Custodial Killings And The Judicial Silence!

Recently, three tortured bodies were found near Ansari Bridge on Super Highway Karachi under the jurisdiction of Gadap Police Station. The victims appeared to be between the ages of 25 and 35 and were found with their hands and feet bound with pieces of rope.

According to the SHO Gadap, “All three men were shot in the head execution-style. We also found spent casings of a 9mm pistol from the scene of the killings, suggesting that they were brought there alive and later executed by pumping a single bullet in every man’s head”. The Police sources claimed that the victims were apparently criminals and were killed by a law enforcement agency, adding that the case would become clearer after the victims are identified.

Two of the victims, Javed and Nauman, have been identified as MQM workers, and the third one as Saleem. It is to be noted that Javed and Nauman were arrested few days ago and it was reported in the newspapers as well. The family of Nauman Ali had also filed a petition in the Sindh High Court. The MQM Coordination Committee strongly condemned their extrajudicial killings. It said that the triple murder in extrajudicial style execution was a stark reminder of the 90s when similar incidents of abduction and extrajudicial executions of thousands of Mohajir youth were taking place.

Unfortunately, it was not the first incident at all. MQM has already faced deaths of its several workers in the custody of the law-enforcement agencies during the recent on-going targeted operation. Although the families of the victims not only filed petitions in the courts, but also staged a protest outside the Supreme Court. But, no notice has been taken yet while the incidents of abduction and custodial killings are on their way. The question is, why are the courts deliberately ignoring these evil acts? Can they refer to any Clause or Article of the Constitution that allows any law-enforcement agency to extra-judicially kill the accused? Not at all!

As per the universally accepted laws, an accused is assumed to be innocent unless and until proved guilty in the court of law. Even in the case where an accused is proved guilty in the court, one cannot be deprived of his/her fundamental rights. The United Nations General Assembly Resolution 45/111 presents a major guiding document with respect to the treatment of prisoners. It states, “All prisoners shall be treated with inherent dignity and be valued as human beings”. According to the clause of Universal Declaration of Human Rights that objects the use of torture or any sort of violence upon a prisoner, “No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment”. Similarly, the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights says, “All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person”.

The former CJP Mr. Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, while addressing a workshop in November 203 in Islamabad on “Prisoners Vulnerability-Lacking Awareness”, said, “Islam considers imprisonment as a case of last resort, and in many circumstances imprisonment is not used as a punishment. However, there are number of offences for which imprisonment has been prescribed but the torture and inhuman treatment with the prisoners are completely against the injunctions of our religion. In Islam it is instructed to treat the prisoner as a free individual with the exception of being confined to prison.”

It is very clear that all the above-stated references belong to the rights of the prisoners whose crimes have been proved and they have been convicted by the court. It means the people who have just been accused will have more rights and be treated as innocent as any other person of the society. However, instead of it, the accused are being killed without being trialed in the courts. Is this not the open violation of international laws and the Constitution of Pakistan? MQM has already lost thousands of its workers and supporters in the custodial deaths in the 90`s. Even in the newly launched targeted operation, the number of MQM workers suspiciously abducted and killed by the Police and Rangers is increasing gradually. But, none of the relevant authorities is taking any notice of these evil acts.

The Supreme Court, which is famous for taking suo-moto notice of important and even relatively unimportant issues, looks to have sealed it slips on the severe violation of human rights. It is on record that despite the criticism, Supreme Court has been defending its suo-moto notices by referring to the Article 9 of the Constitution that, as per its interpretation, authorizes the SC to protect the fundamental rights of the people. If it is so, why is not taking notice of these killings? Is the SC`s silence over the illegal abductions, brutal torture and custodial killings not the violation of the Article 9? Is this silence not indirectly giving a license of violation of fundamental rights in Karachi? For the past ill-deeds, the judiciary defends itself arguing that it had been enslaved by the rulers. But, what about the victimization on the political and ethnic grounds in Karachi after the freedom of judiciary? Does it have any valid excuse for it silence?

It is the need of the hour for all the relevant authorities or institutions that they ensure that no one can use the state-machinery for ethnical and political victimization of any party or community of the country. Otherwise, if they do not do so, how will they defend themselves when the victims and their families come into the position to judicially trial them?