ONE hopes that Prime Minister Imran Khan will follow up on his announcement that a bill against torture would be introduced soon in parliament. Thousands of people in the country are subjected to torture — all too often by the law enforcers themselves. Purging the criminal justice system of this sadistic practice is a challenge that needs to be addressed immediately. The prime minister made his announcement on Twitter and stated that torture was “unacceptable in a civilised society”. He instructed the interior ministry to accelerate the process of presenting the anti-torture bill in the National Assembly. He also asserted that torture tactics were against the spirit of Islam and the Constitution and a violation of Pakistan’s international legal obligations.

It has been over a decade since Pakistan signed the Convention against Torture, and it must now take its commitment further. Torture is endemic in the country, whether in the criminal justice system or society in general. Police officials routinely employ it to extract ‘confessions’ from suspects or ‘punish’ them, something that the courts themselves have acknowledged. The case of Salahuddin Ayubi last year is just one of many incidents where victims have died in police custody. It is this mindset that lends ‘legitimacy’ to the extended detention of suspects at internment centres and allows police officials to maintain safe houses that operate under the radar for the very purpose of violating the basic rights of suspects in horrible ways. Meanwhile, as the case of the 10-year-old domestic worker Tayyaba demonstrated, torture is a part of society. Indeed, there are numerous examples that never come to light both in official and private spheres, and justice for the victims is rare. All too often, the perpetrators escape the accountability process — unless a hue and cry is raised. While finalising the draft of the anti-torture bill, the interior ministry should take guidance from the report of the UN Committee against Torture regarding Pakistan’s compliance with the provisions of the convention. Besides completely prohibiting torture, the authorities also need to train police officers in forensic evidence gathering and alternate interrogation techniques. Strict punishment should be ensured for law enforcers irrespective of how well-connected or high-ranking they may be. One hopes that the authorities will act promptly and justly, and not put this issue on the back-burner. The promised bill must see the light of day if Pakistan is to be perceived as a progressive state.

Published in Dawn, September 5th, 2020