‘Credible’ reports of abuses of authority in Pakistan: Global watchdog

Islamabad, August 23

The International Human Rights Foundation (IHRF) has said it has received “credible reports” of abuses of authority in Pakistan, amid the ongoing political crisis in the country.

The global watchdog shared its views while retweeting news about the registration of a case against ousted premier Imran Khan under the country’s anti-terrorism act.

“We have received credible reports of abuses of authority in Pakistan. We are setting up a working group on this issue. We are currently gathering accurate information about what happened. We welcome any evidence and reliable news,” it said in a tweet.

“We see how several countries pass unjust laws, drafted to treat as terrorists innocent people who maintain legitimate disagreements to the government’s interests. This is a clear violation of #HumanRights,” it said in another tweet.

Khan, 69, was booked on Sunday under the Anti-Terrorism Act for threatening police, judiciary and other state institutions during a rally in the national capital last week. On Monday, he moved to the Islamabad High Court (IHC) seeking pre-arrest bail in the case. He has secured transit bail till August 25.

Police on August 9 arrested Shahbaz Gill, chief of staff and spokesman for Khan, following his controversial remarks in an interview with the ARY News television which has been banned since then.

The Express Tribune newspaper reported that after seeing photos and videos showing Gill gasping for air while being taken to the court and hospital, Khan went to see Gill at the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) on Friday evening but was denied permission.

Khan had claimed that Gill was being sexually abused while in police custody, vowing that he would leave no stone unturned to bring to justice those who were responsible for mentally and physically torturing his aide.

Videos of Gill also emerged on Monday in which he can be seen arguing with the doctors as they were forcing him to eat.

Meanwhile, journalist Jameel Farooqui was arrested in Karachi over ‘falsely’ accusing the Islamabad Police of ‘custodial torture’ of Gill.

The police maintained that Farooqui in his vlogs had accused the capital police of inflicting physical and sexual violence on Khan’s chief of staff, the report said.

The government has so far not responded to the statement by the IHRF.