ISLAMABAD: Chief Justice Athar Minallah of the Islamabad High Court instructed the federal government on Monday to set up a human rights court within this week, reported the local media, as he held a hearing in a case related to the torture of jail prisoners in Rawalpindi city.
The chief justice visited the Adiala Jail last month where he met with inmates and took a few hours to survey their living conditions.
The prison facility got media coverage in recent weeks after former prime minister Imran Khan’s close aide, Shahbaz Gill, complained of custodial torture while he was in the jail.
“The Islamabad High Court on Monday directed the federal government to establish human rights courts this week,” said Geo News, adding that Justice Minallah had said the cases of rights violation would “be heard in a special court.”
“During the hearing,” the media report added, “Justice Minallah said that the court will not tolerate torture inflicted upon the prisoners and that the inhuman practice of custodial torture should end now.”
According to Samaa TV, he also instructed the human rights ministry to establish a complaint cell at the jail while ordering action against the inspector general prisons in Punjab and the superintendent of Adiala Jail.
Custodial torture is not uncommon in Pakistan where police are widely believed to use it to obtain confessions.
Recently, police in Pakistan’s federal capital suspended one of its officials after a lawyer visiting his office accused him of torturing a citizen in her presence.
Top judge in Pakistani capital orders government to set up human rights court within week
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Top judge in Pakistani capital orders government to set up human rights court within week
- Justice Athar Minallah recently visited the Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi to survey the living conditions of prisoners
- He said his court would not tolerate the practice of custodial torture while ordering action against relevant officers
Five cops killed as gunmen ambush police van in northwestern Pakistan
- Over a dozen “well-armed terrorists” ambushed police van in northwestern Karak district, say police
- Pakistan’s northwestern KP province has witnessed a surge in militant attacks in recent months
PESHAWAR: Five cops were killed when a group of “terrorists” ambushed a police van in Pakistan’s northwestern Karak district on Tuesday, a police official confirmed.
Karak police spokesperson Shaukat Khan said a heavy police reinforcement has been dispatched to the site of the attack in the district’s Gurguri area to collect evidence.
“Over a dozen well-armed terrorists ambushed a police mobile van in the jurisdiction of Gurguri police station, an inaccessible area of the district, leaving five policemen martyred,” Khan told Arab News.
No group has claimed responsibility for the attack. However, similar attacks on police and security forces have been claimed in the past by the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban.
Khan identified the slain police officers as Shahid Iqbal, Arif, Sami Ullah, Safdar and the driver named Muhammad Ibrar.
“Evidence has been collected from the crime scene and a comprehensive search operation is now underway to apprehend the perpetrators,” Khan said.
The Gurguri region is home to a large gas field, where exploration activities take place regularly. This often necessitates heightened security measures by law enforcement personnel.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant activities, particularly in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan, in recent months.
Earlier this month, one police constable was killed while five others were injured in a suicide blast that targeted a police vehicle in the Lakki Marwat district.
Similarly, three police personnel were killed in November when militants attacked a checkpost in Hangu city.
Pakistan has blamed Afghanistan for facilitating cross-border attacks against its security forces and turning a blind eye to the TTP’s activities on its soil.
Afghanistan rejects the allegations and says it cannot be held responsible for Islamabad’s security lapses.
