LAHORE: Barrister Zafarullah Khan, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister for Human Rights/ Minister of State for Law & Justice, has defended the Pakistani judicial system and said that all courts were independent and the executive did not have anything to do with the cases in court.

He was speaking on the second day of the United Nations Committee against Torture (UNCAT)’s 60th session held in Geneva on Wednesday and streamed live. Pakistan government representatives replied to the questions asked.

The minister admitted there were cases of forced disappearances but judicial action was being taken by the Supreme Court. He also said that FATA would soon be completely merged with the Pakistan administration. “Twenty three members will be elected from there and the power of all constitutional courts will extended there.”

Stark difference between shadow and government reports: Chair

He said there were several women jails in the country but in some situations like Balochistan if there were no separate jails, there were wards or barracks where no males could enter.

About honour killings, he said the government had introduced a new law with complete consensus which had covered all aspects. “No killer will be let off, and will at least undergo life imprisonment. It is indeed a social problem, but it had been a part of some of the tribal culture.”

Coming to the issue of blasphemy, he said that it was a very sensitive issue, but that not just Islam blasphemy laws spoke of disrespect for all religions. “No one has the right to defame any religious figure or text. Any case cannot be inquired by local policemen, only the district head of police can do it as part of a safety mechanism,” he said.

He said recently two more safeguards were added – if there is any case falsely registered the court will issue a notice to the accuser demanding evidence for why he should not be penalized and punishment can be up to seven years for a false case. “I think it will go a long way. Unfortunately mobs are very charged and high level violence does happen. There is also a new law regarding lynching and all parties have supported us fully.”

He said the lynching of Mashal Khan had shaken the society. “The National Assembly has already passed resolutions against the mob and 22 people have been arrested. We think this case may be a turning point.” He also referred to the Rimsha Masih case where ulema had united to help the 11 year old girl.

“According to our National Action Plan, we are shaping a new humane narrative, in tune with modern human rights,” he said.

Rabiya Javeri Agha, Secretary, Ministry of Human Rights, briefed the participants about the number of women in jails.

Director General, Ministry of Human Rights, spoke about corporal punishment and said that an amendment was recently passed declaring any attack on children cimrinal. He said this issue was well covered by law. He said there was a bonded labour abolishment act since 1992 which was recently amended by all provinces, especially after decentralization.

He said under the Baitulmaal department, children of kiln workers were being sent to schools and stipends were being given as well as skill training. He said there was also a robust policy against trafficking.

Response from UNCAT was, however, that they would have liked to hear more statistics, and gave 48 hours to Pakistan to submit them if possible. They were confused about why the law enforcement agencies did not come under any form of accountability. They also said that there was too much or a stark difference between the shadow reports and the government reports. There was also no information given on the four bloggers who were picked up.

“Some of our questions remain unanswered,” said the chair.

Published in Dawn, April 20th, 2017