PAKISTAN: Twelve persons disappeared following their arrest by the police 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is alarmed by the continuing reports of forced disappearances of persons in Pakistan with the latest incident involving 12 people having been disappeared in recent weeks. The persistent practice of such acts undermines the deepest values of commitment to respect human rights and fundamental freedoms. Intervention must be afforded to investigate and bring to an end this grave crime against humanity.

The twelve people, belonging to the Shia’te sect of Islam, were disappeared following their arrest in Karachi. The government, however, is denying having ever arrested these people. The government, it is feared, will try and implicate the Shia community in the suicide bombing that took place on 11 April 2006 at Nishter Park where 49 people were killed during a large religious gathering of Sunni sect followers. In doing this, the government has, since April 24, arrested more than 12 people from the Shia community, who have now subsequently gone missing. Many others have had to go into hiding to avoid the same fate. Critics of the government claim that it has made these arrests as it was unable to capture and arrest the real culprits of the bombing, yet wanted to be seen as acting in this case by the Sunni sect. Fears are that those arrested and currently disappeared will be pressured through means of torture to confess to their involvement in the bombing.

A constitutional petition was filed in the Sindh High Court on May 4 for the production of Mr. Liaquat Hussain Nayer (alias Nayer Zaidi), the president of Pasban-e-Aaza –an alliance of social oganisations from the Shia community– who was arrested in the early morning of April 24 at his house by the Mehmood Abad Police. The Sindh government failed to produce him before court and denied in court that he had ever been taken into custody or arrested. Mr. Justice (Rtd.) Rasheed Rizvi is pleading the habeas corpus petition on behalf of Nayer Zaidi. In the petition it was stated that at 3am on April 24 some persons in plain clothes arrived at Mr. Nayer’s house in two vehicles with tinted windows and no registration number plates. Shortly after several dozen armed men in civil dress also arrived at the house and took Mr. Nayer into custody. This incident was witnessed by many residents in the neighbourhood. It was learned that after being taken into custody at the Mehmood Abad police station, on April 26 Mr. Nayer was then transferred to the Boat Basin police lock-up. An officer from the Boat Basin police station contacted Mr. Nayer’s family and asked that they bring him clothes and medicines, as he suffers from heart disease. Mr. Nayer has not been seen since.

The petitioner’s brother, Syed Shahid Husain Zaidi filed a constitutional petition in the Sindh High Court for the production of his brother. However, the Sindh government said in court that Mr. Nayer had not been arrested, nor was he in their custody. In response the High Court directed the federal government to respond to the whereabouts of Mr. Nayer. This is to be done on June 9.

Mr. Justice Rasheed Rizvi is also filing habeas corpus cases for other persons from Shia organisations who have gone missing in recent weeks following police arrest. One such case is that of Mr. Nisar Haider, whose mother filed a case stating that he had been arrested on May 18 at 7am from his house. Since then he has not been seen and the police have not produced him in any court. Mr. Nisar is the spokesperson of Jafria Alliance, a political organisation of the Shia community.

The petition for Mr. Nisar came to court on May 26. The Government of Sindh and the Inspector General of Police submitted to the court that Mr. Nisar is not in police custody and has not been arrested. The double bench of the Sindh High Court directed the federal government, through the Attorney General, to submit their statement about the arrest of Mr. Nisar on June 5. The advocate, Mr. Sibtain Mehmood told the court that Mr. Nisar had been picked up by the Gulbahar police and handed over to an intelligence agency of the army.

A constitutional petition was also filed on behalf of Mr. Jamil Hussain with the High Court issuing a notice to the government regarding this.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

The AHRC has been closely monitoring the situation in Pakistan and these latest disappearances are by no means isolated cases (See further UA-169-2006; UA-132-2006; UG-003-2006; UA-49-2004 and FA-05-2003). In a statement issued by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan on 23 May 2006, it was stated that intelligence agencies have been playing a part in the kidnapping of nationalist leaders and students from the Sindh and Blochistan provinces with more than 57 people still reported missing.

SUGGESTED ACTION:

Please send your appeal letters to the central and local government authorities of Pakistan and urge them to locate the whereabouts of the missing persons and push for their release immediately.

 

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