“Use of torture has become an endemic in Pakistan. It is used before trials, after convictions and even when there is no trial intended or possible,” said Human Rights Commission of Pakistan director IA Rehman on Sunday.
He was addressing the concluding ceremony of the three-day conference arranged by the Democratic Commission for Human Development (DCHD) and the Open Society Foundation.
He said South Asia had a culture of torture. He said use of force was embedded in the political, social and psychological fabric of Pakistan’s society.
He said torture was permitted in ideological states.
“When a person commits a crime, he not only defies the law of human beings, but is also seen defying the laws of God and is stripped of his rights,” he said.
Rehman said the world was moving away from basic rights to freedom.
“Despite new laws, what we see in Pakistan is that crime keeps increasing and conviction rates are going down. This is because judges don’t have enough evidence to convict. Its all torture-based confessions.”
Pre-trial justice
Conference participants recommended that investigators should specialise in various crimes.
They said prosecutors should be given supervisory roles during investigations. They said a mechanism for accountability should be evolved.
They said video cameras should be installed at police stations and free legal aid should be offered to those who cannot afford lawyers.
They said forensic labs should be set up under the Health Department, instead of the Home Department.
The participants recommended that the police force be trained in human rights. They said knowledge of human rights was necessary for the police to enforce rule of law. They said police officers were trained in the use of force but were not held accountable for using it excessively.
Torture and prosecution
Participants of this group consisted of senior lawyers.
They explained the limitations of Pakistan’s legal system. They said the practice of illegal detentions should be checked.
They said unlawful detention resulted in far greater use of torture than legal detention.
They said presently, physical remand is given directly without the defense lawyers being present.
Law reform
The participants said torture was used for investigation because investigators were not trained. They said investigation officers were haphazardly assigned. They said people being inducted to the police should have legal education. They said many people were unaware of the laws protecting their rights. They recommended for cases of torture, there should be a chapter in the criminal procedure court.
They said there should be a separate arrangement and a law was necessary for prohibition and criminalisation of use of torture.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2014.