Islamabad, January 14, 2022 (PPI-OT): A meeting of the Standing Committee on Human Rights of the Upper House was held at the Parliament House under the chairmanship of Senator Waleed Iqbal. The issues of public importance raised in the Senate session on November 10, 2021 discussed in the meeting of the Standing Committee.
The issue of targeted killing of social worker and media person in Malakand, abduction of two students of Balochistan University and the disappearance of three persons by raised by Senator Kamran Murtaza were reviewed in detail.
The issue of targeted killing of social workers and media persons in a matter of public importance raised by Senator Fida Mohammad and Senator Mushtaq Ahmed was discussed in detail in the committee meeting. Senator Mushtaq Ahmed said that Muhammadzada Agrawal, a social worker, was killed in Malakand on November 8 for speaking out against drug dealers.
He said that due to the prevalence of drugs in our province, the youth are getting addicted to it. Agreement was reached in a meeting that the accused would be arrested as soon as possible. Accused will be charged under Anti-Terrorism Act.
The affected family will be given assistance and a family member will be given a government job. The matter will be judicially investigated and the area will be cleared of drug dens. But according to the report, the real culprit has not been arrested; only the assassins have been caught. Judicial inquiry has not been ordered yet and the victim’s family has not received any compensation as yet.
Senator Fida Mohammad said that there is a problem in Malakand division because there is no Police Act. Levies are providing services instead of police which is causing problems. On which Commissioner Malakand said that the mastermind of the murder case of social worker Muhammad Zada Agrawal who was killed in Malakand division has not been arrested so far but the hired killers have been arrested.
Steps are being taken to arrest him and he will be arrested soon. Action was taken against drug dealers by forming four teams and more than 60 drug dealers were arrested. Accused Nisar’s identity card has been blocked and his name has been included in ECL. We have written to the provincial government about the process of compensating the affected family and the duebprocess is underway.
The Standing Committee recommended immediate arrest of the main accused of Mohammadzada Agrawal murder and taking strict action against drug dealers, conducting judicial inquiry, compensation to the family members as soon as possible and awarding Medal of Courage to the late Mohammadzada Agrawal. The committee appreciated the good performance of the administration in the Muhammadzada Agarwal murder case and said that the crimes could be minimized if the concerned administration was mobilized in the same manner.
The issue of assassination of Nazim Jokhio was reviewed in detail in the meeting of the standing committee. Senator Saifullah Abro told the committee that in Sindh province, it is difficult for the police to register an FIR unless a case is registered under the patronage of a senior police officer. Police had not registered a case of 65 murders in the last nine months.
He said that Nazim Jokhio was killed by MNA and his brother MPA. No terrorism charge has been filed in the case and five arrested persons have escaped today. IG Sindh Mushtaq Mehr while briefing the standing committee on Nazim Jokhio murder case through video link said that according to the preliminary investigation, five persons who escaped from the court premises in the morning had nothing to do with this case.
“If they had been wanted by us, they would not have been able to escape,” he added. IG Sindh further said that MNA’s name was not initially in the FIR but was later added at the request of the plaintiff. IG Sindh further said that the investigation team has completed the challan and 5 fugitives arrested are innocent but the media was misreporting. He further told the committee that the terrorism clause is imposed as per the order of the court and if there is a problem in registering an FIR, the courts also look into the matter.
The plaintiff had told the court that MNA was not our culprit but the police still challenged him and with the consent of the family members, the names of the people were included in the FIR. IG Sindh further said that a squad and security have been provided to Nazim Jokhio’s wife. IG Sindh said that it is better that if the Honourable Senator has any concerns regarding the performance of Sindh Police, he should send it in writing.
IG Sindh Office will provide his answers in writing. On which the chairman of the committee said that Senator Saifullah Abro and Senator Seemi Ezdi should provide questions and reservations regarding this case to the committee, the standing committee will seek written reply from IG Sindh. The chairman of the committee sought a report from the Ministry of Human Rights regarding law and order situation in Sindh and especially in Larkana district.
Apart from the protests over the abduction of two students of Balochistan University, the cases of disappearance of three persons raised by Senator Kamran Murtaza were also reviewed in detail in the committee meeting. The IG Balochistan told the committee that 80 per cent of the missing person returns after some times.
Two students of the university who went missing are being investigated. He also apprised the standing committee of the details of the three missing persons and said that one of the three has been forcibly abducted and a video of which has been found. He said that a commission has also been constituted for missing persons which looks into such cases.
It is better for the standing committee to refer these matters to the commission. Chairman Committee Senator Waleed Iqbal said that the present government had constituted a committee in September 2020 to review the causes and remediation of such incidents.
The Standing Committee was also apprised of the details of the murder of Sheiba Gul and her father. Meeting of the Standing Committee was attended by Senators, Prof. Dr. Mehr Taj Roghani, Falak Naz, Seemi Ezdi, Gurdeep Singh, Saifullah Abro, Fida Muhammad, Mushtaq Ahmed, Kamran Murtaza besides Commissioner Malakand Division, DG Ministry of Human Rights, Home Secretary Province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, DC Malakand, IG Balochistan and IG Sindh participated through video link.
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