Lahore: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) welcomes the passage of the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Bill 2021, presented in the Senate by Senator Sherry Rehman and supported by the minister for human rights, Dr Shireen Mazari.

According to a statement, given that the country ratified the Convention against Torture in 2010, this bill is a long overdue step towards criminalizing what is, regrettably, an endemic practice. Ideally, legislation against torture should have been made part of the Pakistan Penal Code. Nonetheless, it is worth noting that the bill provides a comprehensive definition of torture, includes custodial sexual violence within the ambit of custodial torture, and gives the National Commission for Human Rights jurisdiction to investigate cases of torture once it has set up the necessary infrastructure.

HRCP remains concerned, however, that the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has been given primary jurisdiction to investigate complaints against torture-related offences. The evidence suggests that the FIA has perpetrated acts of torture itself and its current structure must be reformed to ensure that it does not collude with other state agencies to tacitly enable the use of torture as a tool of criminal investigation.

Given Pakistan’s long history of using torture as a tool to intimidate political dissidents, human rights defenders and journalists, the state must commit fully to eradicating the culture that props up the use of torture in the criminal justice system, through institutional reforms that seek to end impunity.

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