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Senator Farhatullah says shameful images will continue to shake conscious even in a distant age and distant clime
ISLAMABAD: Senate’s Human Rights Committee which met on Tuesday expressed grave concern over reports of presidential pardon to the Rangers personnel convicted of the 2011 murder of a young boy Sarfraz Shah terming it as a cruel joke.
The meeting chaired by Senator Nasreen Jalil was attended by senators Karim Khawaja, Mufti Abdul Sattar, Nisar Muhammad Khan, Samina Abid, Sehar Kamran and Rubina Khalid. Human Rights minister, secretary and other officials were also present.
The issue came up when Senator Farhatullah Babar asked for permission to discuss any other item with the permission of chairperson after the conclusion of the agenda. “This is an unacceptable affront to the human rights of victims and their families,” he said.
He said that it was a license to uniformed personnel to brandish guns and kill innocent people at will and with impunity. Official sources quoted in the media reports lent it credibility, he said. It is not easy to erase the images of a terrified Sarfraz Shah beseeching his innocence with folded hands and the sadistic pleasure writ on the face of the shooter.
The shameful images will continue to shake conscious even in a distant age and distant clime and long after all characters involved had vanished, he said. A presidential pardon to the criminals would only make the shameful images as horrifying also and a cruel joke with the victims and their families, he said.
Senator Farhatullah said that pardon without the consent of the victims would further embolden the security forces to take the law into their hands at will and with impunity. It will be a monumental pity if the president left behind a highly dubious legacy; that criminals and convicts who once wore uniform were a breed apart from criminals who have never worn a uniform.
“This legacy will turn the already broken criminal justice system on its head,” he warned. All member of the committee invited by the chairperson to express views strongly condemned the move and demanded that a powerful message be sent across in the form of a unanimous resolution against pardoning the criminals.
The human rights minister endorsed the sentiments of the members, saying also that the subject was dealt with by the Interior Affairs Ministry and that he would take it up with the interior minister.
