LAHORE, Aug 28: The government should hold an impartial and independent inquiry into the last week’s killings of tenants of the Okara military farms to bring the perpetrators to justice.
This has been urged by Asma Jahangir, the Special Rapporteur of the United Nations on extra-judicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in her statement issued here on Wednesday.
She also urged the government to ensure that no further violence is carried out by the Rangers, and the peasants not harassed and intimidated through illegal means.
The statement said: “The special rapporteur is aghast at the planned killings of three farmers by the Rangers in Okara. The farmers were tenants of army-occupied farms and were being coerced by the Rangers to negotiate a lease for seven years with them or to vacate the farms.
“The tenants had been living and tilling the farms for generations, almost for the last 100 years. In a similar situation in Khanewal, the Rangers have been threatening the farmers with violence. Hundreds of families faced forced evacuations and were therefore protesting against the highhandedness of the authorities only to be further threatened, and in another previous occasion one person was killed by the Rangers. The special rapporteur received reports that the electricity of the farms was disconnected to punish the tenants. When the farmers refused to negotiate with the authorities under pressure, the Rangers deliberately opened fire on them. Women and children were amongst the crowd when fire was opened. The special rapporteur is also concerned as the act was malicious since the government had publicly announced ownership rights to the landless farmers who have been sitting on the government lands for decades.
“The events of the army-controlled lands were being closely followed by the special rapporteur. She has also received credible reports that the injured peasants are chained to hospital beds and being charged with terrorism. The special rapporteur warns the international community that misuse of punishing marginalized sections of society in the name of terror will marginalize the prevailing war on terrorism itself. She is fearful for the lives of hundreds of peasants living on the army-controlled lands who are being threatened and harassed by the Rangers.”
