Rashid Rehman murder case: Activist’s sister appears before Senate committee

Panel inquires about implementation of the report on missing persons

ISLAMABAD:

Lubna Nadeem told a Senate panel on Wednesday that she has been trying in vain to bring to justice the culprits who have been allegedly involved in the murder of her brother and human rights lawyer, Rashid Rehman.

“I have still not gotten justice for my brother,” she told the Senate Committee on Human Rights.

Rehman, who was killed while fighting a blasphemy case in Multan, had been receiving death threats, following a heated argument with Zulfiqar Sindhu, Sajjad Chawaan – both lawyers and Ayub Mughal in the court.



Rashid, in a note, had nominated the three men, holding them responsible in case something ever happened to him. The men, who had reportedly even threatened him, are free since there is not sufficient evidence to detain them or register a case against them.

SSP Investigations Multan Dr Atif, who was also present in the meeting of the committee, said the police apprehended Saim Hassan, a wanted criminal who revealed that a banned outfit in Karachi had assigned him and his accomplices, Mohtasim and Ammar, the task to kill Rashid Rehman.

During investigation, Saim also revealed that they had planned the killing almost three months before Rashid’s argument in court. The cop, however, did not disclose where the police had apprehended Saim, who was later killed in a police encounter in Muzaffargarh.

Meanwhile, his accomplices who had escaped scot-free, are reported to be somewhere in Afghanistan, Dr Atif said, quoting the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI). Moreover, Saim, who had come from America, had also been trained as a terrorist in Chaghi, he said.

Response awaited on enforced disappearances

During the meeting, Senator Farhatullah Babar questioned the status of implementation of the report of the human rights committee on missing persons that was adopted in the Senate in 2013.

Under the rules of business, the government was supposed to send its reply within 60 days. The report was also referred to by the Committee of the Whole House recently, but there was no response from the government side.

A section of the report reads: “The judicial system is not equipped either in law or prosecution with the capacity to meet the challenge of terrorism. It is recommended that amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Court Bill be expedited in consultation with stakeholders for speedy trial of militants.”

A sub-committee of the functional committee on human rights  that was convened by Senator Farhatullah Babar, had recommended that in accordance with the recommendations of the Commission on Enforced Disappearances, suitable legislation be enacted to provide specific powers of arrest and detention to the Army and law-enforcement agencies under special circumstances in order to curb anti-state activities.

The committee members unanimously decided to request the Senate Secretariat to ask the Ministry of Defence for their point of view, observations and reservations over the report for purposes of debate and legislation.

Gang rape cases in Punjab decreased 15 %

Earlier, Punjab’s Additional Home Secretary Ehtasham told the committee that the incidents of gang rape had decreased by 15 per cent in the Punjab province.

Citing official statistics, he said in the year 2014, around 262 cases of gang rape were registered while 224 cases were registered in 2015.

“A major initiative – which is part of some soft interventions from the government of Punjab to improve the police capability and police investigation – is the one-of-its-kind Punjab Forensic Laboratory that has been opened in Lahore,” he said. The lab that assists in scientific investigation has helped achieve better results in prosecution of those accused of gang rape, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 7^th, 2016.