ISI used dirty tricks to bully judges in Pakistan

Colonel Hamza of the ISI must be prosecuted for abduction, illegal detention and torture of young men from Pakistani Kashmir

(December 18, Hong Kong, Sri Lanka Guardian) Three young men from the Pakistani part of Kashmir, abducted by an army Lieutenant Colonel and officials of Frontier Corp were released by their captives after the warning that they should not reveal that where they were held in captivity and tortured or the identities of those who had abducted them. The men were severely tortured and abused in Bala Hisar fort near Peshawar, the capital of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), for 21 days. Please see AHRC¡¦S urgent appeal for their illegal arrest by the high official of notorious state intelligence agency, the ISI; ( External Link)

Three out of the four persons illegally arrested by the ISI colonel and Frontier Corp (FC), were released on the night of December 14 and thrown out on the road side near Peshawar city. Before their release Colonel Hamza of ISI and other officials of the FC abused them physically and threatened them not to tell anyone about their illegal detention in Bala Hisar otherwise they would face dire consequences. The police have also refused to entertain the complaint of the abducted men as a Lieutenant Colonel of the ISI is involved.

Pakistani held Kashmir, generally known as Azad Jammu and Kasmir (AJK), has been a sensitive state for the Pakistani military because of its claim on Indian part of the Kashmir which is part of the unfinished agenda with the separation of Pakistan from India. The presence of state intelligence agencies, particularly, the ISI in Pakistani held Kashmir means that the people are not allowed to carry out their social and political activities without inference. There are only four major offices in the city of Muzaffarabad, the capital of AJK which has a population of 3.2 million, besides many other offices in the state. The police cannot interfere in the affairs of ISI as it claims that it is working in the national interests of the country in the presence of great potential threats from neighbouring India.

The Inspector General of Police (IGP) was appointed by the government of Pakistan from the Pakistan police force so he is unfamiliar with the local situation and all affairs related to law and order situation are dependent on the ISI.

In the case of abduction, arrest and torture of the four young men the whole affair was illegal and a direct threat to the independent governance of the state. Lieutenant Colonel Hamza was posted in the office of ISI Peshawar, capital of North West Frontier Province (NWFP), Pakistan, and he has no jurisdiction to operate in AJK. Neither do the officials of the Frontier Corp have jurisdiction there. According to the law they can operate only in the NWFP. However, being a powerful group they take advantage of their militaristic status to operate illegally anywhere they wish. The Colonel and officials of the FC illegally took the detainees to another province without the permission of an independent state which has its own laws and government. This case is another example and ample proof that the military forces consider themselves above the law. The local police are also powerless before the ISI and FC who undermine the law of the land.

The Asian Human Rights Commission urges the government of Pakistan to initiate an inquiry into the matter of the abduction, illegal detention and torture of four young men from Azad Jammu Kashmir by Lieutenant Colonel Hamza of ISI, based in Peshawar, capital of NWFP, and by officials of the Frontier Corp. The military officials should be punished for violating the rights of the people recognized by the constitution and supposedly protected by the laws of Pakistan. The government should also protect the people of Pakistani Kashmir, the AJK, from the illegal acts of its notorious intelligence agency, the ISI and FC. The abducted and tortured young men should be paid compensation for their ordeal and a police case should also be filed against Lieutenant Colonel Hamza and the concerned officials of Frontier Corp.

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About AHRC: The Asian Human Rights Commission is a regional non-governmental organisation monitoring and lobbying human rights issues in Asia. The Hong Kong-based group was founded in 1984.

-Sri Lanka Guardian