E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.2
page 2
Introduction
1.
In 1994 the Government of Pakistan extended an invitation to the Special
Rapporteur to undertake a mission to the country and it was agreed that a
visit would take place in April of that year. Subsequently, the Permanent
Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations Office in Geneva informed the Centre
for Human Rights that April was not convenient for the Government. The
Special Rapporteur proposed periods in June or August 1994, neither of which
proved convenient for the Government. Agreement was subsequently reached for
a mission to take place from 14 to 23 December 1995, but this mission was also
postponed at the request of the Government. Eventually, it was agreed that
the visit would take place early in 1996 and the Special Rapporteur carried
out the mission from 23 February to 3 March 1996, including visits to
Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
2.
In Islamabad the Special Rapporteur held meetings with the
following government officials: Mr. Iqbal Haider, Senator-in-charge
of Human Rights (pending approval); Mr. M. Ashique Siddiqui, Secretary
of the Ministry of Human Rights; General Naseeullah Babar, Minister of
the Interior; Mr. Farooqi, Secretary of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs;
Mr. G. Asgar Malik, Director General of the Federal Intelligence Agency;
Mr. Qazi Mohammad Jamil, Attorney General of Pakistan; Mr. Saijad Ali Shah,
Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
3.
In Karachi the Special Rapporteur held meetings with the following
government officials: Mr. Nawid Ashraf, Home Minister for the Province of
Sindh; Captain Muhammad Shoaib Suddle, Deputy Inspector-General of Police
in Karachi; Captain Mohammad Akram, Deputy Inspector-General of the Rangers
(a paramilitary force based in Karachi to help maintain law and order);
Mr. Pir Shabir Ahmed Jan Sarhandi, Superintendent of Karachi Central Jail.
4.
The Special Rapporteur also visited places of detention in Lahore and
Karachi. In Islamabad the Special Rapporteur visited but was not allowed to
enter a detention centre operated by the Federal Intelligence Agency (see
paras. 22 to 30). In Lahore and Karachi he visited the central prisons of
the respective cities and in Karachi he had the opportunity to visit a local
police station. On his visit to Lahore Central Jail, the Special Rapporteur
was accompanied by the Inspector General, Mr. Chaudry Mohammad Hussain Cheema,
and the Deputy Inspector General, Captain Sarfraz Mufti, as well as the
Superintendent and the Deputy Superintendent of the jail. The Special
Rapporteur had anticipated visiting the women’s prisons in Rawalpindi and
Karachi, but was prevented from doing so by time constraints. However, he was
able to speak with women prisoners held in Karachi Central Jail. Similarly,
he had requested a visit to a Rangers’ camp in Karachi but, again, time
constraints did not allow for such a visit.
5.
In addition to meetings with government officials and visits to detention
centres, the Special Rapporteur also met, at the UNICEF Office in Karachi, a
delegation from the Mohajir Quami Movement (MQM), which included Senator Syed
Ishtiaq Azhar, Syed Shoaib Ahmed Bukhari, Deputy Leader of Opposition Sindh
Assembly and member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh, and Mr. Qazi Khalid
Ali, also a member of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh and of MQM Legal Aid