42 persons still missing: HRCP
ISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said that a total of 242 persons are still missing, 170 of them from Balochistan. Seventy of the missing persons are from Sindh, 42 from Punjab and 22 from NWFP. The families of several of the missing people allege that their relatives are being kept in illegal and secret detention by intelligence agencies. The UN General Assembly passed a resolution in 1992 in which it is clearly mentioned that a step to make any person disappear forcibly is a violation of the international charter of human dignity and human rights, the HRCP said. Meanwhile, a report by an HRCP special task force in southern Punjab said police were the top violators of human rights in the area in 2006, humiliating citizens and physically torturing rights activists, especially in Multan.
The report said police torture of political workers “continued as usual” in 2006. It said around 400 incidents of police victimisation had been reported and the courts recovered 17 people (14 men and three women) from illegal police detention. At least 573 policemen, including 17 deputy superintendents of police, 127 station house officers, 138 sub-inspectors and 291 constables, were accused of human rights violations, but only 35 cases were registered and only 10 of them were suspended from service. According to available statistics and reports, 42 false cases were registered with the police. Two cops were found involved in kidnappings, besides keeping 150 people in illegal detention. Thirty people were killed in police custody while irresponsible police firing killed six people. The report revealed that at least 30 jail inmates, including a woman, died due to the unavailability of proper medical treatment facilities. The report also said the custom of vani, under which women are given away to settle disputes, was still common in every district in southern Punjab.
Source: The News
Date:12/12/2006
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