Pakistan
10.11.04
Urgent Interventions
Pakistan: serious disfunctionings in the judicial system prevent the punishment of the perpetrators of honour killings
PAK 110504.2.VAW.CC
Violence against Women / Child Concern
Extrajudicial Killing / Killing in the Name of Honour / Impunity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Pakistan.
Brief Description of the Situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received updated information from Asian Human Rights Commission (AHCR), a member of OMCT network, on the case of the killing of Tahmeena Bhutto (17 years old) and Aabida Bhutto (18 years old) in the name of honour on May 4th, 2004 in the Sindh Province of Pakistan.
According to the information received, the process of prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators of this crime has been seriously impeded by the intervention in favour of the accused of two influential figures, namely Mr. Ghous Bukhsh Khan Mahar, Minister for Narcotics Control, and Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Jatoi, member of the National Assembly. Thus the District Investigation officer, Mr. Fida Hussain Mastoi, who has been appointed to inquire into the case, has been transferred as a result of the pressure exerted by these two dignitaries.
On the other hand a petition has been lodged in the High Court meant to withdraw the case against three of the nine alleged perpetrators from the Anti-Terrorism Court. Should the withdrawal of the case from the Anti-Terrorism Court be accepted, this would create the possibility for the culprits to escape punishment by paying compensation to the victims’ families.
It has also been reported that in spite of the fact that on April 23rd, 2004 the High Court of the Sindh Province has declared all tribal jirgas illegal, the government of Sindh has introduced an ordinance entitled Sindh Amicable Settlement of Disputes Ordinance 2004 that would pave the way to the legal recognition of the tribal jirgas and their decisions. AHCR reports that Mr. Ghous Bukhsh Khan Mahar is alleged to have already headed a jirga to settle the case outside the courts of law by paying 600,000 rupees for each victim to the families by way of compensation, and this in clear defiance of the mentioned opinion of the High Court.
Reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received updated information from Asian Human Rights Commission (AHCR), a member of OMCT network, on Ms. Tahmeena Bhutto (17) and Ms. Aabida Bhutto (18), two cousins who were shot to death after having been accused of having “loose morals” for having visited their grandparents without permission. The decision to kill the girls was taken by a tribal jirga, convened amongst the perpetrators and led by Mr. Abdul Rasheed, the tribal chief and a powerful landlord in the village.
According to the information received, the two girls left on May 1st and two search groups went to look for them the following day. The second group included Abdul Rasheed, the chief of the tribe, found the girls who were then brought in his residence at Lakhi gate in Shikarpur. When Fazaluddin, Hidayatullah (brothers of Tashmeena) and Dad Mohammad (father of Aabida) asked Abdul Rasheed where the girls were, the chief told them to go through the village and that he would arrive with the girls. The relatives arrived to the place only after midnight on May 4 and met the perpetrators with the girls. The perpetrators told the relatives to kill the girls because they had "loose morals", having visited their grandparents without first getting family permission. Fazaluddin, Hidayatullah, and Dad Mohammad reportedly begged them not to kill the girls. Nevertheless, the perpetrators shot the girls and then took the bodies in order to cover up their crime.
Despite the perpetrators reportedly threatened the witnesses with death if they were to complain to the police, the witnesses decided to report the killings at the police station in New Faojdari. After some days, the police arrested three of the alleged perpetrators who were first produced before an anti-terrorism court. But the judge deemed that this case was within the competence of a judicial magistrate.Nevertheless, the police continued to challenge the case into the anti-etrrorism court, arguing that these murders had created fear and insecurity into the victims’ families and the community.
OMCT is gravely concerned with these negative developments in the prosecution of those responsible for the killing of the two teenage girls in the name of honour and fears that the evolution of the case in this direction might end in a denial of justice of grave consequences. In addition to all the facts mentioned above, it should be recalled that three of the nine perpetrators have been brought before the Anti-Terrorism Court after the police argued that the murders had created fear and insecurity in the community; while six of the nine alleged perpetrators, including Abdul Rasheed Bhutto – the landlord who presided over the jirga that condemned the two girls to death – have remained at large, in spite of the fact that they have all been identified.
OMCT recalls that the fifty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, in adopting a resolution on the elimination of crimes against women committed in the name of honour, had asked that so-called "crimes of honour", which United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan had characterized as "crimes of shame", be strongly condemned. It had focused on the need to bring the perpetrators to account, calling on States to intensify efforts to eliminate such crimes. It particularly called on "relevant treaty bodies" to "address the issue where appropriate", opening the way for treaty bodies which considered themselves relevant to become involved.
OMCT calls on the Government of Pakistan to take all measures necessary to bring those responsible for these killings to justice and to apply to them all the penal and civil sanctions provided for by law. OMCT also urges the authorities in Pakistan to take the necessary steps to eradicate crimes committed against women in the name of honour.
Action Requested
Please write to the authorities in Pakistan urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these killings, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the family of the victims;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
Please also write to the embassies of Pakistan in your respective country.
Geneva, November 10th, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
Violence against Women / Child Concern
Extrajudicial Killing / Killing in the Name of Honour / Impunity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Pakistan.
Brief Description of the Situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received updated information from Asian Human Rights Commission (AHCR), a member of OMCT network, on the case of the killing of Tahmeena Bhutto (17 years old) and Aabida Bhutto (18 years old) in the name of honour on May 4th, 2004 in the Sindh Province of Pakistan.
According to the information received, the process of prosecution and punishment of the perpetrators of this crime has been seriously impeded by the intervention in favour of the accused of two influential figures, namely Mr. Ghous Bukhsh Khan Mahar, Minister for Narcotics Control, and Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim Jatoi, member of the National Assembly. Thus the District Investigation officer, Mr. Fida Hussain Mastoi, who has been appointed to inquire into the case, has been transferred as a result of the pressure exerted by these two dignitaries.
On the other hand a petition has been lodged in the High Court meant to withdraw the case against three of the nine alleged perpetrators from the Anti-Terrorism Court. Should the withdrawal of the case from the Anti-Terrorism Court be accepted, this would create the possibility for the culprits to escape punishment by paying compensation to the victims’ families.
It has also been reported that in spite of the fact that on April 23rd, 2004 the High Court of the Sindh Province has declared all tribal jirgas illegal, the government of Sindh has introduced an ordinance entitled Sindh Amicable Settlement of Disputes Ordinance 2004 that would pave the way to the legal recognition of the tribal jirgas and their decisions. AHCR reports that Mr. Ghous Bukhsh Khan Mahar is alleged to have already headed a jirga to settle the case outside the courts of law by paying 600,000 rupees for each victim to the families by way of compensation, and this in clear defiance of the mentioned opinion of the High Court.
Reminder of the situation
The International Secretariat of OMCT has received updated information from Asian Human Rights Commission (AHCR), a member of OMCT network, on Ms. Tahmeena Bhutto (17) and Ms. Aabida Bhutto (18), two cousins who were shot to death after having been accused of having “loose morals” for having visited their grandparents without permission. The decision to kill the girls was taken by a tribal jirga, convened amongst the perpetrators and led by Mr. Abdul Rasheed, the tribal chief and a powerful landlord in the village.
According to the information received, the two girls left on May 1st and two search groups went to look for them the following day. The second group included Abdul Rasheed, the chief of the tribe, found the girls who were then brought in his residence at Lakhi gate in Shikarpur. When Fazaluddin, Hidayatullah (brothers of Tashmeena) and Dad Mohammad (father of Aabida) asked Abdul Rasheed where the girls were, the chief told them to go through the village and that he would arrive with the girls. The relatives arrived to the place only after midnight on May 4 and met the perpetrators with the girls. The perpetrators told the relatives to kill the girls because they had "loose morals", having visited their grandparents without first getting family permission. Fazaluddin, Hidayatullah, and Dad Mohammad reportedly begged them not to kill the girls. Nevertheless, the perpetrators shot the girls and then took the bodies in order to cover up their crime.
Despite the perpetrators reportedly threatened the witnesses with death if they were to complain to the police, the witnesses decided to report the killings at the police station in New Faojdari. After some days, the police arrested three of the alleged perpetrators who were first produced before an anti-terrorism court. But the judge deemed that this case was within the competence of a judicial magistrate.Nevertheless, the police continued to challenge the case into the anti-etrrorism court, arguing that these murders had created fear and insecurity into the victims’ families and the community.
OMCT is gravely concerned with these negative developments in the prosecution of those responsible for the killing of the two teenage girls in the name of honour and fears that the evolution of the case in this direction might end in a denial of justice of grave consequences. In addition to all the facts mentioned above, it should be recalled that three of the nine perpetrators have been brought before the Anti-Terrorism Court after the police argued that the murders had created fear and insecurity in the community; while six of the nine alleged perpetrators, including Abdul Rasheed Bhutto – the landlord who presided over the jirga that condemned the two girls to death – have remained at large, in spite of the fact that they have all been identified.
OMCT recalls that the fifty-fifth session of the United Nations General Assembly, in adopting a resolution on the elimination of crimes against women committed in the name of honour, had asked that so-called "crimes of honour", which United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan had characterized as "crimes of shame", be strongly condemned. It had focused on the need to bring the perpetrators to account, calling on States to intensify efforts to eliminate such crimes. It particularly called on "relevant treaty bodies" to "address the issue where appropriate", opening the way for treaty bodies which considered themselves relevant to become involved.
OMCT calls on the Government of Pakistan to take all measures necessary to bring those responsible for these killings to justice and to apply to them all the penal and civil sanctions provided for by law. OMCT also urges the authorities in Pakistan to take the necessary steps to eradicate crimes committed against women in the name of honour.
Action Requested
Please write to the authorities in Pakistan urging them to:
i. order a thorough and impartial investigation into the circumstances of these killings, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
ii. guarantee that adequate reparation is provided to the family of the victims;
iii. guarantee the respect of human rights and fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses
- General Pervez Musharraf, President, Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, PAKISTAN, Fax: +92 51 922 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835
- Hon. Mr. Ishrat-ul-Ibad Khan, Governor of Sindh Province, Governor House, Karachi, PAKISTAN, Tel: +92 21 9201201-3, Fax: +92 21 9205043, E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk
- Hon. Mr. Arbab Ghulam Raheem, Chief Minister Sindh Province, 3rd Floor, New Sindh Secretariat, Building No. 1, Karachi, Sindh Province, PAKISTAN
- Mr. Sayed Kamal Shah, Provincial Police Officer, Sindh Police, Central Police Office, Karachi, PAKISTAN, Telephone: +92 21 9212626-7, Fax: +92 21 9212051
- Mr. Rahoo Khan Brohi, Regional Police Officer, Sukkur Region, Airport Road, Sukkur, PAKISTAN, Tel: +92 71 30547, 30248, Fax: +92 71 30223/31824
- Syed Sultan Shah, Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights, Islamabad, PAKISTAN, Tel: +92 51 920 3464, Fax: +92 51 9203119
Please also write to the embassies of Pakistan in your respective country.
Geneva, November 10th, 2004
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.