E/CN.4/1997/7/Add.2
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Committee. Also in Karachi, Senator Haider organized a public meeting at
which the Special Rapporteur heard the testimonies of victims or family
members of victims of alleged MQM atrocities. The Special Rapporteur
estimated that over one hundred individuals were prepared to provide
testimony, but time constraints allowed him to hear only a limited number.
Senator Haider invited journalists to be present at this public meeting
and the meeting was widely reported in the press the following day.
6.
The Special Rapporteur also met and held discussions with representatives
of several non-governmental human rights organizations. In particular, he
held meetings in Islamabad with Mr. Kamran Ahmad of the Centre for Democratic
Development and of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). The
Ministry for Human Rights also hosted a luncheon in Islamabad at which several
NGO representatives were present. In Lahore, the Special Rapporteur met with
Ms. Asma Jahangir, Chairperson of HRCP, and Mr. I.A. Rehman, Director of the
HRCP Secretariat. In Karachi, he met with Mr. Zia Ahmed Awan, President of
Lawyers for Human Rights and Legal Aid; Ms. Zohra Yusuf, Secretary General of
HRCP, Mr. Rao Abid, also of HRCP, Mr. Jameel Yusuf of the Citizens/Police
Liaison Committee, Mr. Mohammed Akram Sheikh, President of the Supreme Court
Bar Association, Mr. S.S. Pirzada, former Attorney General and Minister for
Foreign Affairs of Pakistan and Justice Nizam Ahmed, a former judge of the
Sindh High Court. The Special Rapporteur was disturbed to learn that after
his departure from Karachi some of these individuals were questioned by
security officials concerning the nature of their discussions with the Special
Rapporteur. The Special Rapporteur was also distressed to learn of the murder
of Justice Ahmed and his son Nadeem on 10 June 1996 by two unidentified
assailants in Karachi following threats demanding that he withdraw a case
that he had filed with the Sindh High Court in Karachi. On 16 July 1996,
the Special Rapporteur sent a joint appeal with the Special Rapporteurs on
extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions and on the independence of
judges and lawyers calling upon the Government immediately to investigate not
only the murder of Justice Ahmed and his son, but also the threats received
prior to the murder and to bring to justice those responsible for these
crimes.
7.
The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs for the invitation to visit Pakistan. He would also like to thank
the Ministry for Human Rights, which made most of the arrangements for the
meetings and visits held during the mission. The Ministry worked with great
diligence to arrange, under difficult circumstances, the meetings that the
Special Rapporteur had requested and succeeded in respect of most of them.
His request for a meeting with the Prime Minister was not acceded to. The
Special Rapporteur also wishes to thank everyone, officials as well as private
individuals with whom he held discussions during his visit; the valuable
information they provided permitted him to understand better the current
situation in the country.
8.
The present report contains, in section I, a brief consideration of the
context within which the visit occurred, particularly with respect to the
situation in the country of matters concerning the work of the Special
Rapporteur under his mandate. Section II describes the issue of unlawful