NA panel: ‘Punish security personnel publicly’

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights took serious notice of the use of excessive violence by security forces in the Karachi and Kharotabad incidents and demanded a public punishment for the security personnel involved in the extrajudicial killings.

The committee headed by Riaz Fatyana said that the recent incidents have damaged the credibility of the security agencies in the country. The committee members said that the departmental heads should be held responsible for these incidents. MNA Farah Naz Isphahani briefed the committee about her fact-finding visit to Kharotabad. She said that the security agency involved was continuously trying to conceal the truth. “We want concrete actions not lengthy legal procedures since solid evidence is available in both these cases,” she said.

Demanding quick action, committee member Yasmeen Rehman termed these extrajudicial killings ‘barbaric’ and added that there should be cut in the budget of the security agencies.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 15^th, 2011.