LHC requested to protect detainees

Lahore High Court (LHC) Justice Jawad Hassan has sought replies from the federal and provincial governments along with other respondents over a petition against custodial torture, humiliation of politicians and other people, and depriving them of fundamental rights.

The court was requested to direct the authorities concerned to promulgate the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022 and devise policies, mechanisms and regulations to safeguard the lives of the citizens, including those in the custody of the authorities suffering torture.

The petitioner’s counsel Advocate Azhar Siddique implored the court that the Constitution did not allow the treatment allegedly being meted out to politicians in custody. It is an inhuman act, he argued.

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader Fawad Chaudhry went to the rostrum and implored the court that it allegedly depended upon the 'mood of the institutions' whether and when they would act upon the Constitution.

"If someone has been ordered to resist then we saw that an SHO does not comply even with the court’s orders," he contended. He said PTI leader Shehbaz Gill would reveal the truth whenever he started writing books.

The additional attorney general said there was a need to look into the criminal procedure with an constitutional eye.

Advocate Siddique implored the court that the enforcement of fundamental rights was required as the executive had failed to perform its duty in the letter and spirit. One should know that any law, custom or practice having the force of law inconsistent with the fundamental rights should be void to the extent of such an inconsistency, he argued.

"It is an admitted fact that it has taken 75 years for Pakistan to enact legislation that comprehensively criminalises custodial torture. With the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022, awaiting only the presidential assent, Pakistan is on the verge of a milestone representing a seismic shift away from decades of indifference to torture committed by public officials," he stated.

"A look at Pakistan’s fragmented domestic framework on custodial torture prior to the new law reflects a muddled situation. Articles 10A and 14 of the Constitution provide only a rudimentary legal structure enshrining the right to fair trial and the dignity of man. Article 14(2) provides the only explicit mention of torture in the Constitution but prohibits such an act when committed for the purpose of extracting a confession only. The Constitution may provide a sturdy enough base but, in the absence of supplementary, comprehensive legislation, there had remained lacunae," the counsel argued.

Fawad Chaudhry implored the court that Pakistan was a party to the United Nations Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishments, 1984 and it was imperative to make a law for its effective implementation.

Whereas, the Constitution guaranteed the dignity of citizens as mentioned in Article 14, it was expedient to enact a law for the prevention and criminalisation of all acts of torture.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 16^th, 2023.