PAKISTAN: Member of Christian minority community killed 

Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has learned that Irfan Khokhar, the information coordinator of Peace Worldwide, a Christian organisation based in Islamabad, Pakistan, was murdered by three men on the night of Feb. 7, 2004. Since his death, the family of the victim have been intimidated by Hafiz Atta ur Rehman, who is believed to be the primary suspect responsible for the killing. Moreover, staff members of Peace Worldwide have received threats both before and after Khokhar’s murder. Although the police have arrested one suspect, Hafiz Atta and the other suspect are still at large.

This death appears to be part of a continuing pattern of intimidation and violence directed at minority religious communities in the country. AHRC thus asks its network to respond to this case in order to alleviate the violent discrimination being experienced by religious communities in Pakistan and to ensure that justice is rendered in this case.

Urgent Appeals Desk
Asian human Rights Commission (AHRC)
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DETAILED INFORMATION

Name of the Victim: Irfan Khokhar, 33

Alleged Perpetrators: Hafiz Atta ur Rehman, Meherban Khan and Safdar Ali

Witnesses: Boota Masih Khokhar, 59, Irfan Khokhar’s father
Date of Incident: Abduction at about 7:00 p.m. on Feb. 7, 2004; death at about 3:00 a.m. on Feb. 8
Case Reported on: Feb. 8, 2004, at 2:30 p.m. at the Taxila police station district office in Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Place of Incident: Jamila Abad near the Taxila police station

CASE DETAILS

Irfan Khokhar, 33, was the information coordinator for three years for Peace Worldwide, a Christian organisation in Islamabad, Pakistan. He was with his parents on the night of Feb. 7, 2004, when three men arrived at their home at about 7:00 p.m. and asked Irfan’s 59-year-old father, Boota Masih Khokhar, if they could speak with Irfan for several minutes. When Irfan did not return for several hours, Irfan’s father called Hector Aleem, the chairman of Peace Worldwide, who arrived at the home of Irfan’s father at about midnight. Throughout the night, Aleem and three other staff members of the organisation looked for Irfan but could not find him.

At 8:00 a.m. on Feb. 8, the police came to the home of Irfan’s father and said that his son’s dead body had been found in the flat of Hafiz Atta ur Rehman in Jamila Abad near the Taxila police station district office in Rawalpindi. Hafiz Atta’s neighbours said that at about 3:00 a.m. they heard gunshots, but they were afraid to leave their homes and investigate, they said.

Although Irfan’s father, Boota Masih Khokhar, attempted to register the case with the police at the Taxila police station at 2:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 in the presence of Aleem and the other three Peace Worldwide staff members, the police registered the case themselves. The police subsequently arrested Meherban Khan, but the other two suspects — Hafiz Atta and Safdar Ali — are still at large.

Meanwhile, Irfan’s family and Aleem have received threats from Hafiz Atta. These threats include telephone calls to Irfan’s family in which Hafiz Atta has said that he will kidnap Irfan’s sister Samina unless the case is withdrawn against him. Samina was also followed by a man in Islamabad who approached her and showed her a gun, warning her that she would be killed like Irfan if the case is not dropped.

Aleem also reports threatening telephone calls to his home since the attack on Irfan. He also says that there were attempts on his life on March 3, 2003, in his home and on Jan. 8, 2001, in his office.

SUGGESTED ACTION

Please send a letter, fax or e-mail to the addresses below and express your concern about this case. Please ask for a thorough police investigation and protection for the family of Irfan Khokhar and the staff members of Peace Worldwide. In addition, the country’s political leaders must take steps to guarantee the safety of Pakistan’s religious minorities.

1. General Pervez Musharraf
President
Pervez Musharraf, Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 51 922 4768 / 920 1893 or 1835

2. Mr. Faisal Saleh Hyat
Interior Minister of Pakistan
Fax: +92 51 920 2624

3. Hon. Mr. Khalid Maqbool
Governor
State Government of Punjab
Telephone: +92 42 920 0016
Fax: +92 42 920 0052
E-mail: governor.sectt@punjab.gov.pk

4. Mr. Sahadat Ullah Khan
Inspector General of Punjab Police
Telephone: +92 42 921 0062
Fax: +92 42 921 0028, 921 0064