PAKISTAN: Arrest of activist’s wife over fabricated charges 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has received information from a reliable source regarding alleged fabricated charges laid against a human rights activists, who is a member of the Human Rights Commission fact-finding mission investigating a possible women’s rights violations of which the Chief Minister may have played a role that took place in Tharparkar district, Sindhi. The charged has led to the arrest of the activist’s wife Akhtar Sultana on 4 June 2005 in Hyderabad.

Activist Jam Saqi together with his wife Sultana and son-in-law have been charged with kidnapping a six-year-old boy, who is the nephew of Sultana. However, this charge is highly likely to be in retaliation for Saqi’s role in the fact-finding mission and its criticism of the government and possible implication of the Chief Minister.

Saqi has since gone into hiding and has yet to face his charge in the court. Following Sultana’s appearance in court after her arrest she was released from detention on a bail. The couple has also been labeled as ‘terrorist’ by some quarters in an effort to discredit them. They are facing charges under the Anti-Terrorism Act and had to face trial under the government’s Anti-terrorist Court.

We urged your intervention by asking the government of Pakistan to take immediate action in this case. An impartial inquiry must be conducted into the legitimacy of these charges and into the Chief Minister may have played in having these filed. Allegations against the Chief Minister regarding his possible involvement in violation of women’s rights must also be inquired into. If it is found that the charges laid against the three were fabricated, then they must be withdrawn immediately and legal action against those who fabricated them be taken.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION:

Name of arrested victims: Akhtar Sultana, wife of Jam Saqi and latter’s nephew Imtiaz
Date and place of arrest: 4 June 2005, in Hyderabad
Alleged perpetrators: (1) Inspector Chaudhry Shaukat from Karachi, (2) elements of both Eidgah and Qasimabad police stations (3) Shakeel Naich, a journalist in Karachi for Sindhi newspaper
Name of persons charged in court: Jam Saqi and his wife Akhtar Sultana, and their son-in-law Iqbal Mallah
Status of the case: Shakeel Naich, the father of six-year-old Rafay and a former brother-in-law of Akhtar Sultana, filed charges of kidnapping and ransom of his son before the Eidgah police station.

Background of the incident:

On 4 June 2005, Akhtar Sultana, the wife of activist Jam Saqi, was arrested by joint policemen from Karachi police, Qasimabad and Eidgah police stations following a raid led by Inspector Chaudhry Shaukat, a policeman from Karachi. The policemen from Eidgah police took Sultana towards the Karachi police after her arrest. The nephew of Saqi, Imtiaz, was also taken but was freed at Qasimabad police station.

Jam Saqi and his son-in-law Iqbal Mallah were included in the case filed by Shakeel Naich for allegedly kidnapping his six-year-old son Rafay. Naich also accused them of allegedly asking an amount of Rs500,000 as ransom, which the three persons charged deny. Saqi and Mallah, however, were reportedly not present when the raid took place.

Prior to the incident, Saqi, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, had participated in an investigation on the violation of women’s rights that took place in Tharparkar district, Sindhi of which the Chief Minister is believed to have played a role. It was reported that the Chief Minister has allegedly humiliated women in the area, which prompted an investigation by human rights groups.

It was believed that a personal conflict between Shakeel Naich and his former wife Afsar Sultana, who is the sister of Sultana, regarding who should take custody of the boy, may have been used to retaliate on Saqi following his role of investigating the alleged women’s rights violation in Tharparkar district, Sindhi. Following Naich’s divorce from his wife of the past seven years, the boy has been in his mother’s custody.

The June 4 raid on Saqi’s house was the second that took place within a week. On May 29, the police also raided Saqi’s house over allegations that he was keeping with him explosive substances. Saqi was presented before the anti-terrorism court. He was detained for seven days but was released on a personal bond due to insufficient evidence.

The arrest and detention of Akhtar Sultana has been challenged in court. Leaders of various political and nationalist parties, social welfare and human rights organizations, have condemned Sultana’s arrest. They demonstrated outside the Karachi Press club (KPC) to draw their attention to the actions of Naich, a member of the press club, after he filed the charges of kidnapping for ransom. A large number of women and children also took part.

Members of the Hyderabad High Court Bar Association and the District Bar Association also protested against the government for allowing the alleged false charges laid against Jam Saqi, his wife and lawyer Arbab Murad Ali in court. The group said the Sindh government is targeting Saqi and his family on political grounds.

The Sindh High Court granted bail to Akhtar Sultana and ordered for the release of Sultana. Sultana is facing charges under which she is being tried before the anti-terrorist court. Under Section 365-A of the penal code, kidnapping for ransom cases are covered under the Anti-Terrorist Act.

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