DR IMRAN FAROOQ'S LETTER TO MR KOFI ANNAN

26 February 2000

Mr Kofi Annan
Secretary General
United Nations
UN Plaza, New York 10017
New York
United States of America

URGENT INTERVENTION TO SAVE THE LIFE OF DR FAROOQ SATTAR AND TO TAKE NOTICE OF BLATANT DENIAL OF FAIR TRIAL AND FUNDAMENTAL RIGHTS BY THE PRESENT MILITARY REGIME IN PAKISTAN

Dear Secretary General

I am writing to bring to your notice the blatant denial of fair trial and violations of fundamental human rights by the present defacto military regime in Pakistan. This petition is regarding Dr Farooq Sattar, Member of MQM Central Co-ordination Committee, Parliamentary Leader of MQM in suspended Sindh Assembly and former Mayor of Karachi, who is under arrest of present regime. Apparently, he is being falsely implicated on the charges of corruption. I had also sent you a copy of an "SOS" letter written to President Bill Clinton on 21 February 2000.

On 21 February 2000, Dr Farooq Sattar has been transferred in a clandestine manner from Karachi to the Attock Fort in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) of Pakistan. Dr. Sattar volunteered his arrest because the State Agencies had launched a vigorous search against him on the pretext of "accountability". He was kept in Army barracks at Malir in Karachi and then shifted to some neglected part of a government building for 90 days before being shifted to Attock Fort in the NWFP province. During his unlawful detention, in total disregard to the judiciary and the Constitution of the country Dr Sattar was deprived of his rights to speak to his lawyers and was not produced before any Magistrate.

The important aspect of this case is that the crime that Dr Farooq Sattar is being falsely charged with was allegedly committed in Karachi. It is important to point out that the Sindh High Court has already given its ruling upon the jurisdiction in relation to the trial of cases. The Sindh High Court ruling is that a case can only be tried where the crime has occurred. It is on this basis the hijacking case against the deposed Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif is being tried in Sindh High Court since the crime was allegedly committed in Karachi. Under such circumstances this action of present Military regime not only defies logic, it also exhibits the obnoxious facet of vendetta against the MQM and its leaders and workers.

In total disrespect to the High Court judgement, Dr Farooq Sattar has been transferred to the Attock Fort for the purpose of trail. The Attock Fort is not only over thousand miles from Karachi, it is also in the other province of the country. It is important to note that by shifting Dr Sattar at such a remote location the Establishment has made it hardly possible for his family members to communicate with him and has forcibly and effectively prevented him from legal assistance. This forced isolation of Dr Farooq Sattar by the present Military Government is a blatant violation of not only The International Covenants on Civil and Political Rights including its Protocols but also utterly violates the Constitution of Pakistan.

Whereas in Article 10(1) of the Constitution of Pakistan states: No person who is arrested shall be detained in custody without being informed, as soon as may be, of the grounds for such arrest, nor shall he be denied the right to consult and be defended by legal practitioner of his choice.

Whereas in Article 14(2) of the Constitution of Pakistan states: No person shall be subjected to torture for the purpose of extracting evidence.

It is also important to mention that the Attock Fort of NWFP has been famous for forcible detention of political opponents of the respective regimes. It is located at such a position that it is fully controlled and managed by the Military and Paramilitary forces.

Dr Farooq Sattar has been detained in a solitary confinement and a terrible treatment is meted out to him. He is kept in a dark cell measuring seven square feet. He is being subjected to egregious torture under pre-trial detention. Moreover, the Accountability Bureau is comprised of Military officers that have also compounded the apprehensions about fair trial.

Article 10 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights clearly states:

Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, in the determination of his rights and obligations and of any criminal charge against him.

Article 11(1) of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights guarantees:

Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

It is relevant to point out that Dr Farooq Sattar has remained Mayor of Karachi Metropolitan Corporation for about five years. He has been twice elected as member of the National Assembly of Pakistan and twice as the member of Provincial Assembly of Sindh. He was also a senior minister in the Sindh Cabinet. By profession he is a medical doctor. Despite his such a high political and professional profile a treatment worst than hardened criminals is meted out to him. Be that as it may, the implicit and explicit reason for such detention is to make sure that Dr Farooq Sattar is convicted in a pre-decided guilty verdict. The purpose of such actions by the present Government is to extort forcible confessional statements and to stage a pantomime of media trial against the MQM to malign its image nationally and internationally.

It is a matter of record that for past many years the MQM has been subjected to a sustained crackdown and a reign of political victimisation and persecution by the successive regimes. On one hand the party has been faced with ruthless Army operation while on the other it has been subjected to an organised media trial. It is also a matter of record that brutal torture was inflicted upon the leaders, office bearers, elected representatives and supporters of the MQM to extract manufactured confessional statements from them. Those who resisted to such horrifying torture were extra judicially murdered or maimed for life. It can be said beyond doubt that the present military regime is also using the same nefarious tactic to extract forcible confessional statement from Dr Farooq Sattar. This so-called trial under cover of so-called "accountability" is a series of the atrocious campaign against the MQM and is a continuation of the persistent policy of State to crush the party and demolish its very existence.

I may point out that the MQM is not against impartial accountability. In fact, MQM is the only political party in Pakistan that has voiced for the impartial accountability of corrupt feudal, Army Generals and bureaucrats. The viewpoint of the MQM is that if the Government is in possession of evidence against Dr Farooq Sattar then why he was shifted to Attock Fort? Why the Government, in total disregard to the Sindh High Court judgment, is bent upon conducting his trial thousands miles away from Karachi where the case was originally registered? Why Dr Farooq Sattar has been effectively denied to defend himself by forcibly preventing him from assembling a defence team of lawyers and witnesses? I would emphatically assert that this trial drama is not aimed at carrying out "accountability" but it is conspicuously aimed at persecuting the MQM and its leadership.

Through such blatant denial of fair trial and violations of fundamental human rights the present Military regime has not only played havoc with the very foundations of the Constitution of the country, it has also torn apart the theoretical grundnorms of the UN Charter, International Bill of Human Rights, UN Conventions & Covenants and its Protocols dealing with the human rights and fair trials.

Whereas, the Article 14(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights states: All persons shall be equal before courts and tribunals. In the determination of any criminal charge against him, or his rights and obligations in a suit at law, everyone shall be entitled to a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal established by law…

Moreover, the Article 14(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights further guarantees:

… to be tried in his presence and to defend in person or through legal assistance of his own choosing; to be informed, if he does not have legal assistance, of his rights; and to have legal assistance assigned to him, in any case where the interests of justice so require, and without payment by him in any such case if he does not have sufficient means to pay for it.

… not to be compelled to testify against himself or to confess guilt.

I, therefore, request you to give due and sympathetic consideration to the current state of affairs in Pakistan and take immediate steps to:

Urgently intervene to save the life of Dr Farooq Sattar and use your good offices to stop the Military regime in Pakistan from violating the Constitution of Pakistan and the United Nations Charter, Conventions and Covenants.

Ask the present Military Regime in Pakistan to respect the constitutional and basic fundamental rights of Dr Farooq Sattar and immediately make arrangements to send Dr Farooq Sattar back to Karachi, so that he can have adequate legal assistance of his choosing.

Take appropriate steps to end such unwarranted trials and tragedies against the leaders, office bearers, workers and supporters of the MQM.

To urgently despatch a trial monitoring team to ensure that such trials conforms to International standards of Right to fair trial .

With best regards

Yours faithfully

Dr Imran Farooq
Convenor MQM Central Co-ordination Committee

Copy to:

President Bill Clinton, Washington DC
Prime Minister Tony Blair, United Kingdom
President, Security Council, UN, New York
President, European Parliament, Brussels
President, International Court of Justice, The Hague
Chairman, UN Human Rights Commission, Geneva
Secretary General, Amnesty International, London
Secretary General, OIC, Jeddah
Secretary of State, US State Department
President, International Committee of the Red Cross
The American Ambassador to Pakistan, Islamabad
The British High Commission to Pakistan, Islamabad
President, Human Rights Watch, New York