Abbotabad riots: NA body rejects probe report

Report termed incomplete, unsatisfactory and a failure to bring justice to the killers of seven peaceful protesters.


Express December 02, 2010

ISLAMABAD: The inquiry report submitted by a judicial commission probing into an incident where police opened fire on a group of protesters in Abbottabad in April was rejected by the National Assembly Standing Committee on Human Rights.

The committee met with its chairperson, Riaz Fatayana, on Tuesday and discussed a numbers of incidents related to human rights’ violations.

The firing incident took place on April 12 when police opened fire on a group of protesters who took to the streets against the renaming of NWFP as Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P).

Seven people were killed and more than a hundred were injured. Later the K-P provincial government constituted a commission, led by Justice Abdul Aziz Kundi, to probe into the matter.

Fatayana said that the committee rejected the report prepared by the judicial commission because it was “incomplete, unsatisfactory and failed to bring justice to the killers of seven peaceful protesters”.

He also said that the chairman of the judicial commission tried to please everyone but failed to pinpoint the people behind the killing of innocent and peaceful protesters.

The committee also expressed its dissatisfaction over the action taken against the responsible police officials, who opened fire at the protestors rather than using teargases and rubber bullets – a standard method followed across the globe to disperse peaceful protestors.

The committee directed the District Coordination Officer (DCO) and District Police Officer (DPO) to present a complete report of its findings within one week about the action taken by the administration in this regard. The DCO told the committee that the provincial government gave Rs300,000 to the family members of each of the seven people killed, while the injured protestors were each given Rs100,000.

The DCO and DPO also requested the committee to sanction more funds from the federal government so that the heirs of the deceased can be further compensated.

The committee also reviewed the case of a girl from Naushero Feroze, who recorded her statement before the panel about her abduction and subsequent rape by a group of influential people from the area on October 26, 2010.

The girl alleged that 10 men, including two lawyers, broke into her house in broad daylight and abducted her at gunpoint. The police recovered her after 24 hours during which she was tortured and raped.

DPO of Nowshero Feroz said that three people had been arrested and the remaining accused received bail before arrest from the local court.

The committee directed the Federal Secretary of Human Rights to contact the Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
and recommended him to cancel the bail before arrest of those accused.

Moreover, the committee also took notice of another abduction and intoxication case from Khyber Teaching Hospital.

One of the victims, Humara Sadiq recorded her statement before the committee saying that she and her friend, Laiqa, went to the market in a car owned by Malik Shayan, a friend of Laiqa, without the permission of the hostel administration on November 2.

Malik Shayan offered the girls orange juice after which they fell unconscious. The girls do not remember what happened to them after that. Their parents said that they have not yet lodged an FIR due to threats from the other party. A medical examination is yet to be conducted to determine whether the two were raped or not.

The committee directed CPO Peshawar to immediately lodge an FIR against Malik Shayan and his accomplices and arrest them.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 2nd, 2010.

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