ANOTHER MQM WORKER EXTRA-JUDICIALLY EXECUTED THROUGH BRUTAL TORTURE WHILE IN POLICE CUSTODY IN KARACHI, PAKISTAN

14 September 1999

Another MQM worker Rehan Bandhani, who was unlawfully arrested on 5 September 1999, was brutally tortured in police custody, and extra-judicially killed in the early hours of 14 September 1999. He was kept in unlawful detention for nine (9) days and during this entire time he was brutally tortured to sign a pre-written confessional statement. Finally in the early hours of 14 September 1999, he was murdered in cold blood while in the custody of Police.

Rehan Bandhani, aged 24 years, was a worker of MQM Unit 159, Bandhani Colony. The personnel of Liaquatabad Police Station and Super Market Police Station unlawfully arrested him during a raid, in the early hours of 5 September 1999, from his temporary residence in Orangi Town, Karachi. The Police party was led by SHO Nasir and the notorious police officer Sarwar alias Commando, known for inflicting brutal torture and directly responsible for the extra-judicial killings of numerous MQM workers and supporters.

At the time of the arrest of Rehan Bandhani, MQM had issued a press statement, clearly apprehending that if the President of Pakistan did not intervene to save his life, he might be tortured and murdered extra-judicially in police custody. It is highly regretted that despite MQM's notices and appeals to the President, the Chief Advisor to the Prime Minister and the Governor or Sindh, criminally neglected it and today in the early hours Rehan Bandhani was ruthlessly tortured to death while in police custody.

We have just received another sad information that Mr. Mukhtar, Member of MQM Elders Wing, who was arrested on 11 September 1999, at around 2 a.m., has died today. The personnel of Nazimabad Police Station had arrested him and for two days he was severly beaten in the police station. On 14 August 1999, he was produced before a Magistrate, where he suffered a heart attack and could not survive and died in the Jinnah Cardiovascular Hospital, Karachhi.

Mr. Mukhtar 60, was a Member of MQM Elders Wing of Unit 188, Sector Nazimabad-Gulbahar. He leaves behind a widow and eight children.

The extra-judicial executions and custodial death have become the order of the day. Despite repeated requests made to the President of Pakistan, the Chief of the Army Staff and the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan to take immediate action to save Rehan Bandhani from possible extra-judicial execution, nothing was done.

We once again appeal to the President of Pakistan Rafiq Ahmed Tarrar, Chief of the Army Staff General Parvez Musharraf and the Chief Justice of Supreme Court of Pakistan Justice Saeed Uz Zaman Siddiqui to urgently intervene and take notice of all these brutal killings in police custody and to immediately apprehend an award exemplary punishments to all the culprits who are directly or indirectly involved in these ruthless extra-judicial executions of MQM workers and supporters.