Amnesty International

Torture fears for two Pakistani students

Brothers Abdullah and Ibrahim Mohamed El-Sharkawi have not been seen since their alleged enforced disappearance in Pakistan on 25 and 29 May 2011. There are fears that they are
being held by Pakistani intelligence agencies and are at risk of torture and other ill-treatment.

Torture and other ill-treatment

Dozens of detainees were tortured to death or killed, and other extrajudicial executions were reported amid widespread impunity for such violations. Christian minority member Fanish
Masih, aged 19, was found dead on 15 September in Sialkot prison where he had been held in solitary confinement. Prison authorities claimed that he had committed suicide but his relatives reportedly noted bruises consistent with torture on his forehead, arms and legs. Three prison officials were suspended for negligence, but no criminal charges were brought against them.

Enforced disappearances

New instances of enforced disappearances were reported. Despite the resumption of Supreme Court hearings of disappearance cases in November, the fate and whereabouts of hundreds of disappeared people remained unknown.

Discrimination – religious minorities

Members of religious minorities suffered increasing abuses, including abduction, murder, intimidation, and harassment, as state officials failed to protect them and adequately prosecute
perpetrators. The Taleban imposed jizia, a tax payable by non-Muslims living under Muslim rule,

At least 14 members of the Ahmadiyya community, including children, were arrested on charges of blasphemy which carries the mandatory death penalty. At least 11 Ahmadis and nine Christians were killed for their faith in separate incidents.

*   On 29 January, five
Ahmadis, including one minor, were detained on spurious charges of blasphemy in Layyah district, Punjab Province, with no evidence or witnesses to support the
charges against them. They were released on bail.

*
In Gojra, Punjab, over 1,000 people attacked the Christian quarter on 1 August, burning six people alive, including a seven-year-old child. Seventeen others were injured, one of whom died later. The attack was a response to rumours that Christians had torn pages of the Qur’an in neighbouring Korian. A judicial inquiry, ordered by the Punjab Chief Minister,
submitted its findings to Punjab authorities in early September; they were not made public. Of 42 people arrested on charges stemming from the attack in Gojra, 35 were released on bail.

http://www.amnesty.org/en/region/pakistan/report-2010
http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA33/002/2011/en