Army accused of extra-judicial killings in Swat

WASHINGTON: The Pakistan Army is facing fresh accusations of carrying out extra-judicial killings and torture – claims that could threaten US funding for any units singled out for abuse.

New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had briefed US State Department and congressional officials on “mounting evidence” of more than 200 summary executions in Swat over the last eight months of suspected Taliban sympathisers.

The army denied the group’s accusations of abuse in Swat.

“Swat is open to journalists and you can conduct investigative reporting there,” army spokesman Maj Gen Athar Abbas told Reuters in Islamabad. “Have you seen any sort of report in Pakistani newspapers?”

The Lahore-based Human Rights Commission of Pakistan provided a list of 249 suspected extra-judicial killings from July 30, 2009, to March 22, 2010, and said most of the bodies were found in Swat. It said independent journalists and locals widely believed security forces were behind the killings.

Officials in Washington said they were taking the accusations of abuse seriously. They said the Obama administration had raised the matter with Islamabad. “We have shared our concern over these allegations with senior Pakistani officials, and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” said State Department spokesman PJ Crowley.

Defence Secretary Robert Gates has also discussed US concerns with Pakistani military and government officials. “W take allegations of human rights abuses seriously,” said Geoff Morrell, Pentagon press secretary. White House National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said “we are seeing positive forward motion from our friends” in Pakistan on the issue, but did not elaborate.

The allegations come at a highly sensitive moment for Pak-US relations.

Washington – which faces frequent criticism in Pakistan over CIA drone strikes targeting Taliban – wants to strengthen ties with Islamabad. It also wants to encourage more operations against extremists.

But Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, said the pace of extra-judicial killings in Pakistan was “not slowing down”. He said the US was obliged to enforce a law authored by Senator Patrick Leahy banning assistance to foreign military units facing credible accusations of abuses.

“If they obtain or receive credible information that a particular unit is engaged in this kind of behaviour, they have to de-fund the unit,” said Malinowski, adding that Human Rights Watch was not yet able to single out any units for the abuses, which also included illegal detentions.

The Pentagon’s Morrell said aid to the Pakistani military had not been cut off. He said there had been productive dialogue with Islamabad “about how we can help them build their capacity to deal with detainees in a rule of law framework”.

The State Department said US aid was being delivered in full accordance with US law, and the assistance to Pakistani security forces incorporated human rights training.

Human Rights Watch said the army was “targeting civilians who had voiced support for the Taliban” when they controlled Swat or were suspected of providing them food or shelter.

Malinowski said such abuses ran against US counter-insurgency strategy, and could erode support for the Pakistani government.

The White House National Security Council’s Hammer said the Obama administration had briefed Congress on the allegations.

Leahy’s office declined to comment on the specific allegations of abuse, but called for enforcement of US law “so US aid does not go to army units that violate human rights”.

“And Pakistani authorities need to know how US law is applied,” said spokesman David Carle. reuters

Courtesy: Daily Times

Category: Media Monitoring