Custodial abuse: Alleged torture cells at police stations, internment centres condemned

PESHAWAR: Human rights activists on Monday said there was no justification for torture in any situation, whether a country was in the state of war or in other crisis.

Addressing a consultation organised by the Potohar Organisation for Development Advocacy (Poda) at Peshawar Press Club, activists were critical of the police department for being the main perpetrator in custodial abuse. Speakers accused “almost every police station of maintaining a private torture cell” and spoke of a mindset among law-enforcement agencies which implied the police cannot work without torture.

Bushra Khaliq, executive director of Women in Struggle for Empowerment (Wise), said, “There are around 1,300 police stations in Pakistan, and if the police at each station tortured a person every day, that is 1,300 cases of torture daily.”

Conventions against torture

She added those working for the government had a greater duty to ensure police did not violate UN conventions against torture which were signed in 2010 by Pakistan. “Victims of torture are usually petty crime suspects and poor people who could not afford a lawyer.” The government must revise laws to combat and prevent torture and other degrading treatment prevalent in Pakistan, added Khaliq.

Speakers highlighted the need to bring the Pakistan Penal Code in conformity with international conventions against torture and recommended promoting awareness about such abuse.

Javeria Younas, a legal researcher, said, “There is no known mechanism to monitor torture in police custody in Pakistan.” She added the new trend of conducting judicial enquiries by setting up commissions for any torture case was not enough. “It is the prime responsibility of the government to come up with strategies to combat the use of torture by law-enforcing agencies,” she added.

Muhammad Zubair from Poda told participants that schools, colleges, and universities should teach students about the impact of torture so society becomes aware about its impact.

Journalist Waseem Ahmad Shah diverted the attention of the participants towards media personnel being captured by law-enforcement agencies. He also pointed towards internment centres in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa in which detained people died due to torture but such cases were not reported. “More than 500 petitions of habeas corpus are pending in Peshawar High Court,” he said. “Those tortured remain fearful and they never want to talk about what happened to them during detention.”

The participants in the consultation passed a resolution demanding the enactment of laws against torture and the elimination of private torture cells by law-enforcing agencies including police.

Published in: Express Tribune

Category: Custodial torture