Provincial Minister for Women and Development Sitara Ayaz said the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) government would soon move a bill on the protection of women from domestic violence in the provincial assembly at a conference on human rights arranged by eight rights organisations on Friday.
She said the bill had lapsed in the Senate owing to opposition from religious parties but the ANP-led government believes in equal rights and it would support the federal legislation by ratifying it in the K-P assembly. While recognising the social status of men and women, Ayaz was of the view that no religion or law allows violence against women. The event was held to mark the international day for human rights.
The Human Rights Forum demanded the government to honour its commitment to ratify the UN Convention Against Torture (CAT) and criminalise custodial torture in a joint declaration issued after the conference. Director Programmes Sungi Development Foundation (SDF) Asad Rehman in his keynote address said hundreds of citizens from Balochistan and Fata have been kept in illegal detention by intelligence agencies for interrogation. Tortured bodies of several missing persons have been found in Balochistan. He said the fate of hundreds of missing persons was not known as their families have failed to find any clue. He also pointed out several constitutional and legal flaws that he believed were threatening the fundamental rights of the citizenry.
Shahadat Khan from the Human Development Organisation (HDO) said Pakistan has failed to criminalise custodial abuses which are rampant in detention centers. He said about 5,500 to 6,000 persons are detained annually in a single district by eight to 10 police stations. He said 97 per cent of the detainees are subjected to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment in contravention to the CAT and domestic laws. “Torture victims cannot contribute effectively to society.”
The Human Rights Forum comprises SDF, HDO, SAHARA Foundation, Strengthening Participatory Organization, Khwenday Kor, Benazir Shaheed Centre, Consumer Rights Protection Forum and Aurat Association.
Published in The Express Tribune, December 10th, 2011.
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