PAKISTAN: Terror suspects disappear

[ This report does not necessarily reflect the views of the United Nations]

LAHORE, 24 Aug 2005 (IRIN) - Fifty-two-year-old Anwari Mai keeps an old black and white photograph of her son on the kitchen shelf of her house in the tiny village where she lives with her family, close to the industrial town of Gujranwala in the central Pakistani province of Punjab.

Her son, Qayyum, stares out from the faded picture, sitting amidst rows of spices stored in old plastic bottles. He has a a straggly beard, making him look somewhat older than his 19 years. Today, Qayyum would be nearly 23.

Qayyum is one amongst the growing ranks of 'disappeared' people in the country. Nearly four years ago he was recruited by an extremist organisation to battle against the US-led coalition in Afghanistan. Anwari Mai and her husband, Saleem, believe their son returned from Afghanistan in 2003, along with other Pakistani prisoners who were handed back by Kabul but they have no idea where he is being held, nor even if he's still alive. They suspect he may be in jail somewhere in Punjab province.

"It's a bad situation. We believe many people who came back from Afghanistan are simply being kept in jails here. There are no charges against them, and therefore no hope they will be freed by the courts, or at least awarded a specific jail term. Often, their families have no idea where they are detained, according to what we know," said Brigadier (Retired) Rao Abid, in charge of the Vulnerable Prisoners Project at the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).

He believes that, much like Qayyum, a large percentage of those who went to Afghanistan were misguided, confused young men, susceptible to the propaganda of the fundamentalist 'jihadi' groups. Currently, though the precise figures are unknown, HRCP believes 300 or more such men may have been jailed in the Punjab alone.

But these are far from being the only missing people in the Pakistan. ‘Missing’ was a term rarely heard in the local context beforebut things have changed since Washington's "War on Terror" began in earnest following after the 9/11 attacks.

The country's Anti-Terrorism Act (ATC) NOT ATA? was amended in 2002 to include various provisions that HRCP has described as "draconian," in particular the power to sanction the detention of suspected militants without charge for up to a year. In the view of rights groups, this law has frequently been used unjustly against citizens.

Dr Aafia Siddiqui, who vanished in April 2003, is perhaps the country's best known 'missing' person. Aafia vanished from Karachi, along with her three small children. Some reports have suggested she was in the custody of Pakistani intelligence agencies, while others indicate that she is being held in the US.

The academic and her husband were named on a list of wanted people compiled by the US Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) being accused of having links with the Al-Qaeda terror network. Her mother in Karachi, Ismet Siddiqui, continues to demand information about her daughter and her grandchildren, as well as details of any charges brought against her in the two years since she ‘disappeared'.

Estimates of the number of missing people vary, according to HRCP, between "several hundred and several thousand." More accurate figures are hard to obtain, with government officials extremely reluctant to divulge any information on the subject.

Lawyer Mehboob Ahmed Khan has no doubt that authorities are misusing anti-terrorism laws to harass citizens, including those who have no links with terrorist groups.

"There can be no excuse for detaining people, sometimes for years, without charge. This is outside any law," Khan points out indignantly.

Officially, the authorities deny people have gone 'missing' or have been handed over to the US, without any legal procedure.

"Our commitment to the battle against terrorism is absolute and no, people's rights are not being abused as a part of this struggle," federal information minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed, said.

Leading lawyer and UN rapporteur Hina Jillani points out that international law bars 'disappearances', arbitrary detention and torture, even when possible terrorist offences are being investigated.

"It is shocking what is happening. We have no idea how many people have gone missing," said Jillani.

As in many other countries, the battle against terrorism is taking its toll on human rights, activists say. Many fear that such actions could strengthen the perceptions of injustice harboured by people with militant sympathies. In this manner, such actions may contribute to the growth of militancy rather than help eliminate it, creating a still more dangerous situation within the country in the years ahead.

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