HYDERABAD: Non-implementation of land reforms breeding violence: HRCP report on double murder
By Our Correspondent
HYDERABAD, Feb 25: A fact finding team of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), which investigated the murders of Seth Gobind Ram and the teenage son of his hari, has concluded that both the killings were the off-shoot of the non- implementation of land reforms.
The team noted that police overlooked such cases on account of different pressures, leading to an increase in these incidents.
Seth Gobind Ram and Altaf Khaskheli, 14, were killed in village Obhayo Khaskheli near Mirwah Gorchani simultaneously under mysterious circumstances.
A two-member fact finding team led by coordinator of the core-group of the HRCP, Akhtar Baloch, decided to conduct a probe after the relatives of Altaf approached the commission levelling allegations against landlords and police.
Around eight persons including Seth Gul, brother of Gobind, Allah Dino Manganhar, peasant of deceased landlord, Mohammad Hassan, brother of Altaf, SHO, Taluka police, Ghulam Nabi Shar and others.
According to the report released on Monday, the team found that entire case was replete with contradictions on the part of people of Khaskheli community and family of Seth Gobind Ram.
According to the team, land reforms were not implemented in letter and spirit and consequently differences over agricultural lands turned into violent disputes.
The report said that the delay in the disposal of civil litigation on account of change of title caused enmities among people living in the same area for years.
The report said that concerned departments also did not look into the facts in which landlords transferred their lands in the names of their haris, which indicated several loopholes in our justice system.
The report maintained that the jirga was getting popular as a parallel justice system since it provided opportunities to accused to go unpunished by offering compensation or apology and this practice promoted criminal activities.
The team said that police had become partisan in such matters by supporting landlords and torturing haris and it was also reflected in the statement of SHO Taluka police who said that any investigating officer could release accused if he believed that there was no evidence against them.
The team recommended that an inquiry should be conducted against those landowners who had transferred their lands in the names of their haris to avoid land reforms in order to make the reforms effective.
The report said that stern action should also be taken against revenue department officials who did not abide by the legal procedure while initiating recovery campaign.
The report called for legislation that should help dispose of civil litigations quickly so that the parties did not take law in their hands in desperation.
The courts should ensure that if there was any irregularity in the documents of parties, action must be taken against them.
The report recommended that the holding of jirgas should be declared illegal and the organizers of jirgas must be taken to task as it had divided the people on community level.
