Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Committee of the Senate on Monday directed the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) to enquire from FIA as to how long it would take to complete the trial of the murder of Benazir Bhutto.

The direction was issued after Senator Babar Awan said the entire nation’s human rights were being violated by the delay in the trial arising out of the inordinate delay in concluding the case marked by frequent transfers of trial judges, assassination of a prosecutor and repeated changes of the case prosecutors.

The committee also recommended conferment of a civil award on the Multan based human rights defender, Advocate Rashed Rehman and directed the Human Rights Ministry to prepare a summary for the government in this regard. The issue was raised by Senator Farhatullah Babar who bemoaned that no progress had been made in the trial of Rashed Rehman’s killers.

He demanded that efforts must be stepped up to apprehend the killers who have reportedly fled the country and the late Rashed Rehman should be awarded a high civil award as a mark of recognition for his pioneering work to defend human rights of citizens in the course of which he himself was assassinated by extremists and militants.

The Punjab Police informed the Committee that one of the assailants of Rashed Rehman had been killed in a police encounter some time ago, while another two had fled the country and that efforts were afoot to apprehend the absconding accused in the case. The committee was also informed that a comprehensive security plan had been devised for the security of the family of Rashed Rehman, the complainant and witnesses of the case.

The committee also discussed the issue of 28 persons missing from the internment centre in Malakand and decided to invite the Home Secretary KPK and the IG Prisons KPK to the next meeting. The officer in charge of the internment centre at Malakand had informed the Committee that the army authorities had produced seven out of 35 undeclared internees before the Supreme Court and that the whereabouts of 28 others was not known to the jail authorities.

Senator Farhatullah Babar asked that the matter be referred to the National Commission on Human Rights NCHR to investigate as to what happened to the remaining 28 internees. He said that some time ago, the Defence Minister Khawaja Asif had himself lodged an FIR with the police nominating some people responsible. He said that the NCHR should investigate in that FIR and report to the Committee.

The meeting was presided over by Senator Mohsin Leghari and was attended by Senators Babar Awan, Nisar Khan, Sitara Ayaz, Samina Abid, Mir Kabir Shahi, Sehar Kamran and Farhatullah Babar.