Pakistan army rejects Amnesty International report on tribal areas abuses

Pakistan military Thursday rejected as fabricated and bias finding of an Amnesty International report which says that millions are locked in perpetual lawlessness in Pakistan’s northwestern Tribal Areas, where human rights abuses committed by the Armed Forces and the Taliban are beyond the reach of justice.

The Amnesty International alleged that thousands of men and boys have been detained by the Armed Forces – many have alleged torture, are held in secret places of detention and never seen again.

“Pakistan military authorities have rejected allegations leveled against Pakistan army by Amnesty International in their reports titled ‘Pakistan’s report exposes the hand of cruelty in Pakistan’s tribal areas” the army said.

A military spokesman while refuting the allegations in a statement termed the amnesty international report a pack of lies and part of sinister propaganda campaign against Pakistan and its armed forces.

The Amnesty report claimed that ‘human rights safeguards under Pakistan’s constitution and the courts are excluded from the Tribal Areas, where the Armed Forces are using new broad security laws and a harsh colonial-era penal system to commit violations with impunity’.

The Pakistani army spokesman said it is a biased report based on fabricated stories twisted to serve an agenda.

The Taliban and other armed groups continue to pose a deadly threat to Pakistani society – thousands have been killed in indiscriminate attacks or those deliberately targeting civilians over the last decade, said Polly Truscott, Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director.

“The Taliban have time and again shown complete disregard for civilian lives by these indiscriminate and deliberate attacks,” said Truscott.

The Taliban and other armed groups are also carrying out brutal, unlawful killings of captured Armed Forces personnel or suspected spies, sometimes following quasi-judicial proceedings that fail to meet even the most basic international fair trial standards.

Short URL: https://www.newspakistan.pk/?p=36139

Posted by Tahir Khan on Dec 13 2012. Filed under Latest News, National, Pakistan, South Asia. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.