Tue, Apr 06, 2010 page4

• Pakistan accused of killings, torture

  DENIAL The Pakistani army rejected allegations by Human Rights Watch that it had summarily executed more than 200 suspected Taliban sympathizers in Swat Valley

  • REUTERS
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  The Pakistani army is facing fresh accusations of carrying out extra-judicial killings and torture, claims which could threaten US funding for any units singled out for abuse.

  New York-based Human Rights Watch said it had briefed US State Department and congressional officials about mounting evidence of more than 200 summary executions in Swat Valley in the past eight months of suspected Taliban sympathizers.

  Pakistan’s army denied the group’s accusations of abuse in Swat, home to about 1.3 million people and the site of a much-lauded military operation last year to take back the former Taliban stronghold.

  “Swat is open to journalists and you can conduct investigative reporting there,” Pakistani army spokesman Major General Athar Abbas said in Islamabad. “Have you seen any sort of report in Pakistani newspapers?”

  The Lahore-based Human Rights Commission of Pakistan provided a list of 249 suspected extra-judicial killings from July 30 last year to March 22, saying most of the bodies were found in Swat. It said independent journalists and locals widely believed security forces were behind them.

  Officials in Washington said they were taking the accusations of abuse seriously. The administration of US President Barack Obama has raised the matter with Islamabad, officials said.

  “We have shared our concern about these allegations with senior Pakistani officials and will continue to monitor the situation closely,” US State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley said.

  US Defense Secretary Robert Gates has also discussed Washington’s concerns with Pakistani military and government officials.

  “While our strong bilateral relationship with Pakistan and our close partnership in combating terrorism are very important to us, we take allegations of human rights abuses seriously,” Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said.

  White House National Security Council spokesman Mike Hammer said “we are seeing positive forward motion from our friends” in Pakistan on the issue, but did not elaborate.

  Tom Malinowski, Washington advocacy director for Human Rights Watch, however, said that the pace of extra-judicial killings in Pakistan was “not slowing down.”

  The US is obliged to enforce a law authored by Senator Patrick Leahy banning assistance to foreign military units facing credible accusations of abuses, he said.

  “If they obtain or receive credible information that a particular unit is engaged in this kind of behavior, they have to de-fund the unit,” Malinowski said.

  Human Rights Watch is not yet able to single out any units for the abuses, which also include illegal detention, he said.

  Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the US, Washington has given more than US$15 billion in aid to Pakistan, most of it for security-related work.

  Morrell said aid to Pakistan’s military had not been cut off. He said there had been productive dialogue with Islamabad “about how we can help them build their capacity to deal with detainees in a rule of law framework.”

  Human Rights Watch said the Army was targeting civilians who had voiced support for the Taliban when they controlled Swat or were suspected of providing them food or shelter.

  “People are taken away, and sometimes they turn up a few days or weeks later having been tortured. Sometimes they disappear. Sometimes their body is dumped with a bullet in the head,” Malinowski said.
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