Opinions | Editorials
Curb practice of discrimination
Pakistan should ensure that people are not held on mere allegations.
- Gulf News
- Published: 23:37 July 24, 2008
With power comes responsibility. The Pakistani government needs to maintain a steady system of checks and balances while dealing with the US on the "war on terror". Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani must ensure that a clean slate is maintained in terms of human rights abuse, following allegations of 'enforced' disappearances made by Amnesty International in their recent report.
Efforts must be made to ensure that this practice is curbed, at the very least, and that people are not detained on mere allegations, or in keeping with the US's definition of 'terrorists'. It is believed that more than 85 per cent of people detained at Guantanamo Bay were taken into custody not by American forces, but by the Afghan Northern Alliance and in Pakistan. This practice, according to Amnesty International, has also become a thriving business for bounty hunters - including police officers and local people for the sake of cash rewards.
One way to address this problem is to make the judiciary more pro-active, or at the very least to restore the deposed judiciary which has been investigating these cases earlier. But by all accounts, the onus will be on the government to pilot this project.
Share this article
More from Editorials
More from Opinions
Popular in Opinions
-
Opinions
Speak Your Mind: Cyberbullying
How can we protect our children from being Cyber bullied?
Opinion Editor's choice
-
Mosque razing ruling exposes India polity
It would be tragic if those who demolished the Babri Masjid went scot-free
-
All eyes on Obama
Failure to outline an effective strategy at West Point could cost the US president not only victory in Afghanistan, but the White House itself
-
A year after 173 defenceless people were killed
Mumbai itself is far from safe from another deadly attack, even though the level of security consciousness of the average Mumbaikar has been raised since 26/11
