Dear friends,
The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information that the Law Minister of the Gilgit and Baltistan provincial government and the provincial speaker produced a fake First Information Report (FIR) against the responsible police officials who killed a father and son and severely injuring five persons during a protest.
The police opened fire on protesters when they were protesting against the government for not doing justice in the disbursement of compensation due. After the killing of the young son the father pleaded with the police not to use live ammunition against the protestor however, the police shot him dead without warning.
In protest of the killings hundreds of persons that protested were brutalized by the law enforcement agencies including the police, Rangers and Northern Squad, a Para-military force. Force that used live ammunition and tear gas to disperse them. After the incident, a crackdown started in the neighborhood of Aliabad where 50 people were arrested under the Anti-Terrorist Act. Six activists from the Pakistan Labour Party were also arrested.
CASE NARRATIVE:
On 11 August around 200 persons were protesting during the visit of the Chief Minister of the province to Aliabad against the delay in the payment of compensation to 25 affected families of landslides near Attabad lake. In an effort to keep the protestors away from the place where the chief minister was staying the police baton charged and used tear gas. They also opened fire with live ammunition at the protestors. As a result one young man, Afzal Baig (22), was shot and injured. He later died in the hospital. His father, Sher Ullah Baig (50), tried to stop the police from further shooting but in complete arrogance the opened fire and killed him on the spot.
The next day when the news of the deaths reached Aliabad and other areas of Hunza the people came out into the streets and enraged protestors attacked the Aliabad police station and set it on fire. They also torched the office of the Deputy Commissioner. The law enforcement agencies again used baton charges and opened fire, they also arrested many of the protestors.
To calm the protestors the government officials lied to the people fraudulently producing a false FIR against the police officials. The Speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) assembly, Mr. Wazeer Baig, Law Minster Mr. Wazeer Shakeel and another member of the assembly apologized to the protestors and openly admitted the brutality and negligence of the police. They also showed the photo copy of a false FIR registered against the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Baber, and other police officials and promised that they were all arrested. The GB Government used this tactic only to cheat the people. In fact after three days they started a crackdown against the political activists which is still continues.
After a week of the incident, on August 19, a joint operation was conducted by the Gilgit-Baltistan police, Rangers and Northern Squad and houses in Aliabad were searched. More than 20 persons were arrested; among them were six activists of the Pakistan Labour Party. The arrests are continuing and more than 50 persons have been arrested since then. The arrested persons were charged with many cases including article 6 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and also some sections of Islamic law like Harba, were framed. Police is also searching for one activist, Mr. Baba Jan of the Labour Party, and for that reasons many people are detained illegally in police custody.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:
The incident started when the provincial government denied paying compensation to the 25 affected families out of 457 families whose names were mentioned in the official list. It is reported that the provincial government allegedly paid the compensation owed to the 25 families to its political workers. Each family was to get Rs. 400, 000 as compensation for the destruction of their houses in the flood after the landslide into the artificial lake of Attabad.
A massive landslide occurred on July 4, 2010 near the Attabad village in Hunza Valley, causing a heavy loss of life and property. The landslide blocked the River Hunza, which resulted in the formation of a lake, besides inundating about a two-kilometre long stretch of road.
The Attabad Lake and the damaged road network of KKH have proven to be a major obstacle for trade between Pakistan and China. The completion of the two projects is a key to utilising the existing trade and energy potential of Gilgit-Baltistan. (http://tribune.com.pk)
SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write to the authorities condemning the killing of the father and son by the police while firing on protestors demanding the compensation for the affected families of the Attabad lake landslide of 2010. Please urge the authorities to conduct the inquiry in to the incident and crackdown against the activists, implicating them in false cases of terrorism. Please also urge them to pay compensation to the family of the father and son and prosecute the police officials of the Gilgit-Baltistan. Also prosecute the speaker of the assembly of GB and provincial law minister for cheating the people by producing a fake FIR against the police officials.
The AHRC is writing a separate letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Question of right to live calling for his intervention into this matter.
To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER
SAMPLE LETTER
Dear ___________,
PAKISTAN: The law minister of Gilgit-Baltistan produces fake FIR to still the protests against the killing of a father and son by police
Name of victims: Mr. Sher Ullah Baig, 50, shot dead by police firing, Resident of Aliabad, Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan province, Mr. Afzal Baig, 22, shot dead by police firing, Resident of Aliabad, Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan province, Mr. Baba Jan, leader of the Pakistan Labour Party, Resident of Aliabad, Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan province
Names of alleged perpetrators: Mr. Baber, deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Aliabad, Hunza Police, Gilgit-Baltistan, Mr. Wazeer Baig, Speaker Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) assembly, Mr. Wazeer Shakeel, Law Minster, government of Gilgit-Baltistan
Date of incident: August 11, 2011
Place of incident: Aliabad, Hunza, Gilgit-Baltistan
I am writing to voice my deep concern regarding killing of a father and son by the Gilgit-Baltistan government and the arrest of more than 50 persons on charges of terrorism for protesting for the delay in payment of compensation to the 25 affected families of the Attabad lake landslide incident of July 2010.
I am shocked to know that speaker and provincial minister on law have cheated the people by showing a fake FIR against police officials who were responsible for the killings. In no way can it be acceptable that government functionaries gave falsified information to their own people to appease the law enforcement agencies for their inhuman crimes and taking the lives of people.
According to my information, on August 11, around 200 persons were protesting during the visit of the Chief Minister of the province to Aliabad against the delay in the payment of compensation to 25 affected families of landslides near Attabad lake. In an effort to keep the protestors away from the place where the chief minister was staying the police baton charged and used tear gas. They also opened fire with live ammunition at the protestors. As a result one young man, Afzal Baig (22), was shot and injured. He later died in the hospital. His father, Sher Ullah Baig (50), tried to stop the police from further shooting but in complete arrogance the opened fire and killed him on the spot.
The next day when the news of the deaths reached Aliabad and other areas of Hunza the people came out into the streets and enraged protestors attacked the Aliabad police station and set it on fire. They also torched the office of the Deputy Commissioner. The law enforcement agencies again used baton charges and opened fire, they also arrested many of the protestors.
I have learned that to calm the protestors the government officials lied to the people fraudulently producing a false FIR against the police officials. The Speaker of the Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) assembly, Mr. Wazeer Baig, Law Minster Mr. Wazeer Shakeel and another member of the assembly apologized to the protestors and openly admitted the brutality and negligence of the police. They also showed the photo copy of a false FIR registered against the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Baber, and other police officials and promised that they were all arrested. The GB Government used this tactic only to cheat the people. In fact after three days they started a crackdown against the political activists which is still continues.
I am informed that after a week of the incident, on August 19, a joint operation was conducted by the Gilgit-Baltistan police, Rangers and Northern Squad and houses in Aliabad were searched. More than 20 persons were arrested; among them were six activists of the Pakistan Labour Party. The arrests are continuing and more than 50 persons have been arrested since then. The arrested persons were charged with many cases including article 6 and 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act and also some sections of Islamic law like Harba, were framed. Police is also searching for one activist, Mr. Baba Jan of the Labour Party, and for that reasons many people are detained illegally in police custody.
It is very shocking that instead of taking legal action against the officials of the law enforcement agencies the provincial government’s responsible functionaries are trying to cheat the people by producing fake FIR against police officials who killed the father and son.
I urge you to take legal action against the speaker and law minister of Gilgit-Baltistan province who cheated the people by producing fake FIR against the police officers who killed the father and son during the protest. Please also prosecute the police officials including DSP who gave the order to use live ammunition against the protestors. The authorities must conduct an enquiry in to the incident. The family members of the father and son be paid compensation.
Yours sincerely,
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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:
1. Mr. Asif Ali Zardari
President of Pakistan
President’s Secretariat
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Tel: +92 51 9204801/9214171
Fax: +92 51 9207458
Email: publicmail@president.gov.pk
2. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9221596
E-mail: pspm@pmsectt.gov.pk or nsethi@pmsectt.gov.pk
3. Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com
4. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk
5. Mr. Syed Mehdi Shah
Chief Minister of Gilgit Baltistan
Prime Minister secretariat, Gilgit
Telephone +92-5811-920573
Fax: +92 (05811) 50-201
Email: info@gilgitbaltistan.gov.pk
Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)
