December 12, 2008	Friday	Zilhaj 13, 1429

HYDERABAD, Dec 11: The Asian Human Rights Commission has appealed to the Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, Justice Anwar Zaheer Jamali, to take suo motu notice in the case of eight women and four children of Khair Mohammad Khokhar village, district Tando Allahyar, who were allegedly arrested by police on the night of Nov 24 and were being held incommunicado.

In a communication addressed to the chief justice, a copy of which was also delivered to Dawn, the programme assistant of the commission, Mr Danilo Reyes, said that these people were being held as hostages as proxy for one dacoit who was a member of their family and was a suspect in the abduction of Dr Abdul Jalil Bachani, EDO health district Tando Allahyar.

Mr Reyes said that the police was reluctant to disclose the whereabouts of the women and the children.

He said that the judiciary had ordered raids at various police stations but the detained women and children could not be recovered during those raids.

He said that Dr Bachani was abducted by a group of dacoits on Nov 23 from the jurisdiction of Hatri police station and one dacoit was killed in an encounter with police at Nawabshah but the police failed to capture the other dacoits.

The women detained by the police are: Ms Imamzadi, 63, Ms Latifan, 21, Ms Shamima, 28, Ms Allah Wasai, 24, Ms Husna, 28, Ms Hawa, 28, Ms Sadori, 20, Ms Mirzadi, 22, and four children are also with them.

Mr Reyes pointed out that Pakistan had signed an international covenant on political and civil rights according to which arbitrary arrest was a violation of fundamental rights.

“There cannot possibly be any justification for taking women and minors as hostages to ensure the surrender of a suspected criminal”, Mr Reyes said.

He appealed to the chief justice to take suo motu action for the immediate release of the women and children and also to take legal action against the police officers who are involved in this heinous crime.