E/CN.4/1995/34
page 106
her. The Sindh High Court in August 1992 ordered a First Information Order to
be filed against the two officers. It was not known if an investigation had
been undertaken.
549. Further information was communicated according to which some young boys
had been subjected to rape in the custody of police. It was reported that
Rashid Mallah, aged 14, was beaten and raped by a police constable of police
station Meldsi near Shahdadpur in Sanghar district, Sindh province. A
complaint was registered against the constable by police, but it was unknown
whether an investigation had taken place.
550. Finally, the Special Rapporteur advised the Government that he
had received reports, according to which private landlords or waderas,
particularly in Sindh province, were running private jails wherein bonded
rural labourers were kept captive and were subjected to severe ill-treatment.
Detention and torture in such private jails was said to occur often with the
knowledge, connivance or direct involvement of the police and other organs of
the State. Several private jails in Sindh were said to be maintained by
elected members of the National Assembly from both the Islamic Democratic
Alliance and the Pakistan People’s Party. In one case a rural jail
with 130 chained rural labourers discovered in mid-1993 was said to belong
to Salim Akbar Bugti, a member of the National Assembly.
Information transmitted by the Government with respect
to cases included in previous reports
551. On 28 April 1993 the Special Rapporteur sent an urgent appeal on behalf
of Lisa Evelyn Encore, an American citizen detained in prison in Karachi, who
was five months pregnant and suffering from dysentery, pneumonia and possibly
hepatitis. She was reportedly being provided little or no medical care and
insufficient food. On 1 July 1994 the Government responded that she had given
birth in hospital in August 1994; that the United States Vice Counsel and all
requested relatives had been allowed to visit her; that a special diet of milk
and meat had been provided to her and to her baby; that her baby had been
given appropriate vaccinations; and that all medical facilities had been
provided to her and to her baby.
Observations
552. Over the past two years of his mandate, the Special Rapporteur has had
discussions with the Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the United Nations
Office at Geneva with a view to his being granted an invitation to visit the
country. While prospects at first seemed promising, the Government eventually
informed the Special Rapporteur that a mission was not convenient during the
current year, but that it hoped to welcome the Special Rapporteur next year.
The Special Rapporteur would be glad if that hope were realized, as the
allegations he has received give grounds for serious concern.
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