Suffering in the vale
Sir,
As we observe Kashmir Solidarity Day in Pakistan, let us not forget the long-suffering Kashmiri women. They suffer on two counts: firstly, as instruments of war by the Indian occupation forces. They are raped, tortured, abducted, forced into sex slavery. There are enforced disappearances. They live as half-widows of enforced disappeared men; and secondly, despite being de facto heads of their households, Kashmiri women still suffer gender inequality and injustice, political exclusion, and suppression under enduring patriarchy within their own community.
“Azaadi” (Freedom) is a slogan which has attained a whole new meaning for Kashmiri women: “Humm bhee hongi Azaad” (we too will be free).
We stand in solidarity with this slogan and with our Kashmiri sisters.
Tahira Abdullah,
Islamabad.
Extra-judicial killings
Sir,
Extra-judicial killings carried out by the police on a daily basis in Pakistan is not only illegal, unlawful and inhuman but also highly condemnable. It negatively affects faith in our legal system and courts. It is not only violative of the law but also a brutal and inhuman act on the part of the police which shakes the legal framework of society and which in turn loses its trust in our judicial system.
Under the law, the police have to arrest criminals and investigate crimes but they cannot exceed their limits. They can use reasonable force to arrest a criminal but killing a person in a fake encounter, before arresting him, is illegal.
It is the collective responsibility of the police and the judicial magistrates of the area to exercise effective control over the local police so that they perform their duties within their powers. Magistrates are empowered by the law, to direct the superintendent of police to take suitable measures for the protection of people and detection of crime. They are also empowered to inspect police stations in their jurisdictions, however it is correct to suggest that a majority of magistrates prefer to continue to maintain harmonious relations with the senior police officials instead of urging them to impress upon their subordinates to do their duty effectively.
It is the duty of the Inspector-General of the Police of each province to check and control crime and to see that all the officers subordinate to him perform their duties in accordance with the law and that the gazetted officer personally supervise the investigations to ensure that they are faithfully carried out. They have to check the case diaries and make inspections of the police station and posts falling in their jurisdiction.
The Police Rules specifically state that every police officer shall keep his or her temper thoroughly under control, and shall act with courtesy on all occasions and shall not allow his or her composure to be disturbed by the behaviour of others.
While defending themselves or lawfully enforcing their authority, the police officers shall act with calmness and shall use as little violence as possible. Police should be used strictly for the purpose for which it was established and the law should be enforced in its real spirit. Section 29 of the Police Act says that a police officer who is guilty of any violation of any duty or wilful breach or neglect of any rule or regulation or lawful order made by a competent authority or offers any unwarrantable violence to any person in his or her custody, shall be liable to 3 months imprisonment, besides being proceeded against departmentally.
Under Article 9 of the Constitution of Pakistan, no person shall be deprived of their life or liberty save in accordance with the law. Article 10 of the Constitution provides safeguards against arrest and detention. It provides that no person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest and every person who is arrested and detained in custody shall be produced before a magistrate within 24 hours of such arrest excluding the time necessary for journey from the place of arrest to the court of the nearest magistrate. He or she shall not be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate.
If any police official is involved in an extra-judicial killing, he or she must be punished under the strict clauses of Police Rules 1934, Police Order 2002, and Pakistan Penal Code 1860.
Extra-judicial killings are a disgrace to the law and cannot be condoned. If the police itself violates the law, they have no right to be described as custodians of the law. It is alleged that whenever any complaint is made to the higher police authorities about excessive use of force by it, they try to shield and protect their subordinates with the result that people lose confidence in departmental enquiries. Hardly any serious inquiry appears to have been conducted by the police to find the truth behind an extra-judicial killing.
The recent killing of Naqeebullah Mehsud, a 27-year-old hailing from South Waziristan, who was shot dead in a fake encounter with a police team headed by SSP Rao Anwar needs to be investigated in detail. The investigation of this encounter should be explored so that the status of Naqeeb and the police could be clarified. It is important that if the relevant police officials are found guilty, they must be punished and an FIR should be lodged against them under the Anti-Terrorism Act and their illegal, unlawful and inhumane acts must not be ignored and brushed aside.
It is obligatory on the police to respect the law and rights guaranteed to citizens under the Constitution of Pakistan and they must not take the law into their own hands and take away the precious life of a citizen of the country without due process of law.
Advocate Arsalan Raja,
Karachi.
Trump’s tantrum
Sir,
This is in reference to President Trump’s latest tantrum about $33 billion in aid given to Pakistan over the past 15 years and his accusations of not fulfilling our obligations. Whilst this is typical of the American administration, especially since Trump’s election, it is also a sad reflection of the corrupt and visionless mediocrity that has ruled this country over the past five decades and their myopic vision while framing foreign policy and security strategy, engulfing this country in a proxy war. It would be advisable to hold a thorough audit of the alleged $33 billion which includes $13 billion in the Coalition Support Fund.
This is what happens when a country is run by men held hostage to their conflicts of interest, who lack moral high ground because of skeletons in their own closets. They are unable to rein in a few wayward paid civil and uniformed public office holders unsuitable for important positions. We must review our own bitter realities, reform and learn some lessons. It is time to reframe our policies contouring them to the Quaid’s vision of a modern democratic welfare state and not a theocratic state which Zia and others wanted this country to be.
No sovereign country would allow men with foreign passports who keep all their assets abroad to hold any paid, or elected public office, nor any ambassadorial assignments as we have done. The paid security establishment of this country must confine itself to its constitutional role which was elaborated on by none other than Quaid himself. Pakistan needs an independent judiciary which can stand up and hold accountable any citizen, irrespective of his or her status, or affiliation with any institution for criminal or financial crimes. Recruitment to the civil service should only be on merit with no space for lateral entries.
Those who hold paid or elected public offices must adopt austerity and not be seen to live like princes on the taxpayer’s dime, nor should they be allowed to abuse state resources under the garb of welfare. Quaid’s definition of welfare was based on the Medina Welfare State Concept, with emphasis on those living below the poverty line, giving subsidized education and health and not the rampant abuse of multiple allotment of plots for doing jobs they were paid to do. The State must come down on all those fanning sectarian and ethnic divides and nobody should be allowed to form private militias.
Malik Tariq Ali,
Lahore.