A video that apparently shows Pakistani soldiers viciously beating detainees in a rural police station has surfaced on the Internet, highlighting allegations of human rights abuses during anti-Taliban operations.
The 10-minute video, which first appeared on YouTube and Facebook, shows uniformed soldiers beating, whipping and kicking several men wearing traditional shalwar kameez.
The detainees squeal in pain and beg for mercy in Pashto, the main language of North-West Frontier province, suggesting the footage may have been shot in the Swat valley.
Pakistan’s chief military spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said the army was investigating the clip but declined to comment further.
‘COMMON’
The country’s powerful army has faced frequent accusations of human rights abuses. Ali Dayan Hasan of Human Rights Watch said it was difficult to verify the authenticity of the video but such abuses were common whenever soldiers were involved in anti-terrorism operations.
“It is disgustingly predictable,” he said.
In the video an army officer quizzes a suspect in the courtyard of a police station about whether his brother-in-law is a militant. The man says he does not know. On a signal from the officer, soldiers swarm around, punching and kicking the man and lashing him with a whip.
“Have mercy on me, oh God,” he screams in Pashto.
LOOKING ON
At least a dozen soldiers and police can be seen watching the attack, which appears to have been filmed with a mobile phone. The treatment is repeated on several other men, one of whom appears to be quite old.
At one point an officer warns a suspect: “You don’t want me to cut off your hands and feet.”
Over the past two months Pakistani human rights activists have accused the army of executing suspected Taliban fighters in Swat, where there has been a long summer of heavy battle.
Since July dozens of bullet-riddled bodies have appeared on the streets. Some are believed to be victims of revenge attacks by civilians but others died after being arrested by the army. Victims’ families are fearful of speaking out. One relative contacted by the Guardian said he had been warned to keep quiet by the military after speaking to an American newspaper.
Videos can have a decisive impact on public opinion in Pakistan. Footage in April of a bearded Taliban fighter flogging a teenage girl in Swat sparked a wave of public revulsion.
This latest recording has caused less outrage, probably because such beatings by police and the army are widely taken for granted.
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