Pakistan
14.09.06
Urgent Interventions
Pakistan: Attempted Rape of a Female Law Student at Karachi University
Case PAK 140906 VAW
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Attempted rape/ Impunity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Pakistan.
OMCT strongly condemns the fact that several weeks later, the authorities of the University have still not reported the case to the police. So far the Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi, Dr. Pirzada Qasim, only suspended the alleged perpetrators a few days. Even though the incident was widely publicised in the newspapers, he also allegedly prevented the victim from lodging a complaint to the police station.
According to the information received, the alleged perpetrators are still allowed to visit the University campus daily and have pressurised students to stop protesting against the incident. They are also allegedly supported by some members of a group called the Pakistan Rangers. The victim and her family have been left with no other option but to take refuge in an anonymous location.
OMCT is concerned by the fact that the four alleged perpetrators reportedly confessed to their crime in writing before the inquiry committee set up by the University’s authorities to investigate the case. This fact was confirmed by key University authorities before a fact-finding team sent by an NGO. The team has also discovered that the two main perpetrators of this incident had been caught once before for a similar incident at Sheikh Zaid Islamic University which is located within the premises of the Karachi University. However, the alleged influence of the Rangers led to the incident being hushed up and after a disciplinary action they were transferred to the Islamic Learning Department of the Karachi University.
OMCT firmly condemns this kind of violence and the impunity enjoyed by the authors in many cases, sometimes placing women victims of sexual assault in a position of defendants charged with fornication pursuant to the so-called Hudood Laws.
OMCT calls upon the government of Pakistan to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators with due diligence, in compliance with the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which in article 4(c) affirms that States should “exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons.”
1 Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML); not a member of the SOS-Torture network.
i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the victim and her family;
ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Ensure women and girls the right to be free from discrimination, including violence, in line with the international laws and standards;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Please also write to the embassies of Pakistan in your respective country.
***
Geneva, 14 September 2006.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.
VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN
Attempted rape/ Impunity
The International Secretariat of OMCT requests your URGENT intervention in the following situation in Pakistan.
Brief description of the situation:
The International Secretariat of OMCT has been informed by a reliable source1 of the rape attempt on a female law student at Karachi University by four men involving three staff members of the Islamic Learning Department and one student of the Physics Department on 28 July 2006.OMCT strongly condemns the fact that several weeks later, the authorities of the University have still not reported the case to the police. So far the Vice Chancellor of the University of Karachi, Dr. Pirzada Qasim, only suspended the alleged perpetrators a few days. Even though the incident was widely publicised in the newspapers, he also allegedly prevented the victim from lodging a complaint to the police station.
According to the information received, the alleged perpetrators are still allowed to visit the University campus daily and have pressurised students to stop protesting against the incident. They are also allegedly supported by some members of a group called the Pakistan Rangers. The victim and her family have been left with no other option but to take refuge in an anonymous location.
OMCT is concerned by the fact that the four alleged perpetrators reportedly confessed to their crime in writing before the inquiry committee set up by the University’s authorities to investigate the case. This fact was confirmed by key University authorities before a fact-finding team sent by an NGO. The team has also discovered that the two main perpetrators of this incident had been caught once before for a similar incident at Sheikh Zaid Islamic University which is located within the premises of the Karachi University. However, the alleged influence of the Rangers led to the incident being hushed up and after a disciplinary action they were transferred to the Islamic Learning Department of the Karachi University.
OMCT firmly condemns this kind of violence and the impunity enjoyed by the authors in many cases, sometimes placing women victims of sexual assault in a position of defendants charged with fornication pursuant to the so-called Hudood Laws.
OMCT calls upon the government of Pakistan to investigate, prosecute and punish the perpetrators with due diligence, in compliance with the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women, which in article 4(c) affirms that States should “exercise due diligence to prevent, investigate and, in accordance with national legislation, punish acts of violence against women, whether those acts are perpetrated by the State or by private persons.”
1 Women Living Under Muslim Laws (WLUML); not a member of the SOS-Torture network.
Requested action:
Please write to the authorities in Pakistan urging them to:i. Guarantee the physical and psychological integrity of the victim and her family;
ii. Order a thorough and impartial investigation into these events, in order to identify all those responsible, bring them to trial and apply the penal and/or administrative sanctions as provided by law;
iii. Ensure women and girls the right to be free from discrimination, including violence, in line with the international laws and standards;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and the fundamental freedoms throughout the country in accordance with national laws and international human rights standards.
Addresses:
- General Pervez Musharraf, President, President's Secretariat, Islamabad, PAKISTAN. Fax: +92 51 922 1422, 4768/ 920 1893 or 1835 ; E-mail: please see http://www.presidentofpakistan.gov.pk/WTPresidentMessage.aspx
- Mr. Ashfaq Gondal, Principal Information Officer to President of Pakistan
President Secretariat, Islamabad, PAKISTAN, Fax: + 92 51 927 008 - Mr. Muhammad Wasi Zafar, Minister of Law, Justice and Human Rights,
S Block, Pakistan Secretariat, Islamabad, PAKISTAN, Fax: +92 51 920 2628
E-mail: minister@molaw.gov.pk - Justice Iftikhar Choudhry, Chief Justice of Pakistan, Supreme Court building
Islamabad, PAKISTAN. Fax: + 92 51 921 3452 - Justice Sabih Uddin, Chief Justice of Sindh High Court, High Court Building
Saddar, Karachi, PAKISTAN. Fax: +92 21 921 3220. E-mail: info@sindhhighcourt.gov.pk - Mr. Ishrat-ul- Ibad Khan, Governor, Government of Sindh, Governor House Karachi, PAKISTAN. Tel: + 92 21 920 1201. E-mail: governor@governorsindh.gov.pk
- Dr. Arbab Abdul Rahim, Chief Minister of Sindh, Chief Minister House
Karachi, PAKISTAN. Fax: + 92 21 9202000 - Joint Secretary for Law, Justice and Human Rights, S Block, Pakistan Secretariat,
Islamabad, PAKISTAN. Tel: + 92 51 920 2819, Fax: + 92 51 920 3119 - Dr. Peerzada Qasim, Vice Chancellor, University of Karachi. Tel: +92 21 9261337
Fax: +92 21 9261340. E-mail: vcku@cyber.net.pk
Please also write to the embassies of Pakistan in your respective country.
***
Geneva, 14 September 2006.
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting the code of this appeal in your reply.