We the citizens of Pakistan want the government to crush the Taliban & related groups.

The Taliban have not only attacked vital social, political & economic institutions of our society, they have attacked and committed the most henious crimes against the very people of Pakistan. 

Hence, this is a war of liberation for the people and the future of Pakistan. No one can sit on the fence anymore. We want immediate action against these criminals. The culture of impunity must end. They can be defeated and they must be defeated. Enough is Enough!

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PAKISTAN: URGENT - END THE CULTURE OF IMPUNITY,

IMPOSE RULE OF LAW, DUE PROCESS OF LAW

 

To:

 

PAKISTAN GOVERNMENT

The Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mian Nawaz Sharif
Chief Minister, Punjab, Mian Shahbaz Sharif

Chief Minister, Sindh, Qaim Ali Shah

Chief Minister, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Parvez Khattak

Chief Minister, Balochistan, Dr. Abdul Malik Baloch

Chief Minister, Gilgit Baltistan, Syed Mehdi Shah

Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan, Sardar Ayaz Sadiq

Deputy Speaker, National Assembly of Pakistan, Murtaza Javed Abbasi

 

ALL PAKISTAN POLITICAL PARTIES

Pakistan Muslim League, Nawaz (PML-N)

Pakistan People’s Party (PPP)

Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI)

Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM)

Awami National Party (ANP)

Pakistan Muslim League, Quaid (PML-Q)

 

From: Members of Pakistani civil society and concerned citizens

 

We the members of civil society and concerned citizens express our alarm at the repeated and ongoing attacks on taking place in Pakistan. The recent attack at Karachi airport and the loss of lives (including those who died after the area had been cleared by security forces), followed by a second attack on the ASF training camp, illustrates the ease with which militants operate.

In cases where police have apprehended suspects, they have been forced to let them go for lack of evidence or because personnel from security agencies take the suspects away. No one is ever charged, tried and punished for their involvement in such crimes.

In addition, there is an ongoing atmosphere of intimidation and violence against human rights defenders and journalists, harassment and use of violence against articulate segments of Pakistan’s civil society. 

Journalists like Raza Rumi and Hamid Mir have been targeted, but miraculously survived. Others like Saleem Shehzad were not as lucky. Many live and work under constant threat of violence from different quarters.

Ostensibly the militants and the security establishment are pitted against each other. Over 10,000 Pakistan army officers have been martyred fighting the militants. However, a convergence of their agendas is witnessed when it comes to the ‘ideology’ of Pakistan, a subscription to a ‘jihadi’ creed, and the anti-India narrative.

The militants additionally follow a ‘takfiri’ (exclusionist) belief system according to which they decide who is a Muslim and who is not, and feel justified in killing those they don’t agree with. They target and kill professionals including doctors, teachers, lawyers and others who have spent their lives serving the community and humanity, particularly those belonging to Shia and Ahmadiya communities. 

They attack school-teachers, health workers engaged in vaccinating young children against polio virus and public figures who uphold the dream of a moderate, plural and peaceful Pakistan. They target places of worship like temples, shrines, gurudwaras, churches, and mosques. In Sindh they are actively intimidating the Hindu community by kidnapping and forcibly converting their girls.

Additionally, thought leaders, professors and students in Balochistan have been target-killed.

Another level of vulnerability to attack is added by the growing ‘blasphemy culture’ of Pakistan, in which the mere allegation of blasphemy is considered sufficient to justify the murder of an accused. Some 60 people have been killed in this way since the option of life imprisonment was removed from Section 295-C, leaving death as the only sentence for convictions. Those killed include people whom the courts acquitted, under-trial prisoners, accused held in police custody, and those who were not even charged or tried under this controversial colonial law. Militants threaten the lives of judges who acquit blasphemy accused as well as lawyers who defend them are in danger. 

No one has ever been charged, tried and punished for these murders, threats, or incitement to murder.

Justice Arif Iqbal Bhatti was murdered for acquitting a blasphemy accused. The judge who sentenced Salmaan Taseer's killer to death left Pakistan soon after the verdict. In a recent case, Supreme Court advocate Rashid Rehman Khan, regional coordinator of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan was target-killed for defending an accused charged with ‘blasphemy’. Mr Khan had informed the authorities that he was facing threats, including death threats in a courtroom. The state took no action against those issuing such threats. 

In contrast, police are quick to register cases under the blasphemy laws. Under the present dispensation, high ups in a security agency have reportedly directed them to do so. In one case, over 60 lawyers in Jhang were booked under 295-A of Pakistan Penal Code on the complaint of someone who claimed that they had hurt his religious sentiments by shouting slogans against police officer Umar Daraz, who bears the name of a venerated Islamic personality, Caliph Umar. 

Instead of supporting those who counter the Taliban narrative, the government gags them at every turn, while allowing websites, blogs, Facebook pages and Twitter accounts that promote the Taliban narrative to flourish.

Violence against women and domestic violence continues unabated, as illustrated by the horrific case of Farzana Parveen, killed by her family outside the Lahore High Court in May 2014. Nearly 900 cases of ‘honour killing’ were reported in Pakistan in 2013; the actual figure is estimated to be higher. No one is ever punished for these murders due to the Qisas and Diyat law that allows family members to ‘forgive’ the perpetrator – which is how Farzana Parveen’s husband Iqbal escaped punishment after he murdered his first wife in order to marry Farzana.

We demand an end to the culture of impunity and the establishment of justice based on rule of law and due process of law in the country. Specifically, we demand:

a) That the provincial governments arrest, investigate and prosecute the killers and take action against those instigating, encouraging, and abetting such crimes

b) The provincial governments must equip, empower, and train the police to curb criminal activities at the local level – such activities often feed the larger war.

c) The provincial governments must take action against the members of the local police and Special Branch who do not act in time to prevent such heinous crimes

d) Create special cells in the Police, Home and Prosecution Departments of the respective provinces to smooth prosecution of cases under trial and to oversee the police action

e) The respective High Courts should track the progress of such cases. In the case of Rashid Rehman Khan the High Court Punjab should inquire as to what steps were taken by the judge in Multan when threats were hurled at the late lawyer in an open courtroom; The Multan City Police Officer should be called to explain why was police security not provided to Rashid Rehman? Did the department carry out an exercise into the risk to his life? If not, who is responsible for that?

f) The federal government should set up a high powered commission with the mandate to inquire and suggest penalties for state officials who did not take appropriate measures to prevent the murders/attacks/harassment of human rights defenders, civil society leaders and other public figures

g) The Parliament – National Assembly Speaker - must set up a committee to review contentious laws to ensure that no one gets away with murder or false accusations.

h) Parliament must also introduce legal changes to ensure better security for lawyers and other human rights defenders

i) The respective Bar Councils should take disciplinary action against members of legal fraternity who threaten human rights defenders.