UN Condemns 'Widespread Torture' in Pakistan

A UN committee condemned the 'widespread torture' in Pakistan by the country's security forces, including police, military, and intelligence agencies, calling for urgent action from Islamabad to stop and reform this issue. According to AFP, the UN Committee Against Torture published its first report after months of investigation, stating: 'The police in Pakistan widely use torture methods to obtain confessions from detainees.' The report adds: 'Pakistan's military forces, intelligence agencies, and paramilitaries have committed a significant amount of unlawful acts using torture and abduction.' The UN Committee Against Torture referenced cases where several bloggers were tortured for weeks during preliminary detention simply for criticizing the country's officials and extremism. Meanwhile, the Pakistani government has been unable to conduct any investigations into these cases due to a lack of evidence. The UN called for Pakistan to implement reforms to prevent such abuses of power. The Pakistan Human Rights Commission, affiliated with the country's parliament, welcomed the UN Committee Against Torture's report, emphasizing that the publication of this report could help initiate discussions about torture in the country. The Pakistan Human Rights Commission had previously called for action to prevent such acts. In August 2004, a cleric named Qari Noor Muhammad was arrested in Faisalabad, eastern Pakistan, on charges of collaborating with al-Qaeda and died in prison. The police chief of Faisalabad stated that this cleric was arrested for involvement in anti-government activities. Pakistan, alongside Iran and Saudi Arabia, has also seen one of the highest increases in executions.