PAKISTAN: Police protect ruling party members guilty of rape and acid attacks

Ms. Zainab Zia, 24, was raped on 10 September 2008 by her brother-in-law Mohammad Ali, who is an active MQM member in Hyderabad. After the incident, Zainab and her younger sister Ms. Shehla Zia set out to file a complaint but were discouraged by their mother, who wished to resolve the issue at home.

On Ali's return that evening a heated discussion resulted in he and two other party members (Saleemuddin, the victim's uncle and Ismail, her cousin) tying up the girls and throwing acid at Shehla, and kerosene on Zainab. Moments before they set her alight, two family friends rescued the girls and took them to the Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, where a medical report was obtained.

During the next two months the sisters tried to lodge an FIR several times, but were blocked by Station Head Officer (SHO) Hassan Ali Abdi, a former MQM activist. We are told that this was due to pressure from MQM leaders. Police also refused to conduct a crucial physical examination for evidence of the rape. The girls started to lose the support of their family, since Mohammad Ali is a breadwinner and threats from militant MQM members were reportedly intensifying.

The situation worsened for the sisters in October when the Nazim or chairman of MQM Union Council 10 used his authority to arrange for their forced admittance into a psychiatric hospital, as reportedly directed by another party member (Siraj Rajput of MQM Coordination Committee at 9-0 Karachi). The sisters were forced to flee and took shelter with the family friend who had helped them before, Mr. Saleem Qaudri. To make this culturally and legally acceptable, Zainab chose to become Qaudri's second wife on 3 November.

Nevertheless the police were ordered to file a case of rape, kidnap and theft against Qaudri (FIR no. 261/08) by a member of the provincial assembly elected from the MQM platform (Mr. Sohail Yousuf). Qaudri was arrested on 11 November 2008 and was only released by the judicial magistrate when Zainab produced a marriage certificate.

Almost three months after the rape and acid-throwing, the sisters' application at Hyderabad Additional Session Court finally came through, and police were ordered to file an FIR against the accused. A medical test was performed on Zainab but it was inconclusive due to the delay. An Inspector (Nasir Nawab) began to legitimately investigate the case before being promptly suspended because, we are reliably told, of pressure from the MQM. The three perpetrators were granted bail. Zainab and Shehla asked for police protection but did not receive any.

Emerging from a court hearing on 26 February 2009, Zainab was abducted at gunpoint by Ali, the girls' own brother and three others. Fortunately the van's route was blocked and she was rescued by passing motorcyclists; however officers at Hyderabad's Cantonment police station refused to file the case.

Zainab then bypassed the police and took the case to the court of Session no. 6, Hyderabad, requesting (according to article 22A of the Code of Criminal Procedure) that the police file a case. The court issued the order on 24 March, but it was then blocked by a stay order from the High Court at the request of the accused men. The judge, Justice Muslin Hani, then asked for a report on the situation from the district police officer (DPO Javed Odho) who naturally refuted the allegations. His report on 18 April 2009 recommended that the case against the men be dropped due to insufficient evidence. The high court closed it.

Giving up on the law, Zainab and Shehla decided to hold a press conference at Hyderabad press club on 22 August. Two days later Zainab's husband, Qaudri, and his guests were attacked in a Latifabad restaurant. Police intervened but refused to register a case. Neither did they accept the report of Qaudri's medical examination.

The original case of rape and acid-throwing is now pending in Session and District Court no. 6, Hyderabad, with no progress made. The witnesses – Shehla Zia, Asif Qaudri, Mohammad Afzal and Saleem Qaudri – say that they get continuous threats from the party in office. They have been told to expect poor treatment if the case does eventually get taken up properly.

ACTION SUGGESTED By AHRC:

Please write to the following authorities calling for the immediate protection of those under threat. Please join us in condemning the gross miscarriages of justice and examples of impunity, and demanding a prompt and impartial inquiry into the case.

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing a letter to the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and on the independence of judges and lawyers, requesting their intervention.

AHRC SAMPLE LETTER:

Dear __________,

Re: PAKISTAN: The trade of justice continues as police protect ruling party members who raped and abducted one woman, and threw acid on another

Names of victims:

1. Ms. Zainab Zia, 24, wife of Saleem Qaudri
Resident of house number 1249, Amani Shah colony number 11
Latifabad Unit number 12, Hyderabad district
Sindh province

2. Ms. Shehla Zia, 21,
Resident of house number 1249, Amani Shah colony number 11
Latifabad Unit number 12, Hyderabad district
Sindh province

3. Mr. Saleem Qaudri
Resident of house number 1249, Amani Shah colony number 11
Latifabad Unit number 12, Hyderabad district
Sindh province

4. Mr. Aslam Hyderi
witness to rape incident
Amani Shah colony number 11
Latifabad Unit number 12, Hyderabad district
Sindh province

Names of perpetrators:

1. Mr. Mohammad Ali,
Resident of House number E86,
Amani Shah Colony, Latfabad unit 11, Hyderabad district
Sindh province

2. Mohammad Ismail
Resident of House number E86
Amani Shah Colony, Latfabad unit 11, Hyderabad district
Sindh province

4. Inspector Hassan Ali Abdi,
Station Head Officer (SHO) of A section police station Latifabad
Hyderabad
Sindh province

5. Sohail Yousuf, member of Sindh Assembly,
Hyderabad

6. Siraj Rajput, member of coordination committee, MQM,
Nine Zero, Azizabad, Karachi,
Sindh province

7. Kamran Khanzada, sector in charge, block B, unit number 7, Latifabad,
Hyderabad,
Sindh province

Place of Incident: Latfabad, Hyderabad district, Sindh province
Date of Incident: 10 September 2008 until present

I am writing to register my shock and concern for the violence committed against two women by various MQM party members, and the collusion of police officers and high officials to block the victims' access to redress.

According to the information I have been given Ms. Zainab Zia, 24, was raped on 10 September 2008 by her brother-in-law Mohammad Ali, who is an active MQM member in Hyderabad. Later he and two other party members (Saleemuddin, the victim's uncle and Ismail, her cousin) tied up the girls, throwing acid at Shehla, and kerosene on Zainab. Moments before they set her alight, two family friends rescued the girls and took them to the Civil Hospital, Hyderabad, where a medical report was obtained.

I am told that during the next two months the sisters tried to lodge an FIR several times, but were blocked by Station Head Officer (SHO) Hassan Ali Abdi, a former MQM activist. I am told that this was due to pressure from MQM leaders. Police also refused to conduct a crucial physical examination for evidence of the rape.

The situation worsened for the sisters in October when the Nazim or chairman of MQM Union Council 10 used his authority to arrange for their forced admittance into a psychiatric hospital, as reportedly directed by another party member (Siraj Rajput of MQM Coordination Committee at 9-0 Karachi). The sisters were forced to flee and took shelter with the family friend who had helped them before, Mr. Saleem Qaudri. To make this culturally and legally acceptable, Zainab became Qaudri's second wife on 3 November.

Nevertheless the police were ordered to file a case of rape, kidnap and theft against Qaudri (FIR no. 261/08) by a member of the provincial assembly elected from the MQM platform (Mr. Sohail Yousuf). Qaudri was arrested on 11 November 2008 and was only released by the judicial magistrate when Zainab produced a marriage certificate.

Almost three months after the rape and acid throwing, the sisters' application at Hyderabad Additional Session Court finally came through, and police were ordered to file an FIR against the accused. A medical test was performed on Zainab but it was inconclusive due to the delay. An Inspector (Nasir Nawab) began to legitimately investigate the case before being promptly suspended because, I am reliably told, of pressure from the MQM. The three perpetrators were granted bail. Zainab and Shehla asked for police protection, but did not receive any.

Emerging from a court hearing on 26 February 2009, Zainab was abducted at gunpoint by Ali, the girls' own brother and three others. Fortunately their van's escape was stopped and she was rescued by passing motorcyclists, however officers at Hyderabad's Cantonment police station refused to file the case.

Zainab then bypassed the police and took the case to the court of Session no. 6, Hyderabad, requesting (according to article 22A of the Code of Criminal Procedure) that the police file a case. The court issued the order on 24 March, but it was then blocked by a stay order from the High Court at the request of the accused men. The judge, Justice Muslin Hani, then asked for a report on the situation from the district police officer (DPO Javed Odho) who naturally refuted the allegations. His report of 18 April recommended that the case against the men be dropped due to insufficient evidence. The high court closed it.

Giving up on the law, Zainab and Shehla decided to hold a press conference at Hyderabad press club on 22 August 2009. Two days later Zainab's husband, Qaudri and his guests were attacked in a Latifabad restaurant. Police intervened but refused to register a case. Neither did they accept the report of Qaudri's medical examination.

The original case of rape and acid-throwing is now pending in Session and District Court no. 6, Hyderabad, with no progress made. The witnesses – Shehla Zia, Asif Qaudri, Mohammad Afzal and Saleem Qaudri – say that they get continuous threats from the party in office. They have been told to expect poor treatment if the case does eventually get taken up properly.

I am aware that this is not an isolated case in Pakistan, and that Zainab and Shehla's ordeal just goes to show what can happen to the average Pakistani who tries to access justice in certain areas of the country. At this level of corruption, a judiciary and law enforcement system has lost every trace of independence and simply become tools for those with money and political paunch, even low level politicians. This case not only exposes the failure of the nation's basic judicial systems, but the endemic political corruption that is breaking it. Here the law has simply become a commodity available to those who can afford to trade in it.

As well as violating the spectrum of its own constitutional laws, the actions of Hyderabad's officers, political party members and judges in this case done nothing to ensure a fair trial, a right to remedy or any other rights enshrined by the UN's International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which Pakistan signed last year.

With such strong and constant examples of lawlessness among those who are meant to enforce the law, it is a wonder that there is any faith left in the system at all.

It is also unacceptable to hear that rape is still commonly employed in Pakistan as a tool of intimidation, yet given little priority in its courts and police stations. I urge you to order a prompt and impartial investigation into the various allegations of corruption, resulting in the discharge and prosecution of those proven guilty. I also expect you to arrange for immediate relief and protection for the victims, who are under continuous threat from the ruling partner of the government.

Yours sincerely,

------------------ PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. Mr. Syed Yousaf Raza Gilani
Prime Minister of Pakistan
Prime Minister House
Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9221596
E-mail: secretary@cabinet.gov.pk

2. Syed Qaim Ali Shah
Chief Minister
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 920 2000
E-mail: pppsindh@yahoo.com

3. Mr.Syed Mumtaz Alam Gillani
Federal Minister for Human Rights
Ministry of Human Rights
Old US Aid building
Ata Turk Avenue
G-5, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: +9251-9204108
Email: sarfaraz_yousuf@yahoo.com

4. Mr. Muhammad Ayaz Soomro
Minister for Law, Parliamantry Affairs & Criminal Prosecution Service
Sindh Assembly Building,
Court road, Karachi, Sindh province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9211982
E-mail: secy.law@sindh.gov.pk

5. Chief Justice of Sindh High Court
High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi
Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9213220
E-mail: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk

6. Ms. Nadia Gabol
Minister for Human Rights
Government of Sindh,
Pakistan secretariat, Barrack 92,
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9207044
Tel: +92 21 9207043
E-mail: lukshmil@yahoo.com

7. Dr. Faqir Hussain
Registrar
Supreme Court of Pakistan
Constitution Avenue, Islamabad
PAKISTAN
Fax: + 92 51 9213452
E-mail: mail@supremecourt.gov.pk

7. Inspector General of Police
Sindh Province,
Police Head office, I. I. Chundrigar road
Karachi, Sindh Province
PAKISTAN
Fax: +92 21 9212051
E-mail: ppo.sindh@sindhpolice.gov.pk

------------------------------ Thank you.
Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrc.asia)