Crime cases: SHC moved for legislation to protect witnesses

No such provisions in existing laws, says human rights group.

KARACHI:

A human rights organisation wants the federal and provincial governments to enact laws for the protection of prosecution or state witnesses.

Moving a constitutional petition, the Human Rights Commission of South Asia (HRCSA), has requested the Sindh High Court to direct the federal and provincial governments to introduce legislation which could ensure the safety and protection of prosecution witnesses.

The petition was filed here on Tuesday by Syed Muhammad Iqbal Kazmi, an HRCSA representative for Pakistan. The petitioner maintained that the Criminal Procedure Code of Pakistan is devoid of any section which specifically provides protection to a witness.

There is no provision of law to protect the witness, he said adding that in the case of heinous crimes and cases of terrorism, including targeted killings, the witnesses are often exposed to threats from the people who have been accused, who always enjoy the backing of some or the other political party. As a result the witness becomes unavailable to the police.

Referring to the poor rate of conviction and the high rate of acquittals in terrorism cases, the petitioner maintains that in 80 per cent of them the courts were forced to acquit as the police failed to produce neutral and genuine private witnesses.

It is also a matter of record that in a majority of cases, the prosecution witnesses become hostile and avoid testifying against someone, leading to an acquittal. Other times, the case is just declared “A” class or closed because of a lack of evidence.

Citing the federal interior secretary, home secretary of Sindh and Inspector General of Sindh as respondents, the petitioner appealed to the court to order the federal and provincial governments to amend the relevant laws for a full scale “Witness Protection Programme”.

In an unusual request, the petitioner sought a general order of the court for the protection of witnesses till the laws are made.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 11^th, 2012.