Daily Times

Nation Branding is an attractive new concept, which can help our country, gauge all the parameters to find the loopholes which continuously dent our global image, this exercise to uplift our country image can translate in increased economic activity.

The concept is thus used across the globe by developed and developing countries alike to eliminate any activity tarnishing their international image. Global institutions, and the frameworks they formulate are subject to adopted globally, for the greater good of the global community, one framework was introduced by The United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized, which was adopted by the UN General Assembly; UNTOC enacted in 2003 was ratified by Pakistan in 2010.

UNOTC have provisions (article 24 and 25) which calls for witness protection.the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) urges all the state parties to take concrete measures to ensure witness safety and shield them from any violence, they also provide legal technical and institutional assistance and help member countries asses their laws and authorities with training and awareness programs. Crime in any city of Pakistan seem to be an internal matter of this sovereign country, but due to interconnected nature of this world we live in, and our own commitment to the international law and rights, any crime taking place in our street have global consequences for our international images and our commitment to international frameworks.

These International organizations and frameworks, used to asses country commitment through annual or monthly reports which shows clear data, number of incidents, violence against the witness/victims, a low scorecard expose country to global scrutiny, which make it a soft target in the global community due to its lack of commitment in enacting and implementing laws at home. The recent conversion of Hindu girls, and their marriage to Muslims, the minor Zainab rape and murder case in Kasur district of Punjab, Naqeebullah murder case, Ayyan Ali case and the whistleblower murder case are all supposed to be crimes that fall under the jurisdiction of local authorities, but they resonated around the globe, they make it to the headlines time slot of the world leading news channels like CNN and BBC, and the developments of those news stories were telecasted in follow up bulletins. For a developing country like Pakistan, the absence of strong witness protection mechanism will dent the country’s profile due to repeated news of violence, which cannot be just contained but eliminated, with the help of parliament and governmentall such loopholes can be filled. The parliament and provincial assemblies’ role is laudablethe previous and current governments, as they started introducing a range of measures in the form of laws, these laws can fill the loopholes in witness protection. Sindh was the first province which took lead in introducing the witness protection law.

In South Asia, other countries are also rushing to introduce sets of laws dedicated to witness protection, India recently moved to introduce its own measures to curb these threats when the Indian Supreme Court approved the draft witness protection plan on December 6, 2018, and gave it a status of law with immediate effect after some fierce attacks against the witness

All these federal and provincial laws is a move towards forming a network that can help authorities to avert any harm to witness. The distinction between high profile and low profile in witness protection is also lethal, there must be the same amount of vigilance and commitment in any case.

Witness Protection Laws in Pakistan

1. Witness Protection, Security and Benefit Act, 2017, enacted on 7th June 2017

2. Punjab CM approves formation of Witness Protection Board, on March 2019, a first step towards enforcement of Punjab Witness Protection Act of 2018

3. Sindh Witness Protection Act, 2013 was passed on 1st November 2013

4. The Balochistan Witness Protection Act, 2016 was promulgated on 26th March 2016

5. Khyber Pakhtunkhwa still have no dedicated legislation on the subject of witness protection.

In South Asia, other countries are also rushing to introduce set of laws dedicated to witness protection, India recently moves to introduce its own measures to curb these threats when the Indian Supreme Court approved the draft witness protection plan on December 6, 2018, and gave it a status of law with immediate effect after some fierce attacks against the witness. In Indian case it was their Supreme Court which took the lead in enforcing that law, while in Pakistan the parliament and provincial legislature enacted those laws. The lack of witness protection can be seen in their Samjhauta Express case, according to Indian Supreme Court the level of witness protection in the case is worrying as 51 out of 224 witnesses turned hostile, various tools were used to influence witness in the case, and according to the judge himself the lack of witness protection effected the outcome of the case in which many innocent lost their lives. Samjhauta Case verdict tarnished Indian international image, due to lack of workable witness protection in place, questioning the vitality of Indian judicial and law enforcement frameworks.

The writer has a MSc Strategic Studies from the National Defence University Islamabad