ISLAMABAD: On the International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, a National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) member said that Pakistan lacked data, redressal mechanisms, national legislation and monitoring against torture, reported by a local media outlet.
Durin an event organised at NCHR, NCHR Member Chaudhry Mohammad Shafique said that Pakistan was bound to criminalise and define torture because it was a signatory of the Convention against Torture.
The NCHR received hundred of complaints pertaining to torture by police, added the NCHR member.
Shafique also said, “As many as 29 cases were disposed of by the commission.”
Quoting the NCHR Act, Shafique further added that the commission’s jurisdiction allowed it to investigate matters relating to human rights violations done by paramilitary and military forces.
Prisons Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Naveed Rauf said that psychologists had been appointed to aid the rehabilitation of torture victims.
Provincial Justice Coordination Committees could be used as an effective tool to monitor torture, suggested Law and Justice Commission Secretary Dr Rahim Awan.
