Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that a 12 year old girl has been missing for three years after being abducted and sold , several times, allegedly by persons belonging to a criminal syndicate who are backed with heavy political patronage and with full connivance of the police. It is learnt that the a high ranking officer attached to the Police, in a deal with the traffickers has offered the girl’s parents a considerable amount of money as compensation to keep the incident quiet.
According to information received six accused persons named in the First Instance Report filed with regard to the abduction and trafficking of the girl who was 12 years at the time, have made confessions to the police that they have in fact sold the girl to not one but several persons but the police have not to-date arrested any persons on charges of abducting, selling or trafficking of a minor. We have received information that Police have subsequently produced a marriage certificate to the High Court which had indicated the girl’s age as 32. The Lahore High Court at the hearing had accepted the certificate of marriage, stating that the document submitted by the police is authentic. Further, at the hearing, the person who had in fact confessed before the Lahore High Court, for being guilty of purchasing the girl, has been released by the police.
The AHRC has received information that the girl (who is now 16 year) is still missing; her parents do not know whether she is still alive nor dead, nor her whereabouts and the police have failed to find her. Instead , according to information received the police have arrested the maternal uncle of the girl, he had been detained in a private torture cell operated by the police where he had been severely tortured and demanded to withdraw the complaint against the perpetrators. He was released after the intervention from Session Court.
The AHRC notes with concern the complete failure and collapse of the criminal justice administration system in Pakistan, especially the law enforcement mechanisms that have been made redundant as shown in the abduction of the 16 year old minor. It shows the extent to which the legal systems as well as the policing system has become accessible and private commodity, which can be purchased by anyone, with political or police patronage in Pakistan.
CASE NARRATIVE: (This information has been provided to the AHRC, by the victim’s family members and by the Star Welfare Organisation, of Sargodha in Punjab Province, Pakistan.)
Miss Tahira Batool, daughter of Muhammad Aslam, resident of Jhugian Siddique, Jhamat, Sargodha district, was alleged to have been abducted on 31 March 2011, by Nazar Muhammad the son of Mahela. At the time of abduction Tahira was only 12 years. According to her mother, the incident had taken place when she was returning home from a visit to a relative to pick up some gold jewelry. According to the mother, the accused Nazar Nuhammad had kidnapped the young girl and had imprisoned her for four days in a house belonging to Ms. Komal, at the village of Shah Hussain, Bhera Sharif, which is situated around 10 kilometers from their home. Komal is alledgedly involved with smuggling of girls and young women for sex, prostitution and slavery. According to statements made in the Lahore High Court hearing, after holding her hostage for four days the other accused persons in the case; Muazzim Ali, Azmat Ali, Sakhawat Ali, Yar Muhammad and Mrs Haleema Bibi had taken Tahira, to Lahore which is 400 kilometer from her home, where she had been sold for a sum of Rupees 80,000 and had taken Rs. 10,000 as an advance payment. Following the hearing the above named accused have been arrested several times by the police and later released without taking any further action against them and having been found by both the police and the Court as innocent.
The AHRC also received information that at the time the mother of the girl and her maternal uncle had approached the Thana Bhera police station of the Sargodha district, the Station House Officer (SHO) and other officials have flatly refused to file a case on the pretext that she might have left the house and will eventually return. As per reports, subsequently the accused, Nazar, has confessed to the police that he will submit an oath and a written declaration and affidavit to state that girl Tahira, was not in his custody. However he failed to submit such an undertaking, which led to the police filing the first information report (FIR) 167/11 under section 365/B of Criminal Procedure Code (Cr. P C) on 11 May 2011 which was done after more than one month since the incident took place. The police thereafter commenced investigations into the incident only in the month of June and had obtained statements from three of the accused persons; Yar Mumahammad, Halima Bibi, and Ms. Komal, all of whom have told the police that they have sold the girl Tahira, to one Mr. Tariq in Lahore. Following another month of inaction, in July 2011 have arrested Tariq in Lahore and had detained him in police custody without producing him before any court of law for two months and had released him thereafter.
The AHRC has received information that during this time, the SHO Saqlain Shah and investigation officer (I.O) Mazhar Ali – who had handled the investigations were transferred. The Bhera police had thereafter, filed a prosecution case in the court against Nazar Muhammad, Yar Muhammad, Moazim Ali, Sakhawat Ali, Azmat Ali and Halima Bibi. Following which they have all been released by the Lahore High Court on separate dates.
On 2 June 2012, during the high court proceedings, the Superintendent of Police, Sargodha district (SP), Sarfaraz Khan Wirk, SHO Nawab Dogar and I.O. Mazhar, had offered the family members of the missing girl to accept total amount of Pak Rupees 950,000 (Rupees 350,000 for the stolen gold ornaments and 600,000 for the missing daughter) and offered to come into a settlement with the accused. The police have at this instance promise that they will find the missing girl. Police have also warned the parents that that if they (parents) do not accept these terms, that the said amounts will be used as legal fees, and for payments to other officers of the court. As per information received by the parents, to this date no action had been taken neither by the court nor the police.
On 17 July 2012, the Bhera police had presented a Tariq with one 32 years old woman and also one Nikah Kha (the person who conducts marriage and provides official marriage certificate) before Justice Syed Kazim Raza Shamsi of the Lahore High Court producing a marriage certificate and claiming that the (missing) girl is now married to Tariq and that they are both happy. The parents have objected before the court that the girl Tariq was referring to is in fact not their daughter and the parents have submitted the birth certificate of the girl which showed her correct age. According to information, the judge had then ruled out that in the presence of a Quazi, marriage certificate that there is no doubt about the marriage. After the judgment of Lahore high court, the three accused persons who have been jailed for selling and purchasing the girl were released on bail by the high court.
The Star Welfare Organisation, Sargodha, a human rights organisation, had issued an urgent appeal narrating this story of kidnap, trafficking and abduction of a minor and how the police have been ineffective in finding the missing minor. The Human Rights Cell of Supreme Court has directed the Session court Sargodha to conduct the inquiry and instruct police to recover the girl. Mr. Abdul Sattar, judge of Session Court ordered Dr. Rizwan, the District Police Officer (DPO), to recover the girl. DPO made a committee for her recovery; the committee was consisted of SP Sarfaraz Khan Wirk, two deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) Ghulam Shabbir and Afzal Cheema to speed up the efforts for her recovery. The committee was making investigation till the end of year 2013 and has to-date not made any effort for her recovery. After every 10 to 15 days the committee was submitting report of its efforts and was taking dates from the Session court.
To show the efficiency of the committee, Tariq was again arrested by the police on 27 March 2013 who had submitted a fake marriage certificate to the the High Court. He was released on bail after being detained for 10 to 12 days.
On 28 January 2014, Mr. Villayat Hussian, the maternal uncle of the girl, was picked up by Sub Inspector Zafar, Sub Inspetor Mushtaq, Assistant Sub Inspector Khalid and Constable Mazhar along with three more policemen from Thana Bhalwal police station and dragged into a police van. He was blind folded and taken to a private torture cell of the police. He had been ept blindfolded and had been severely tortured continuously for three days. The police officers had taken his thumb impressions on many papers about withdrawing the cases against the accused persons for the abduction of the girl. He was released after his sister, the mother of the girl, filed a case of habeas corpus in the session court. The police has told him that he should not been seen next time following the case otherwise and threatened to kill him if he did so.
The Bhalwal police also contacted Mr. Shafiq Dogar, director of Star Welfare Organisation, Sargodha, and had told him that he is creating problems for the police and therefore should avoid sending urgent appeals to the Supreme Court.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The main perpetrator Nazar Muhammad is running a business of smuggling people to Arab countries. He does not have an office but claims that his office is at Rawalpindi, Punjab, which is 600 kilometer from Sargodha district where he lives. He charges considerable sums of money for the employment visa to the Arab countries. Many complaints have been filed in different cities against him for providing fake visas. It is alleged that he also has links with drug cartels involved in trafficking poor people, Middle Eastern countries. It is well known that he commands both the patronage of the police as well as the judiciary and thereby avoids arrest for his criminal activities in the region.
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write the letters to the authorities calling them to immediately take all efforts to find the 16 year old girl Miss Tahira Batool, who has been missing for three years and who was at the age of 12 abducted by a group of traffickers. Please urge them to take severe action against the group and recover many other such girls and young women who have also been abducted by this group. Police officers involved in the case must be arrested for providing such traffickers safe haven to conduct kidnappings and abductions of young girls as well as boys such as Tahira.
The AHRC writes separate letters to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Violence Against Women calling for his intervention into this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ………………..,
PAKISTAN: A 12 year girl, kidnapped, trafficked, and still missing – police despite evidences have to-date failed to find the girl
Name of victims:
1.Miss Tahira Batool 16 (she was 12 year and eight month old when she was abducted) daughter of Muhammad Aslam
2. Villayat Hussain
Both are resident of Jhugian Siddiq, Jhumat, Tehseel Bhalwal, district Sargodha, Punjab province
Names of alleged perpetrators:
1. Mr. Nazar Muhammad son of Mahela
2. Mr. Muazzam Ali
3. Mr. Azmat Ali
4. Mr. Sakhawat Ali
5. Mr. Yar Muhammad
6. Mrs. Haleema Bibi
All are residents of Jhugian Siddiq, Jhumat, Tehseel Bhalwal, district Sargodha, Punjab province
7. Mr. Mohammad Tariq, son of Mohammad Sadiq Khokhar, resident of Baghbanpura, Lahore, Punjab
8. Sub Inspector Zafar
9. Sub Inspector Mushtaq
10. Assistan Sub Inspector Khalid
11. Constable Mazhar
12. Mr. Nawab Dogar, Station House Officer (SHO)
13. Assistant Sub Inspector Mazhar, Investigation Officer
All are attached to Thana Bhalwal police station under Sargoda district
14. Sarfaraz Khan Wirk, Superintendent of Police (SP), Sargodha district
15. Dr. Rizwan, District Police Officer (DPO) Sargodha, Punjab
Date of incident: 31 March 2014
Place of incident: Jhugian Siddiq, Jhumat, Tehseel Bhalwal, district Sargodha, Punjab province
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding the abduction and selling of a 12 year and eight months old girl in 2011 by a gang of traffickers with the nexus of high ranking police officers.
I am shocked to know that the accused persons have confessed before the police and higher judiciary that they have sold the girl after abduction but the perpetrators are enjoying impunity as the Sargodha police is providing all facilities to avoid prosecution.
According to information received six accused persons named in the First Instance Report filed with regard to the abduction and trafficking of the girl who was 12 years at the time, have made confessions to the police that they have in fact sold the girl to not one but several persons but the police have not to-date arrested any persons on charges of abducting, selling or trafficking of a minor. The Police have subsequently produced a marriage certificate to the High Court which had indicated the girl’s age as 32. The Lahore High Court at the hearing had accepted the certificate of marriage, stating that the document submitted by the police is authentic. Further, at the hearing, the person who had in fact confessed before the Lahore High Court, for being guilty of purchasing the girl, has been released by the police.
I also understand that the 16 year old girl is still missing; her parents do not know whether she is still alive nor dead, nor her whereabouts and the police have failed to find her. Instead , according to information received the police have arrested the maternal uncle of the girl, he had been detained in a private torture cell operated by the police where he had been severely tortured and demanded to withdraw the complaint against the perpetrators.
I note with grave concern the complete failure and collapse of the criminal justice administration system in Pakistan, especially the law enforcement mechanisms that have been made redundant as shown in the abduction of the 16 year old minor. It shows the extent to which the legal systems as well as the policing system has become accessible and private commodity, which can be purchased by anyone, with political or police patronage in Pakistan.
I have receved information that – Miss Tahira Batool the daughter of Muhammad Aslam, a resident of Jhugian Siddique, Jhamat, Sargodha district, was alleged to have been abducted on 31 March 2011, by Nazar Muhammad the son of Mahela. At the time of abduction Tahira was only 12 years. According to her mother, the incident had taken place when she was returning home from a visit to a relative to pick up some gold jewelry. According to the mother, the accused Nazar Nuhammad had kidnapped the young girl and had imprisoned her for four days in a house belonging to Ms. Komal, at the village of Shah Hussain, Bhera Sharif, which is situated around 10 kilometers from their home. Komal is alledgedly involved with smuggling of girls and young women for sex, prostitution and slavery. According to statements made in the Lahore High Court hearing, after holding her hostage for four days the other accused persons in the case; Muazzam Ali, Azmat Ali, Sakhawat Ali, Yar Muhammad and Mrs Haleema Bibi had taken Tahira, to Lahore which is 400 kilometer from her home, where she had been sold for a sum of Rupees 80,000 and had taken Rs. 10,000 as an advance payment. Following the hearing the above named accused have been arrested several times by the police and later released without taking any further action against them and having been found by both the police and the Court as innocent.
I also learnt that at the time the mother of the girl and her maternal uncle approached the Thana Bhera police station of the Sargodha district, the Station House Officer (SHO) and other officials have flatly refused to file a case on the pretext that she might have left the house and will eventually return. As per reports, subsequently the accused, Nazar, has confessed to the police that he will submit an oath and a written declaration and affidavit to state that girl Tahira, was not in his custody. However he failed to submit such an undertaking, which led to the police filing the first information report (FIR) 167/11 under section 365/B of Criminal Procedure Code (Cr. P C) on 11 May 2011 which was done after more than one month since the incident took place. The police thereafter commenced investigations into the incident only in the month of June and had obtained statements from three of the accused persons; Yar Mumahammad, Halima Bibi, and Ms. Komal, all of whom have told the police that they have sold the girl Tahira, to one Mr. Tariq in Lahore. Following another month of inaction, in July 2011 have arrested Tariq in Lahore and had detained him in police custody without producing him before any court of law for two months and had released him thereafter.
On 2 June 2012, during the high court proceedings, the Superintendent of Police, Sargodha district (SP), Sarfaraz Khan Wirk, SHO Nawab Dogar and I.O. Mazhar, had offered the family members of the missing girl to accept total amount of Pak Rupees 950,000 (Rupees 350,000 for the stolen gold ornaments and 600,000 for the missing daughter) and offered to come into a settlement with the accused. The police have at this instance promise that they will find the missing girl. Police have also warned the parents that that if they (parents) do not accept these terms, that the said amounts will be used as legal fees, and for payments to other officers of the court. As per information received by the parents, to this date no action had been taken neither by the court nor the police.
On 17 July 2012, the Bhera police had presented a Tariq with another 32 year old woman Nikah Kha (the person who conducts marriage and provides official marriage certificate) before Justice Syed Kazim Raza Shamsi of the Lahore High Court producing a marriage certificate and claiming that the (missing) girl is now married to Tariq and that they are both happy. The parents have objected before the court that the girl Tariq was referring to is in fact not their daughter and the parents have submitted the birth certificate of the girl which showed her correct age. According to information, the judge had then ruled out that in the presence of a Quazi, marriage certificate that there is no doubt about the marriage. After the judgment of Lahore high court, the three accused persons who have been jailed for selling and purchasing the girl were released on bail by the high court.
The Star Welfare Organisation, Sargodha, a human rights organisation, had issued an urgent appeal narrating this story of kidnap, trafficking and abduction of a minor and how the police have been ineffective in finding the missing minor. The Human Rights Cell of Supreme Court has directed the Session court Sargodha to conduct the inquiry and instruct police to recover the girl. Mr. Abdul Sattar, judge of Session Court ordered Dr. Rizwan, the District Police Officer (DPO), to recover the girl. DPO made a committee for her recovery; the committee was consisted of SP Sarfaraz Khan Wirk, two deputy Superintendents of Police (DSP) Ghulam Shabbir and Afzal Cheema to speed up the efforts for her recovery. The committees had made investigations till the end of year 2013 and have to-date not made any effort for her recovery. After every 10 to 15 days the committee has been submitting reports of its efforts and obtaining dates from the Session Court.
To show the efficiency of the committee, Tariq has been arrested again, by the police on 27 March 2013 who had submitted a fake marriage certificate to the the High Court. He was released on bail after being detained for 10 to 12 days.
On 28 January, 2014, Mr. Villayat Hussian, the maternal uncle of the girl, was picked up by Sub Inspector Zafar, Sub Inspetor Mushtaq, Assistant Sub Inspector Khalid and Constable Mazhar along with three more policemen from Thana Bhalwal police station and dragged into a police van. He was blind folded and taken to a private torture cell of the police. He had been kept blindfolded and had been severely tortured continuously for three days. The police officers had taken his thumb impressions on many papers about withdrawing the cases against the accused persons for the abduction of the girl. He was released after his sister, the mother of the girl, filed a case of habeas corpus in the session court. The police has told him that he should not been seen next time following the case otherwise and threatened to kill him if he did so.
The Bhalwal police also contacted Mr. Shafiq Dogar, director of Star Welfare Organisation, Sargodha, and had told him that he is creating problems for the police and therefore should avoid sending urgent appeals to the Supreme Court.
I call upon your good offices to immediately take all efforts to find the 16 year old girl Miss Tahira Batool, who has been missing for three years and who was at the age of 12 abducted by a group of traffickers. I also urge you to take severe action against the group and recover many other such girls and young women who may have also been abducted by them. The police officers involved in the case must be arrested for providing such traffickers safe haven to conduct kidnappings and abductions of young girls as well as boys such as Tahira and they must be brought to justice for failure to conduct their official duty in finding the girl and in conducting an impartial investigation into the abduction.
Yours sincerely,
…………………………………….
PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Mamnoon Hussain
President of Pakistan
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk
2. Mr. Mian Nawaz Sharif
Prime Minister
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 1596
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk or pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk
3. Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan
Federal Minister for Interior
R Block, Pak Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9202624
Email: interior.complaintcell@gmail.com or ministry.interior@gmail.com
5. Mr. Chaudhry Mohammad Sarwar
Governor of Punjab
Governor House
Mall Road
Lahore, Punjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99203044
Email: governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk
6. Mr. Shahbaz Sharif
Chief Minister
Government of Punjab Province
Chief Minister’s Secretariat
5-Club Road, GOR-I, Lahore, Punjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99205065
Email: cmcomplaintcell@cmpunjab.gov.pk
7. Mr. Pervez Rashid
Federal Minister
Ministry of Law, Justice and Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue, G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9204108
Email: sarfraz_yousuf@yahoo.com
8. Mr. Rana Mashood
Minister of Law
Government of Punjab
Punjab Secretariat
Ravi Road
Lahore, Punjab
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 42 99212004
E-mail: law@punjab.gov.pk
9. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 9213452
Email: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
