UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE, CRUEL, INHUMAN AND OTHER DEGRADING PUNISHMENTS

(CAT)

To what extent has Pakistan complied with its international obligations under
CAT?

MASROOR ALI
01-177211-028

UN CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE, CRUEL, INHUMAN AND OTHER DEGRADING PUNISHMENTS

(CAT)

Introduction:

The prohibition against torture and other forms of ill-treatment is embodied in several international
human rights treaties and declarations, including:

● TheUniversal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) (1948), Article 5: “No one shall be subjected
to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
● The International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) (1976), Article 7“No one shall be
subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment.”
● The Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment (CAT 1887).

Following the 1975 Declaration on Torture, the general assembly of the United Nations enacted
convention against torture (CAT) on 10th Dec 1984, 39/46 state parties voted in favour of the resolution
and it went into effect on 26th June 1987. There are over 170 state parties who have ratified this
convention so far, Pakistan is one of them and it has ratified the Convention on 23rd June 2010. It has 33
articles which are further divided into 3 parts. 26th June is recognized as international day in support of
victims of torture.

Purpose:

Following are the points CAT aims at and focuses on:

● An obligation not to send someone to a country where they could face torture or other ill
treatment by extradition, deportation, expulsion, or another transfer (non-refoulement)
● The domestic law's criminalization of torture.
● Establishing a global court system to deal with torture
● Examining detention processes and training officials.
● Securing remedies for torture victims, such as the right to reparation and the right to file a
complaint.
● Preventing the use of evidence from torture in any proceedings (the exclusionary rule)
As we know that in most of the countries of the world torture is illegal and still exercised extensively.
The purpose of this Convention is to prevent and eradicate the use of torture and other cruel, inhuman
or degrading treatment or punishment and to ensure accountability for acts of torture. The state parties
are obliged to ensure the prevention of torture, cruel, Inhuman and other degrading punishments in
their jurisdictions. For this purpose, they have to legislate domestic laws, and other administrative and
judicial steps are to be taken. The provisions of this convention requires states to compensate the
victims of torture mainly and most commonly, the victims of custodial torture and extra judicial torture.
States are also obliged to educate its people and create awareness to eradicate torture within their
premises.

Regulation of Convention by CAT Committee:

The committee on convention against torture CAT committee is mandated to regulate and implement
the provisions of Convention in state premises. The CAT committee comprises 10 independent and
highly qualified members, each state nominates its own member and then elected through secret ballot
for a term of 04 years, the members can also be re-elected. Article 19 of the Convention requires States
Parties to report on the measures they have taken to

implement their obligations under the Convention. This process of State reporting is a constructive
dialogue between the Committee and States Parties, with opportunities for involvement by civil society
The state parties submit their initial and periodic reports to the CAT committee, they also submit the
progress and the steps that they have taken to eradicate torture in their country. After assessment of
these reports, the treaty body (CAT) directs and guides the state parties further. Pakistan has submitted
two reports so far, one in 2016 and latest in 2022. In 2016, in its report to the Committee against
Torture on its implementation of the CAT, Pakistan claimed that the rights embodied in the CAT have
always been part of the substantive law of the country and have, thus, been enforced by the
administrative and the judicial arms of the state accordingly. The CAT committee was however not
convinced. In 2019, Pakistan submitted a follow-up report to the committee.

Definition of Torture:

Article 1 of the Convention defines torture as “any act by which severe pain or suffering, whether
physical or mental, is intentionally inflicted on

a person for such purposes as obtaining from him or a third person information or a confession,

punishing him for an act he or a third person has committed or is suspected of having committed, or

intimidating or coercing him or a third person, or for any reason based on discrimination of any kind,
when such pain or suffering is inflicted by or at the instigation of or with the consent or acquiescence of
a public official or other person acting in an official capacity. It does not include pain or suffering arising
only from, inherent in or incidental to lawful sanctions.”

According to this definition, torture has basically 04 elements which are:

● Must cause severe pain and suffering

● Must be inflicted intentionally
● Must be inflicted for a specific purpose (mostly confession or self incrimination)
 ● Must be the involvement of a public official. Public officials may include police, military, law
enforcement agencies and prison and detention authorities.
Torture also includes severe mental shocks, witnessing a loved one being tortured. Prolonged medical
negligence specially in prisons also amount to torture. Enforced disappearances also come under the
definition of torture as it gives mental shocks to the victims and their loved ones.

REFRENCES
https://www.equalityhumanrights.com/en/our-human-rights-work/monitoring-and-promoting-un-
treaties/convention-against-torture-and-other
https://treaties.un.org/pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=IND&mtdsg_no=IV-9&chapter=4&clang=_en
https://www.everycrsreport.com/reports/RL32438.html
https://reliefweb.int/organization/cat
JUNAID AHMED
01-177211-022

LEGISLATION IN PAKISTAN
PROHIBITION ON TORTURE IN PAKISTAN
History has shown that humans were victims of torture for a long period of time at the hands of
the states. So in order to denounce torture, Pakistan signed Convention Against Torture and other
inhuman treatments in 1984.But in eliminating torture from criminal justice system, Pakistan did
not show any progress.
In Pakistan there is no specific definition for torture and there is also lack of sanctions related to
torture. So the sources of prohibiting torture are fundamental rights as during torture these rights
of an individual are abused.And Judiciary is tasked to protect fundamental rights provided by the
constitution of Pakistan.
Constitution considers torture as violation of fundamental rights and other legislations. Therefore
in order to protect individual rights various provisions are enacted which ensures that torture in
any of its forms direct or indirect is prohibited.
Right to dignity holds that every individual is worthy of respect and practice of torture mostly
impact this right. All forms torture which violates this right, protected by the constitution of
Pakistan.
Constitution of Pakistan
 Article 3: Elimination of exploitation.
 Article 4: Right of individual to be dealt with in accordance with law, etc
 Article 9: Security of a person.
 Article 10: Safeguard as to arrest and detention.
 Article 14: Inviolability of the dignity of man

Illegal detention or causing physical harm to someone else is prohibited by Pakistan

Penal Code. The country’s international obligation is reflected by these provisions and
sanctions, especially those abuses which translates to torture.
Pakistan is signatory of ICCPR , UDHR which not only prohibits torture, it also aims at
the equal treatment of individuals by law and compensation of torture of individual by
government officials.
CAT also imposes obligations upon Pakistan to abolish torture and other inhuman
treatments.
The committee again Torture noted
That although there is enough knowledge present about the torture carried out by police
but the is no specific legislation to stop this. Moreover the word ‘torture’ is cannot be
seen anywhere in the Penal Coder. Certainty stipulations are made by POLICE ORDER
 2002 to prohibit practice of torture by police but there are only limited to documents and
are not enforced.
Pakistan being signatory to CAT and other inhuman or degrading treatment ,on August
1,2022 National Assembly passed the Torture and Custodian Death ( Prevention and
Punishment)act .It targets abusive practice by Pakistan’s security forces .Therefore the
criminalization and prevention of torture, custodian death and custodian rape which are
committed against people in custody by government officials and provision of redress to
victims.
In Pakistan penal code, other legislations and Constitution seem to protect individual
rights and prohibit torture but this protection is just provided in document and in reality,
it is not enforced effectively. A large number of examples of human rights violations can
be seen which are translated to torture.
The function performance and behavior of police is of great importance in criminal
justice system of any society .In Pakistan the instruction of police and its performance is
very poor. And the country’s most pressing concern is torture carried out by police
regarding coercive confession.Individuals in police custody are tortured by different
methods including beating,crushing legs of prisoners,mental torture and sexual violence .
It resulted in physical impairing of many prisoners or deaths. Several deaths and injuries
due to torture by police are reported by Human Rights Commission Pakistan in annual
report .According to HRCP report in 2017 total 47 cases cases of torture occurred in jails
of Pakistan due to which 32 men lost their lives and one women and 21 men were
victims of torture. There are many more cases of torture in Pakistan but despite of having
knowledge about such tortures no effective steps are taken by Pakistan to abolish such
tortures .
Conclusion: Although Pakistan has signed the Convention Against Torture but in when
in comes to abolish torture from government institutions like police then no effective
steps are taken by Pakistan and also lack specific legislation to criminalize such acts by
police. So Pakistan is having a very non-serious attitude towards the eradication of
torture.

REFRENCE
https://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2002/30

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/ukcrime

https://mohr.gov.pk/Detail/YzgxY2UzMGYtNmU2Yy00OTRkLWJiMDQtNDM4ZjFjZDFiM2Qx

https://www.gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/pakistan/local-laws-and-customs

https://www.pakistani.org/pakistan/constitution/part2.ch1.html

https://www.legislation.gov.uk/id/ukpga/2002/30
Name: Kazim Ali Khan
Enrolment: 01-177211-025

Comparison between Pakistan and UNITED

KINGDOM
Ratification of CAT by Pakistan:
Pakistan has ratified convention against torture in 2010 but submitted only two state reports till
now. The first report was submitted in 2018 and the second report was submitted in 2022. As, the
convention against torture demands the necessary legislations to prevent torture from the state
parties who has ratified it but Pakistan did not take it as much serious regarding the legislation
despite being ratified.
As the fundamental rights in constitution of Pakistan grants the safeguard to dignity of man in
article 14 which itself prevents the inhuman and degrading behaviour against humans in any
situation. Moreover, article 10 of constitution of Pakistan defines the safeguard as to arrest and
detention which is also some sort of torture.

Legislations in Pakistan regarding torture:

As the Pakistan has ratified the convention against torture and including the articles in
constitution of Pakistan which prevents the inhuman behaviours, Pakistan still had no
legislations to prevent the torture. In tenders, the general assembly of UN enforced Pakistan to
make some legislation regarding the torture. And then the National assembly of Pakistan finally
passed the torture and custodial death (prevention and punishment) Act on If it becomes law on
August 1, 2022, it will be the first time that Pakistan's security forces are prohibited from
torturing people. This deed was performed. to safeguard a person in detention from any forms of
torture carried out by government agents. Regardless of the legality, nature, or location of the
detention, "custody" refers to all instances in which a person is imprisoned or otherwise deprived
of their liberty by a third party, including a public official or another person acting in an official
capacity. It includes judicial custody and all forms of temporary and permanent restraint upon
the movement of a person by law or by force or by other means and A person shall be deemed to
be in custody during search, arrest and seizure proceedings. “cruel” or “inhuman” or “degrading
treatment” means and includes any deliberate or aggravated treatment inflicted by a public
official or a person acting on his behalf against a person under their custody, causing suffering,
gross humiliation or degradation of the person in custody. “custodial death” means the death of a
person while in custody, directly or indirectly caused by and attributable to acts of torture
committed upon the deceased while in custody.
Ratification of CAT by UK:
On the other hand, United Kingdom ratified the convention against torture in December, 1988.
By following CAT, the UK agrees to prevent acts of torture in connection with activities that
include: returning, expelling or extraditing someone to another country where there are real
grounds to believe he or she will face torture. Arrest, detention and imprisonment.

Legislation in UK regarding torture:

Moreover, UK also passed the Human Rights Act in 1998 to ensure the basic human rights. And
under article 3 of human rights act grants the right to prevent torture, cruel and degrading
behaviour. The right granted under article 3 of HRA is an absolute right which means that public
authorities always honour this right and must not be infringed. Article 3 of Human Right Act
1998 prohibits many conditions under which a person can be tortured either physically or
mentally. It states the punishments about serious physical and mental abuse. It also prevents the
inhuman detention conditions, for example: in police cells, mental health hospitals or prison
cells. It states about the use of excessive force on patients or detainees, serious neglect in a care
home or hospital and malnutrition or dehydration conditions. It is also prohibits the deportation
of anyone to a country where there is a risk of torture, inhuman or degrading treatment.

Torture in Pakistan:
Pakistan has signed the Convention against Torture and other cruel, Inhuman or degrading
treatment of punishment (CAT) on April 17, 2008. But the signing to Convention against Torture
has not provided any relief to the ordinary citizens in the country. No serious work has been
started on the CAT by the government of Pakistan to make it part of the domestic law. During
last one year, more than 1300 cases of torture were reported from the country. This is in addition
to several hundred cases that were not reported.
As of now there are no independent investigation procedures in Pakistan to investigate cases of
torture. In addition, there is an alarming level of insensitivity among the legal professionals
including the judiciary regarding torture in Pakistan.

It is in the day-to-day work of the lower judiciary that this underdevelopment is mostly visible.
One example is the practice of the lower court judges allowing remand custody of the detainees
with ease while it is clear that anyone detained will be subjected to torture in Pakistan. The
courts even fails to make use of the little space available in the Criminal Procedure Code of
Pakistan, where a judge could demand a reason from the investigating agency for demanding the
custody of an accused than transferring the accused into judicial custody.

Torture in UK :
Torture has never been officially permitted under English law. Those who carried out this brutal
practice in the Tower acted under the direct orders and authority of the Privy Council and the
monarch. But The Torture Convention prohibits both torture, on the one hand, and inhuman and
degrading treatment, on the other. However, its provisions sometimes draw a distinction, so that
the UK government has – for instance – sometimes argued that the bar against returning a
suspect to a risk of ‘lesser’ kinds of ill-treatment is not as absolute as the bar against returning a
suspect to torture.

Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights prohibits both torture and inhuman and
degrading treatment equally, however. In Saadi v Italy, for instance, the Grand Chamber of the
European Court of Human Rights rejected the UK government’s argument that a lesser degree of
protection applied where the suspect is a risk to national security, noting that ‘such an approach
is not compatible with the absolute nature of the protection afforded by Article 3’.

CONCLUSION:

Pakistan is way behind UK when it comes to catering the issues

regarding torture, no matter how many provisions the constitution has of
Pakistan it all comes to the ground work and implementation of the laws
which Pakistan lack and UK a constitution less country has firm grip and
high morals when it comes to torture and have criminalised every act
that is derogatory and Inhumane.

REFRENCE:
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/08/23/pakistan-make-torture-crime

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/crime

https://www.police.uk/

https://www.theguardian.com/uk/ukcrime

https://mohr.gov.pk/Detail/YzgxY2UzMGYtNmU2Yy00OTRkLWJiMDQtNDM4ZjFjZDFiM2Qx
ALI HASSAM
01-177211-002
LLB-4A
Analysis of The First Initial Report Submitted by Pakistan:
Pakistan signed the convention in 2008 ratified it in 2010 but gave its first report on CAT on 4 th
January 2016. The report was due in 2011. Pakistan submitted the report in accordance with
the article 19 of the convention. This report gives a detail of how Pakistan has adhered to the
procedures and ways mentioned in the articles of the convention to ensure that its framework
is working to eliminate torture in every possible way.
 Chapter 1 of the constitution of Pakistan guarantees lays down the framework for
protection of all citizens without any discrimination and Chapter 2 lays down the
principles of policy. The report gave by Pakistan claims that the rights in CAT have
always been part of the substantive law of the country and have, thus, been enforced by
the administrative and the judicial arms of the state accordingly . Initially Pakistan has
reservation on ten articles later it withdrew the reservation on the articles and had
reservation on only one article i.e., article 8. Pakistan also had declaration on articles
28(1) and article 30(1) because of the ICP jurisdiction role.
Several key stakeholders, relevant Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs)/Civil Society
Organizations (CSOs), individual experts, and academia were consulted, and their contribution
was sought through an inclusive and participatory approach in this report.
 Torture or acts amounting to torture stand criminalized in the domestic laws through
Constitutional and other existing legal frameworks whether committed by private
individuals or by an official of the government. The state’s official policies neither allow
nor condone torture in all its forms and manifestations. Under the law, public servants,
under no circumstances, are permitted to engage in any act that may amount to torture,
nor are they allowed to abet or permit anyone else to do so. The Constitution of
Pakistan guarantees fundamental rights to the citizens (Arts. 8-28)1 and discourages all
kinds of parochial, racial, tribal, sectarian, and provincial prejudices among the citizens
of Pakistan (Art. 33).
Both Federal and Provincial Governments of Pakistan are equally committed to implement the
Convention. An individual’s rights to life, liberty and dignity are inviolable under Art. 9 and 14 of
the Constitution of Pakistan (CoP), and there is zero tolerance to the infringements of these
provisions.
 Even though Pakistan condemns all these acts, we see torture in the form remand. This
act is done by the police. Self-incrimination has totally been addressed by the
convention, but Physical remand has always been used as a tool for self-incrimination.
 Pakistan refers to the article 3 and 4 of the convention which discourages actions
against life, liberty, body, reputation, or property but we have failed in all these aspects.
taking life is so easy in Pakistan that at least one person dies every day in Pakistan due
to any form of violence this is the least I can say for my country. The statistical data
shows more than this.
Pakistan has quoted the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) for the protection of people from police
brutality, but we forgot while reporting that a number of people in jail die just because of the
police brutality. Prisoners are brutally beaten up in jails.
Article 14 of the constitution of Pakistan protects the dignity of a man which the convention
also emphasizes. We have failed in this very deeply. No man walks safely in the streets of
Pakistan. Everyone fears death here. Target killings happen everyday here.
 Pakistan condemns rape, kidnapping abduction, slavery and forced labor. Thus is such
an irony because the senators who make these decisions are the ones who keep
underage children in their homes to take care of their chores. The law that allows these
children to work clearly states that children aged 14 and above work. This I think is a
form of child labor because all the conventions under UN have set the age limit to be 18
years. This means our constitution does not apply the articles of the convention. While
most of the rape cases that happen don’t even get reported in the courts. Courts delay
the cases. thousands of such cases are pending in different courts of Pakistan. It is not
all bad because Pakistan has taken steps and cases to ensure some parts of the
convention. In ‘’Muhammad Amin’’ v. State, a case in which police functionaries were
charged with, among other offences, causing hurt contrary to provisions of the PPC, as
read with 156 of the Police Order, the Sindh High Court took serious notice of the
allegations against the accused who were public functionaries and pertained to
maltreatment, unlawful confinement and torture of a citizen, which the court held could
not be treated as a minor offence, but was to be taken very seriously. Accordingly, a
plea of bail, in circumstances where prima facie material was available on record to
connect a public functionary with the crime, was rejected and bail applications of the
accused functionaries were dismissed in the circumstances. It is pertinent to mention
that courts in Pakistan have not been reluctant to hold police functionaries to account
for illegal actions.

Conclusion:
Though Pakistan has given its initial report stating all the problems and their solutions. The
extent to which Pakistan has implied its constitution but the report lacks transparency. Pakistan
must be consistent with all the articles of CAT to ensure fundamental rights of the citizens. To
do this Pakistan has to make changes in its constitution. Laws in Pakistan are not up to the
standards of conventions of UN. Fundamental rights are the only reason a country can progress.
The only reason we are a failed nation is just because we are unable to supply these rights.
Reference:

https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/
convention-against-torture-and-other-cruel-inhuman-or-degrading

Mobin ur Rehman
01-177211-030
LLB 4 A
How Pakistan has complied with the convention as per the Second Periodic
Report:
In response to initial report submitted by Pakistan on 16 June 2022, the committee pointed areas of
concern and recommendations on 5th may 2017, and requested Pakistan to provide second periodic
report.

 The committee against torture showed its concern on allegations of widespread use of torture
by police for obtaining confession from persons in custody, death in custody and illegal
confinement and required information on criminal proceedings initiated against those police
officers involved in such acts, In response Pakistan in its 2nd periodic report highlighted
strenuous efforts made by Federal and Provincial Governments to control the menace of torture
that there is a strong mechanism for accountability, if any officer is involved in violation of rules
he is prosecuted under the relevant provisions of law. Action against the Police officers from the
rank of Constable to Inspector is taken under "Police Efficiency and Discipline Rules, 1975”,
while action against Officers from DSP to senior officers is under “the Civil Servants (E&D)
Rules1999”. After the inquiry, the accused is punished, as per violation of law. In 2021, 624
police officers were given punishment for offenses of torture in Punjab.

Furthermore, KPK Police Act 2017 has also been enacted which penalizes the torture or violence against
public, precedent was set by KPK Police department in the case of torture involving Amir Tahkalle, all the
Police officers involved were dismissed from their service. There was a widely publicized case of
Salahuddin Ayubi in September 2019, he died in police custody. A forensic report confirmed that he had
been severely beaten.

 The committee also pointed out the impunity for acts of torture by intelligence agencies and
military forces, under the provisions of Action in Aid of Civil Power and Amendment to Army Act,
which gives the military personnel complete retrospective immunity from prosecutions for
actions taken in good faith. The Committee also showed concern over the death of Aftab Ahmed
in custody of Pakistan Rangers. The Anti-Terrorism Act 1997 allows intelligence agencies to
detain a suspect of offence for three months without possibility of filling writ of Habeas corpus,
and detention without trial for up to one year. In response Pakistan provided information on the
points raised by the committee that Army has legal and monitory mechanism to check and
punish violations of Human Rights (backed by Pakistan Army Act Rules and Regulations). During
the training, Soldiers and officers are sensitized about human rights aspects.

Also the Supreme Court narrowed the scope of anti-terrorism law, in the land mark judgment of Ghulam
Hussain vs. the state and directed the Parliament to make some essential changes. It put an end to the
wide powers and the ambit of the Anti-terrorism act 1997 has been significantly narrowed. The
judgment recommended the legislature to amend the preamble of the Act to only include acts of
terrorism, and by removing Schedule III from the Act.

 The committee against torture was deeply concerned that the legislation for creation on
National Human Rights Commission states that it cannot inquire the practices of intelligence
agencies and cannot undertake inquiries into the reports of violation of human rights by armed
 forces, Pakistan in response provided information about the concerns that various measures are
taken to ensure independence of NCHR. . It has been empowered with powers of the civil court
for investigation of violations including the power of summoning the witness. It has been given
the status of an independent statutory body, the annual report of the NCHR was submitted
before expiry of the term to the Parliament, and NCHR received 2,435 complaints, out of which
109 were from the Islamabad, 300 from Sindh, 1,385 from Punjab, 147 from KP and 31 from
Baluchistan. Out of these, 1,539 complaints are in hearing, 520 are under initial investigation
and 376 have been dismissed.

A study of Justice Project Pakistan showed that 76 per cent of medical legal certificates out of 1876
showed signs of abuse, physicians found that individuals were beaten, crushed even sexually abused in
custody.

Asia advocacy director John Sifton, said “The first step to ending Pakistan’s endemic torture problem is
to criminalize it.

 Torture and Custodial Death (prevention and Punishment) a bill passed by Parliament in
October 2022 which criminalizes the offence of torture, for the first time proper definition of
torture is provided in the law, previously there were some constitutional provisions relating to
inviolability of dignity of men and right to fair trial but in the absence of complete legislative
document there was no implementation. In the past right based legislations and even the
provisions of constitution guaranteeing Human Rights are violated, now the bill criminalizing
torture is passed so, the authorities should implement it with full zeal and spirit to make sure
future cases of torture are investigated and perpetrators are held accountable.

“Decades of apathy should come to end with the new law’’

Conclusion:
Over the past years Pakistan has made strenuous efforts to eliminate the menace of torture by making
reforms in prison laws and by setting precedent in many cases but without legislation there was no way
of looking into cases of torture. But now we have a proper law which criminalizes torture, if it is
implemented changes will be seen and perpetrators would be held accountable.

Sources:
1. Ministry of Human Rights (GOP)
https://na.gov.pk/uploads/documents/62fcce84e1c58_437.pdf
2. Ending Custodial Torture by Samam Mir https://www.dawn.com/news/1717922
3. United Nations Human Rights
https://www.ohchr.org/en/press-releases/2017/04/committee-against-torture-report-
pakistan
KACHO MUHAMMAD MESAM

01-177211-023

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
 CASES OF TORTURE IN PAKISTAN
Like every other right is violated in Pakistan, dignity of a person is not safe either,
with state agencies making a mockery of the supreme law of the land be it the
violation of Article 10 A or 14, torture is executed at state level.

SARABJEET CASE
The Supreme Court of Pakistan retained the decision of the high court in the case
of Srabjheet Singh who was caught by Pakistani agencies and was labeled and
proved as an Indian spy, who was behind the Bombings in Faisalabad and Lahore
in early 1990’s. The court had convicted him of the charges and sentenced him to
death penalty.
The inhumane behavior of the state officials especially the police is highly
criticized by the world. The police was criticized for its role of a forced confession
by Sarabjeet Singh which goes against the very essence of the Convention against
Torture as well as International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights as per
Article 14 (3B) sates that the alleged must be given proper time and facilities for
defense preparation which was not the case as he was convicted by the courts in
the span of 10 days only, and there was a violation of the 3(G) of this convention
which stated that no one must be compelled to testify against themselves as it is
assumed that it would only be achieved if the accused is tortured to find out the
facts. This also goes against the Constitution of Pakistan as per the
Article 13 B No person shall, when accused of an offence, be compelled to be a witness
against himself.
which was evidently violated in the Sarabjeet as in the start he was subjected to
torture and was only granted law aid when he confessed thus maligning the case
from the very beginning. The fact that he was a spy or an Indian doesn’t subject
him to torture or does not make him any less human, since the Article 14 of the
constituition clearly ranks the Dignity of a person as a qualified right, no person
can take away this right.
It was regardless of his nationality he should’ve been treated fairly and with
dignity without torture.
Furthermore, He was pardoned yet was not released. Just 3 years after Pakistan
ratified the Convention Against Torture Sarabjeet singh on April 26th 2013 in the
Kot Lakpat jail was attacked by prisoner’s, police constables with blades, rods and
metal sheets. Later on, Jail Authorities were also found and charged for their
contribution to torture.
The case of Sarbjeet Sing depicts of how serious the convention is taken in
Pakistan and how less informed the officials in uniforms are.
One could argue that it happened only because he was an Indian, but unfortunately
Pakistan does not discriminate when it comes to torturing someone, it is done by
the state regardless of what position the person holds, how powerful or recognized
the person is, what their gender is, the state does not believe in segregation on any
basis when it comes to infringing the individual rights.

AZAM SWATI CASE

The abduction by the State Agencies is no secret as vocal everyone is against it
now, the state is still behind the abduction, the abduction itself is illegal and comes
in the ambit of torture as they are not presented before the Magistrate within 24
hours which is in clear violation of the Article 10A of the Constitution of the
Pakistan, similarly Azam Swati who is a prominent politician was abducted by the
agencies for using derogatory remarks and was subjected to torture and kept in
hiding, The State agency used it powers and kept him detained illegally trying to
Extract information Which goes against the Convention Against Torture which
Pakistan has ratified.

SHAHBAZ GILL CASE

Another prominent leader of Pakistan Tehreek e Insaaf was taken into custody and
beaten up to extract evidence under the umbrella of “Physical Remand.”
A term that is highly misunderstood by the Police as they treat the person as an
object and practice torture as if they are legally allowed to do. Such was the case of
Shahbaz Gill and many others in Pakistan, disturbing imaged were shared all over
social media as if the physical torture was not enough, they made sure to mentally
dismantle the person as well. Contrary to this physical remand actually means to
detain a person trail. It does not give the police justification to torture which is also
mentions in the ARTICLE 2(3) of CONVENTION AGAINST TORTURE
which is described as
“An order from a superior officer or a public authority may not be invoked
as a justification of torture.”
Thus, they cannot hide under their superior’s order and will be answerable in case
if anyone commits any kind of degrading, Inhumane Torture

CONCLUSION
Pakistan Ratified the convention in 2010, Pakistan has now formally domesticated
the convention with the latest legislation in 2022 which will be discussed by other
group member, however after analyzing and thoroughly working on the report it
could be concluded that Pakistan needs to work on the implementation rather than
just legislation, We already have enough laws such as Police Order 2002, The
Qanoon e Shahdat Ordinance too, if these are implemented we do not even need
new laws, but unfortunately such is the affairs of state that it does not execute well.

REFRENCE:
https://courtingthelaw.com/2020/04/28/faqs/remand-and-its-types/
https://www.gov.uk/charged-crime/remand
https://pakistanconstitutionlaws.com/article-13-protection-against-double-punishment-and-self-
incrimination/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SgDNbmUJq38
https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-against-torture-and-
other-cruel-inhuman-or-degrading
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/india/never-met-him-hamid-ansari-rebuts-charge-of-inviting-spy-
pakistani-journalist/articleshow/92856132.cms
https://www.casemine.com/judgement/in/56b49481607dba348f00c5e2

MUHAMMAD MOIZ SATTI

01-177211-032
 INTERNATIONAL CASES REGARDING TORTURE
Torture is not limited within the boundary lines of Pakistan it is beyond the
Islamic State, the so call champion of Human Rights USA is in gross violation of the
convention even after it was one of the most prominent member in bringing the
ACT into existence, apart from USA, China, France AND Russian also exercise the
inhumane torture against its detainee.
Two important cases that make the list are as below:

UNITED STATES v. HUSAYN, AKA ZUBAYDAH

FACT OF THE CASE

Zubaydah—currently a detainee at the Guantánamo Bay Naval Base—says that in 2002 and
2003 he was held at a CIA detention site in Poland, where he was subjected to “enhanced
interrogation” techniques. as Central Intelligence Agency believed that Abu Zubaydah was likely
to posses knowledge of attacks agains US. In 2010, Zubaydah filed a criminal complaint in
Poland, seeking to hold accountable any Polish nationals involved in his alleged mistreatment at
the CIA site ostensibly located in that country. and any imformation regarding this was denied
to polish prosecutors with reason that it would be a threat to national security. The District Court
rejected the Government’s claim that merely confirming that a detention site was operated in
Poland would threaten national security on appeal, the Ninth Circuit agreed with the District
Court that much of the information sought by Zubaydah was protected from disclosure by the
state secrets privilege, but the panel majority concluded that the District Court had erred when it
dismissed the case. It believed that the state secrets privilege did not apply to publicly known
information

APPLIICATION OF CAT
This case is violation of CAT as Zubaydah was subjected to torture during his detention as the
United Nations Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment
or Punishment (the “Convention” or CAT) has made the absolute prohibition against torture an
accepted principle of customary international law. When the U.S. ratified the Convention, it did
so subject to a reservation limiting the definition of torture, which is reflected in the U.S.
Torture Convention Implementation Act (“Torture Act”) of 1994.
The enhanced interrogation program is also likely illegal under the U.S. Detainee Treatment Act
("DTA") of 2005. The DTA prohibits “cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment”
barred by the Fifth, Eighth and Fourteenth Amendments
against prisoners of the U.S. government regardless of their location or nationality.
 prisoner treatment violates substantive due process where it “shocks the conscience,” “is bound
to offend even hardened sensibilities, article 14 of CAT is violated her as The
CIA was never interested in prosecutions, … They were going to go right up to the line of what
was legal, put their toes on it and lean forward.

SIPAHI MAQBOOL ALI'S CASE

FACTS
Sep Maqbool Hussain (SJ). Taken prisoner in 1965 by Indian Army who could not
break him down despite mental & physical torture. His tongue was also cut.”
Following Hussain's capture during the war, the Indians did not register his legal
status as a prisoner of war (POW), stripping him of certain rights that he would
otherwise be entitled to by international law. While in the custody of Indian forces,
Hussain was notoriously subjected to severe torture by interrogators and remained
defiant when he was demanded to give up any information he knew to jeopardize
Pakistan's security. He was regularly harassed by his captors and put under
pressure to insult his nation.

APPLIICATION OF CAT
This case is violation of convention agaisnt torture article 1 , 2, and 4 as he was
subjeced to torture, inhumane and degrading treatment and no effective measures
were taken by govenment. each time a detainee was subjected to sleep deprivation,
sensory deprivation or overload, isolation, stress positions, sexual humiliation, or
any of the other abusive techniques employed, a number of details, including pain
calibration cuting of tongue he became subject of torture and thus this resulted in
violation of international convention.

REFRENCE:
"Sipahi Maqbool Hussain". gramho.com. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
States v. Hideji Nakamura, et al., U.S. Military Commission,
Yokohama, 1-28, May 1947 (prosecution of Japanese officers
for waterboarding after WWII); Matthew K. Wynia, Laying the
Groundwork for a Defense Against Participation in Torture? 38National Library of Medicine, no.
1 at 11-13 (2008), https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18314801/ (U.S. soldier court-martialed
for waterboarding a North Vietnamese soldier in 1968)