PAKISTAN: Brutal attack and threats of rape against female opposition council members of the Karachi city government by the ruling party members

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely concerned by the brutal attack and threats of rape against female opposition council members of the Karachi city government by the council members of the Muttehda Qoumi Movement (MQM), a member of the ruling alliance in President General Musharraf’s government and the ruling party of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), on 26 April 2007. We were informed that the opposition female council members were severely beaten and threatened with rape during the attack, which resulted in injuries to four female and six male opposition council members. We are concerned that the Sindh police refused to register case against the ruling party council members and instead registered cases of hooliganism against the opposition council members. The AHRC believes that President General Musharraf’s Pakistan government attempts to use hooliganism by its allied parties to divert the attention of people from the judicial crisis which was started after the chief justice of the supreme court was pressured to resign on 9 March 2007.

DETAINED INFORMATION:

According to the information we have received, Muttehda Qoumi Movement (MQM), a member of the ruling alliance in President General Musharraf’s government, has the control of the Council of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK), and through their majority in the city district council they generally use power to keep members of the opposition parties in threats. The city district council is consisted of 240 members; 75 members are from the opposition parties. The members of the city district council are elected indirectly through the union councils. The Nazim (chief) of the union council automatically becomes members to the CDGK and some seats are filled on reserve seats elected by town council members.

On 26 April 2007, there was oath ceremony of two new elected members of the city district council of Karachi; one from MQM and other from opposition party. As the session was started, the presiding officer, Mrs. Nasreen Jalil, who is also Naib Nazim (deputy mayor), allegedly refused to take oath from Mr. Mohammad Yaqoob, a newly elected member of opposition party, while taking oath from the member from the MQM. This sparked a heated debate between the members of the MQM and those of the opposition parities in the district city council. The presiding officer Mrs. Nasreen Jalil, in an allegedly pre-planned manner, abused several opposition members particularly passing some abusive remarks against the female members of the opposition parties and then suddenly abrogated the session.

Based on the information contained in the complaint lodged to the concerned police station by opposition party members, Mrs. Nasreen Jalil (presiding officer) gave a signal to some members of the MQM. About 30 to 40 members of the MQM then suddenly attacked the members of the opposition and also allegedly assaulted the female members with belt, sticks, chairs, fists and legs in presence of the presiding officer. When the male members of the opposition intervened to stop the assault against the female members, they were also attacked with some hard metals. The complaint of the opposition party further states that the members of the MQM even called the female members of the opposition as prostitutions and that they threatened to rape the female members before their family members.

One female councilor Miss Yasmeen Butt from Jamshed town was severely beaten with a leather belt and Miss Rukhsana Faisal, the member from Landhi town, was beaten with a leather belt and with fists and one councilor of the MQM allegedly crushed her hand with his boot several times. Miss Razia Soomro, the member from Lyari town, was also kicked by the several members of MQM and received several injuries on her back, hands and legs.

Mr. Mohammad Yaqoob, who was not allowed to take the oath by the presiding officer, was beaten severely and his one hand was fractured. He got some internal injuries as some government members jumped on his body after pushing him down on the floor.

Mr. Saeed Ghani, the leader of the opposition and Mr. Rafiq Ahmed, a parliamentary leader of a political group called Al-Khidmad, were also severely assaulted along with other opposition members. They also allegedly received threats to be abducted and murdered by the MQM members.

The opposition members allege that one MQM member, Mr. Salman Mujahid Baloch, who is the Nazim (chief) of UC8 of Baldia town, used his leather belt to beat female councilors. The photograph showing his beating against some female councilors with a leather belt was later published in most of the local newspapers and some electronic media channels. Mr. Abdul Sami, Nazim of UC 1 of Liaquatabad Town, Nasir Ajmeri, Nazim UC 6 of Saddar town, Mr. Abdul Jalil, Nazim of UC 3 Shah Faisal Town, Mr. Rehan Rais, Nazim of UC8 Gulshan Iqbal Town and Mr. Asif Siddiqui and Mr. Mehmood, members on labour reserved seats were also allegedly involved in beating the female councilors with some hard objects.

Soon after beating the female opposition members of the Council of the CDGK, the council members from the MQM lodged a complaint relating to hooliganism against the opposition members of the council, including the female members, to the Karachi city court police station, where the complaint was treated as the First Information Report (FIR). But when the council members of the opposition went to the police station to lodge the complaint against the council members from the MQM, the Station House Officer (SHO) Mr. Zahid Hussain reportedly refused to accept their complaints. The opposition contacted the Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Mr. Malik Mazhar and asked him to accept their complaints about the incident but the DSP also refused to do so.

Meanwhile, the presiding officer Mrs. Nasreen Jalil refused to take any sanctionary action against the council members from the MQM, who were responsible for the brutal attack on the opposition members. She merely gave a very light sanction preventing one councilor Mr. Salman Mujahid Baloch from attending three sessions of the council only after facing several protests from the opposition parties, people and the media. No other santionary action has been taken against any other council members of the MQM for their crimes.

Please also see the article of a local newspaper DAWN regarding this case: http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/27/local2.htm

ADDITIONAL COMMENTS:

Division of political power between an executive, a legislature, and a judiciary is

one of the most important fundamental principles of multiparty democratic political system. However, this principle is not respected at all in Pakistan and this case is yet another example illustrating this problem. 
 
For example, in this case, Mutehda Qaumi Movement (MQM) has gained majority in the Council of the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) and never allowed any bill proposed by the opposition members. For one and a half years since the ruling MQM party got power at the CDGK, the MQM has obstructed the oppositions from effectively working in the city. Since February 2007, the MQM has stopped the funds to several union councils including five union councils of Jamshed town led by opposition groups. The ruling party has withdrawn secretaries of opposition union councils and stopped the accounts through an order from the City Nazim (mayor) of Karachi to the banks.

Another example of the complete failure of enforcing the division of political power is the threats on the Chief Justice, Iftikhar Chaudry in Pakistan. The AHRC has recently reported that he was requested to resign from his post, and how when he refused he was physically restrained form leaving the President’s Camp Office for several hours and finally as to how a reference was cooked up and filed in order to prevent him from sitting as the chief judicial officer of Pakistan. For details, please see also the AHRC’s statements on this matter.

AS-088-2007: PAKISTAN: Detention of Chief Justice shows utter disrespect for independence of judiciary
AS-090-2007: PAKISTAN: AHRC condemns the arrest, detention and physical violence used against lawyers supporting Chief Justice Iftehkar Chaudry
AS-091-2007: PAKISTAN: Failure to protect Chief Justice Chaudhry would be a blatant act of negligence on the part of the government
AS-086-2007: PAKISTAN: Attack on independence of judiciary is now extended to freedom of expression and information

SUGGESTED ACTION:  
Please write a letter to the following authorities demanding stern actions against the presiding officer of CDGK and government members who had beaten severely the women members of the house. Please also demand that a criminal case of torturing women members, beating and threatening to kill should be filed in police against government members..

To support this case, please click here: SEND APPEAL LETTER