. Meanwhile, the dead bodies of the victims have been hidden and have not yet been found. The complainant asserted that the girls went to visit their grandparents in the nearby city of Sukkur. Their mistake was that they did not get permission to visit their grandparents.
The first information report (FIR), No. 65/04 Section 302, 201, 147, 148, 149/506/2, was lodged at the police station in New Faojdari by Mr. Fazaluddin. He mentioned in the FIR that on May 1, 2004, his sister and cousin went to visit their grandparents without informing any family members. On May 2, Dad Mohammad s/o Hajji Mohammad Sachal Bhutto, the uncle of the complainant, and Hajji Shafi Mohammad Bhutto (accused No. 8) and Sanaullah Bhutto (accused No. 9) went to search for the victims. Another group consisting of Hidayatullah Bhutto, brother of the complainant, and Abdul Rasheed Bhutto (accused No. 1) and Younis Bhutto (accused No. 2) went to Sukkur to search for the victims as well. The second search party found the girls, who were visiting their grandfather Mr. Muqeem Bhutto, a resident of New Pind Sukkur. Abdul Rasheed Bhutto brought the girls to his bungalow located at Lakhi gate in Shikarpur. Then being the chief of the Bhutto tribe, Abdul Rasheed called Jamaluddin (accused No. 3), Hajji Abdul Karim Bhutto (accused No. 4), Ghulam Sarwar (accused No. 5) and Sulaiman (accused No. 6) to his bungalow in Shikarpur. He also called the complainant, his brother Hidayatullah and his uncle Dad Mohammad to come to Shikarpur as well where all of the perpetrators above were present. They said to the complainant’s uncle and brother that their girls were under the protection of Abdul Rasheed and that tomorrow they would be handed over to the complainant’s family.
On May 3, the complainant and the witnesses appeared before their tribal chief, Abdul Rasheed, to get the girls. Abdul Rasheed told them though to go to the village and that he himself would go there with the girls. Subsequently, the complainant and the witnesses walked to the village at midnight as they could not find any public transportation. When the complainant and the witnesses reached the Bhutto graveyard that is beside the village, all of the perpetrators above came with the victims in their cars and stopped at the graveyard. They ordered the victims to get out of the car, and they told the complainant and the witnesses to kill the girls. They claimed that the girls had loose morals because they did not get permission to visit their grandparents. The complainant and the witnesses refused and begged them not to do so because the girls were innocent; their only mistake was that they left home without permission. All of the perpetrators though took their pistols and shot the girls dead. The perpetrators then warned the complainant and the witnesses not to report the case to the police. Otherwise, they were told, they would also be killed like the girls. The perpetrators then took the girls’ dead bodies in order to hide their crime.
The complainant and the witnesses went home and conferred with their family about whether they should lodge an FIR or not. They decided to report the case to the police and appeared before the officer in charge (OIC) of the police station in New Faojdari to make their complaint.
The complainant told HREF that the family has received constant threats to withdraw the case. In most places in the province, he said, the people of their tribe are seeking to protect the perpetrators. According to them, the perpetrators have killed the girls to maintain the honour of the tribe. Even most of the villagers have socially boycotted the victim’s family; they have been left alone in the village.
Abdul Rasheed Bhutto has contacted the victims’ family and has told them to accept fines and withdraw the case. He has refused to hand over the dead bodies of the girls because, according to him, they are now decayed.
This is, sadly, not a singular case of its nature. So many cases liked this one have happened in Pakistan; and in most of the cases, the highest courts of Pakistan have taken notices spontaneously. Therefore, HREF has appealed to the highest courts of the country to take spontaneous action in this case as well.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION
On April 23, 2004, the High Court of Sindh in Pakistan has rendered a decision in which it declared that all tribal jirgas are illicit, and the court has strictly banned any efforts to organise or arrange any type of jirga. It has strictly bound law enforcement agencies to take several steps against jirgas; but in the case above, the police and other law enforcement institutions seem to have totally failed to implement the court’s decision. Moreover, the police have not been able to find the bodies of the victims.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please send a letter, fax or e-mail to the following addresses and express your concern about this case. Please ask the police to thoroughly investigate these deaths, to protect the family after they have sought redress for this crime and to uphold the Sindh High Court decision banning jirgas. Compensation should also be awarded to the family of the girls.
1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
E-mail: CE@pak.gov.pk
2. Hon. Mr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan
Governor of Sindh Province
Governor House
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Telephone: +92 21 9201201-3
E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk
3. Mr. Sayed Kamal Shah
Provincial Police Officer, Sindh Police
Central Police Office
Karachi
PAKISTAN
Telephone: +92 21 9212626-7
Fax: +92 21 9212051
4. Mr. Rahoo Khan Brohi
Regional Police Officer
Sukkur Region
Airport Road
Sukkur
PAKISTAN
Telephone: +92 71 30547, 30248
Fax: +92 71 31824
5. Syed Sultan Shah
Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Telephone: +92 51 920 3464
Fax: +92 51 9203119
6. Ms. Yakin Erturk
Special Rapporteur on Violence against Women
OHCHR-UNOG
Palais Wilson, 8-14 Avenue de la Paix
1211 Geneva 10
SWITZERLAND
Fax: +41 22 917 9022
7. Mr. Khameeso Khan Memon
DPO District Shikarpur
Police Headquarters
Shikarpur
PAKISTAN
Telephone: +92-761-515077, 512309
Fax: +92-761-512369
SAMPLE LETTER
Re: Girls killed for visiting grandparents without permission in another ‘honour killing’
Name of the Victims:
(1) Ms. Tahmeena, 17, d/o Abdul Ghafoor, by caste Bhutto, unmarried
(2) Ms. Aabida, 18, d/o Dad Mohammad by caste Bhutto, unmarried
Alleged Perpetrators:
(1) Abdul Rasheed s/o Hajji Ghulam Nabi (landlord who made the decision to kill the victims)
(2) Younis s/o Allah Ditto
(3) Jamaluddin s/o Hajji Shafi Mohammad
(4) Hajji Abdul Karim s/o Allah Warayo
(5) Ghulam Sarwar s/o Ghulam Rasool
(6) Sulaiman s/o Hajji Islam
(7) Hajji Nazeer s/o Abdul Khalique
(8) Haajji Shafi Mohammad s/o Hajji Hurmal
(9) Sanaullah s/o Moulvi Abdul Rehman
All are from the Bhutta caste and are residents of the village of Jano in the town of Shikarpur.
Complainant: Fazaluddin s/o Abdul Ghafoor Bhutto, r/o village of Jano, town of Shikarpur, brother of victim No. 1 and cousin of victim No. 2
Witnesses:
(1) Dad Mohamamd s/o Mohamamd Sachal, by caste Bhutto, uncle of the complainant, father of victim No. 2
(2) Hidayatullah s/o Abdul Ghafoor, by caste Bhutto, brother of the complainant
Date of Incident: 1:00 a.m. on May 4, 2004
Case Reported on: May 4, 2004, at 6:20 p.m. at the New Faojdari police station
Place of Incident: Village of Jano, town of Shikarpur, Shikarpur District, Sindh Province, Pakistan
I am unable to comprehend how two teenage girls, Ms. Tahmeena, 17, and Ms. Aabida, 18, were recently murdered because they visited their grandparents without permission. I fail to understand how anyone’s so-called honour in the 21st century has been preserved through the death of these young girls in yet another “honour killing” in Pakistan. If anything, it has soiled the honour of Pakistan.
In order for you to properly investigate this case, the two girls were killed on May 4, 2004, allegedly by Abdul Rasheed Bhutto, an influential landlord in the village of Jano in the town of Shikarpur in Sindh Province, and the eight other accomplices listed above. After the girl’s death that was witnessed by Tahmeena’s brother Hidayatullah and Aabida’s father Dad Mohamamd, the bodies were hidden and have not been found at the present time. To justify their crime, the alleged perpetrators called a tribal jirga in which the murder of the girls was excused to protect the tribe’s “honour.”
I am concerned that the family is being pressured by Abdul Rasheed Bhutto to withdraw the case and that the police have failed to investigate the girls’ murder even though a first information report (FIR) was filed at the New Faojdari police station nor have the police offered protection to the family.
I wish to draw your attention to the fact that the Sindh High Court recently rendered a decision declaring tribal jirgas to be illegal, banning anyone from organising a jirga. Moreover, the court decision calls upon law enforcement agencies to take a number of steps against jirgas. Sadly, this case and the present response of the police make a mockery of this High Court decision.
In closing, I call upon you to ensure that the police conduct a thorough investigation of the death of Tahmeena and Aabida, that the perpetrators are arrested and receive a fair trial. I also ask that you ensure that the family is protected throughout this legal process and that they be awarded compensation for the suffering they have endured. Lastly, I urge you to safeguard the decision of the Sindh High Court against tribal jirgas by overseeing the work of the police in Sindh Province to make sure that the law is enforced. Without a functioning legal system, the honour of Pakistan will continue to be defiled.
Thank you for your attention into this serious matter.
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Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
