The ghost of Bagram
In an appeal to the prime minister, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has sought his intervention to rescue two Pakistani women currently in foreign jails. One of these prisoners has been reported to be held at the notorious Bagram Jail in Afghanistan. No one has seen her for four years. But, chillingly, fellow prisoners have reported that her screams and moans can be heard from time to time at the jail. The identity of the woman known as prisoner 650 is unknown, although she is believed to be a Pakistani national. To rescue this victim, HRCP has suggested Pakistan make a request to the US which currently holds her.
The other victim is a woman from a village near Gujranwala apparently trapped in China after losing her travel documents. Though these have finally been provided by the Pakistan mission, after a long delay, the woman lacks finances to fly home. She has been detained in China for three months. The HRCP has said that the missions must help citizens overseas and has requested funds be released to fly the prisoner, who is in poor health, home.
There are of course other prisoners, men, women and children held in other countries. Pakistani missions have been notoriously slow in coming to their aid. This policy needs to be assessed and Pakistanis traveling overseas need also to be issued with warnings regarding the need to abide by local laws and to avoid overstaying visas. The case from Bagram, highlighted recently by a British journalist, is of course rather different and far more sinister. It goes to prove how terrible the US record on human rights is. The unfortunate woman needs to be returned home, for no matter what her crime — if any at all — there can be no justification for illegal detention –– particularly when it spans four years.
July 13th, 2008 | Category: Female Detainee
| 
Print This Post
| Subscribe to comments | Leave a comment | Trackback URL
