Media workshop: Educate police, court staff to curb torture

Pakistan is a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture but has yet to take measures to discourage the practice

FAISALABAD:

Speakers at a media workshop on Monday highlighted the need to educate police and lower court officials on torture to discourage the use of torture during interrogation.

They said the media could also be used to raise awareness about torture among the population, particularly in rural areas.

They said Pakistan had been a signatory to the United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT) but was yet to take concrete measures to discourage the practice by the police during interrogation of suspects. “Torture and violence are often confused by people to be the same thing. Torture almost always involves law enforcement institutions of the state,” said Professor Wajahat Masood.

He later briefed the participants about torture and violence and highlighted the damage that torture by law enforcement agencies could cause to the society.

Individual Land Pakistan’s coordinator Hamza Khan said use of derogatory language for torture victims was common in the media because of the sole reliance on the police as the source of reports.

The workshop was followed by a plenary session in which the participants proposed measures to use the media to raise awareness about torture.

The workshop was organised jointly by the Individual Land Pakistan and the Foundation of Open Society Institute.

‘Highlight the plight of disabled people’

Speakers at another workshop on Monday sought the use of media to highlight the problems faced by people with physical disabilities in the country. The workshop, Engaging Media to Highlight Disability Issues, was arranged by Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM).

The speakers included SDPRD Executive Director Dr Sajid Ali, AWAM Executive Secretary Naseem Anthony and AWAM Coordinator Shazia George. George lamented that people with disabilities had been excluded from political process in the country. She said it appeared that there was a tacit understanding in the Pakistani society that people with disabilities were of no good.

Published In The Express Tribune, June 19^th, 2012.