KARACHI, Dec 29: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan condemning the baton charge and subsequent arrest of the people on Thursday who were protesting against their relatives’ disappearances, has demanded that they be released immediately and stern legal action be taken against the police officials involved in the atrocities.

In a statement issued here on Friday, HRCP Secretary General Iqbal Haider criticising the government said the law enforcement agencies were involved in the illegal practice of picking up people and not bothering to inform their relatives. He said the people picked up by the agencies were not being produced in the courts which was a violation of their human rights. He said if the detained people were involved in any illegal act or wanted in any cases, they should be arrested and tried in open courts where they can defend themselves.

The HRCP official said that the relatives of thes missing people had been running from pillar to post to learn the wherabouts of their near and dear ones but without success. He said to hold a protest demonstration was their basic human right as guaranteed in Articles 9, 10, 14, 15, 16, 17 and 19 of the Constitution.

Referring to the pictures of police brutalities against the protesters printed in the media he said that instead of redressing the grievances of the families of missing citizens, the police was resorting to Gestapo type tactics.

Expressing the HRCP’s sympathy and solidarity with the missing people and their families he said the HRCP would continue to protest against such policies and acts of the government and mobilise public opinion in the country and overseas to restrain the government from resorting to such inhuman, illegal and unconstitutional acts.

Mr Haider demanded that all protesters who have been picked up by the police be released; all missing persons be recovered and of they were wanted in any cases be tried in open courts. He also demanded that the police officials involved in committing the brutalitiesduring the Rawalpindi demonstration be taken to task and punished sternly.