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| 5/24 |
| 2004/8/19 [Politics/Foreign/Asia/Others, Politics/Foreign/Asia/India, Politics/Domestic/911] UID:33028 Activity:nil |
8/19 Pakistan does it right: Torture is all these killers deserve!
http://csua.org/u/8o6 |
| 5/24 |
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| csua.org/u/8o6 -> www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/asiapcf/08/19/pakistan.death.ap/index.html LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) -- Pakistan's human rights commission has demanded an investigation into the death of an Islamic cleric who died in custody after being arrested for an assassination attempt on the prime minister designate. The cleric, Qari Noor Mohammed, was arrested in the eastern city of Faisalabad last week. Police said he died of a heart attack, but intelligence sources said he died during an interrogation over his alleged links with al Qaeda. Sardar Mohammed Zafar, a senior Islamic cleric, said he had received an anonymous call telling him to pick up the body from the Allied Hospital on Wednesday. He alleged Mohammed's body had dozens of cuts and bruises caused by torture. On Thursday, the independent Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for an inquiry into the death, while expressing alarm over the lack of transparency and rule of law in Pakistan's campaign against Islamic militants. "Reports that his body showed marks of torture is a matter of immense concern," the commission said in a statement. Authorities say they have captured dozens of terror suspects in the past month, including foreign al Qaeda operatives and local militants. Interior Minister Faisal Saleh Hayyat on Thursday said 65 terror suspects, among them 14 Pakistanis, have been arrested in recent days. "We have achieved unprecedented successes while arresting al Qaeda elements," he said. "Their arrests have allowed us to penetrate deep into the al Qaeda structure and to know about their policies. We have in front of us big targets and information extracted from the arrested people will help us." Zafar said two men arrested with Mohammed were released Thursday, also with torture wounds. Police would not confirm the releases of Qari Obaidullah, a teacher and opposition political activist, or Imam Din, an administrator. Obaidullah said he had been made to stand for hours, was punched and slapped, and made to wear a hood covering his face during questioning. He said he was asked whether he knew Osama bin Laden and Taliban leader Mullah Omar. "I told them that I have nothing to do with al Qaeda, nor do I know anyone in the network," he told The Associated Press by telephone. Zafar, who is a local leader for the Mutahida Majlis-e-Amal religious coalition, said the MMA had filed a complaint with Faisalabad police accusing unnamed officials of Mohammed's murder. Mohammed was arrested for his alleged role in a July 30 assassination attempt on Finance Minister Shaukat Aziz, who is slated to become prime minister next week. A suicide bomber detonated explosives near Aziz's car, killing himself and eight others. |