Britain accused of supporting Pakistan abductions

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Amnesty International has accused Britain and the US of helping Pakistani security forces in the "enforced disappearances" of more than 560 people.


Calling on Pakistan's new government to reveal details about hundreds of missing people who are being held by security forces, the human rights group said Britain and the US had benefited from some of the detentions.

In a new report, Amnesty said partners in the US-led "war on terror", including Britain, bore a responsibility for condoning or assisting in the "enforced disappearances", in which Pakistan security forces apprehend and detain people in secret locations.

Amnesty said many people detained by Pakistani agents had been tortured.


Those picked up included a nine-year-old boy, who was later released, while one man remains under detention after seven years.

It called for the compilation of lists of the disappeared and for Pakistan to either free them or move them to official jails.

Most of the disappearances were made under the regime of Pervez Musharraf, the US-backed president and former army general, before his military government lost elections in February.

"Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani has emphasised the coalition government's commitment to upholding human rights. We urge him to act immediately to resolve all cases of enforced disappearance," said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International Asia Pacific director.

"There is no doubt that the US government has been aware and has participated and has benefited from abuses by the Pakistani government.

"British authorities should have known what Pakistan was doing and certainly should have done more to curb the excesses of the Pakistani government."

The Pakistani government said it was trying to trace the missing people.

"We can't issue overnight magical orders, but we are very seriously pursuing this," said Khalid Qureshi, a spokesman for Pakistan's ministry of human rights.

But Amina Masood Janjua, whose husband Masood disappeared in 2005, expressed frustration with the government.

"It is the worst torture on Earth," said Mrs Janjua, who now runs a campaign group for families of the missing.

The report comes just days after MPs called for an investigation into allegations that MI5 officers outsourced the torture of British citizens to Pakistani security agencies.

Last week John McDonnell, Labour MP for Hayes and Harlington, and Andrew Tyrie, Conservative member for Chichester, said reports of abuse of British citizens by Pakistani forces must be examined by the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC), which oversees the security agencies.

He highlighted the cases of three men, two of whom said that British intelligence officials were involved in their mistreatment.

Amnesty also urged the Pakistani government to restore the country's former chief justice, who took up several cases of missing people before he was ousted by Mr Musharraf during a state of emergency in November.

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This page contains a single entry by Marga Lacabe published on 27 de Julio 2008 5:55 PM.

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