Matter of rights: NA committee urged to push for law against custodial torture

Babar Nawaz says matter will be taken up during future meetings

HARIPUR: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights has been urged to ask the federal government to introduce a law against custodial torture.

The request was made at a session held at Pakistan Institute for Parliamentary Services in Islamabad on Friday. The event was attended by a delegation of human rights defenders and journalists from Hazara.

The delegation, headed by Human Development Organization Director Tehsinullah Khan, presented a memorandum to Babar Nawaz, the committee’s chairperson and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz MNA from NA-19. They pressed the committee to ask the federal government to introduce legislation against custodial torture.

Rights activists said the government approved the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) in June 2010. However, they said the government has failed to honour the commitments it made. As a result, custodial abuses have become rampant in the country.

Consequences  

"European Union granted conditional status of GSP-Plus to Pakistan in January 2014, enabling it to earn billions of rupees from exports to European markets,” the memorandum reads. “However, it could lose if failed to fulfil EU's requirements as it has yet to implement even a single of the 27 conventions."

According to the memorandum, the UNCAT came into force after June 26, 1987. It was being implemented in several countries. However, Pakistan has yet to take practical steps in this regard.

Human rights defenders urged Babar Nawaz to play his role in conveying these recommendations to the federal government.

On the occasion, Babar Nawaz said the committee was making efforts to ensure protection of the rights of people of Pakistan. He added his party's government was sincere in fulfilling international obligations of human rights.

Taking steps

Babar Nawaz said taking the matters of famine in Thar, deaths in Layyah, Punjab due to liquor, burning of a teenage girl on a jirga's order in Makool in Abbottabad and growing rat bite cases in Peshawar were indicative of the efforts the human rights standing committee was making. He added the memorandum would be taken up for discussion during the future meeting of the committee.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 14^th, 2016.