Senate panel condemns police brutality against PTI workers, Imran

ISLAMABAD: In a resounding denunciation of police brutality, the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights spoke with one voice on Monday, condemning the reprehensible mistreatment of Pakistan Thereek Insaf members and chairman Imran Khan by law enforcement officials.

Their unanimous call for sweeping reforms and improved training in police departments is a clear signal that such egregious actions must never be allowed to persist in our society. The Punjab police’s practice of damaging private property, including breaking the windscreens and side windows of vehicles, particularly those with women inside, was unanimously condemned by the Committee. Senator Walid Iqbal chaired a meeting of the Senate Standing Committee on Human Rights on Monday.

The committee was briefed on the alleged theft of former prime minister Imran Khan’s and his political and security aides’ valuables and personal belongings during a police raid on March 18, 2023.

Senior officials of the Punjab Police informed the committee that the Chief Security Officer of Imran Khan was invited to file a complaint regarding the stolen valuables with the Joint Investigation Team (JIT) investigating the incident.

In addition, the parliamentary panel discussed the treatment of political prisoners who were held in detention across Punjab during the PTI Jail Bharo Tehreek. Senator Walid Iqbal provided the committee with details of the mistreatment he and other detainees had experienced during their confinement, including being housed in cells with regular criminals.

Senator Quratul Ain Marri proposed that the committee develop new rules and standard operating procedures to end these abuses. The committee recommended a review of jail manuals to address existing deficiencies and propose amendments to prison regulations.

The committee discussed various issues, including the alleged use of excessive force against former prime minister Imran Khan and his companions during their court appearance on March 18th, 2023. The committee also expressed concern about the broad application of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (ATA) against the crowd that had gathered and requested data about individuals under 18 years old who had been implicated in FIRs under the ATA.

However, IG Islamabad Police Akbar Nasir declined to provide such data, citing that the matter was subjudice and a JIT had been formed to investigate it. For this purpose, the committee decided to call LEA officials, including senior police functionaries from all four provinces and the Islamabad Capital Territory, as well as senior functionaries of the Pakistan Rangers, to a session aimed at inculcating allegiance to being protectors rather than tormentors of the public.

The committee also took exception to the callous and sadistic treatment meted out by the Punjab authorities to Senator Walid Iqbal and 23 other political prisoners while transporting them, locked up in prison vans, from the Central Jail, Kot Lakhpat, to the District Jail, Layyah, on February 23, 2023, where, during a journey of about 12 hours, no one was allowed any food, water, or toilet break.

The committee agreed that such treatment was inhumane and contrary to all civilised norms, and if a case could be made out for violation of law, the aggrieved parties ought to act against the officials concerned.