STOP PAKISTAN ARMY USE SEX AND RAPE AS WEAPON OF WAR IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA & FATA

Monday, 21 January 2019

H.E. Mme. Michelle Bachelet Jeria,

High Commissioner for Human Rights

United Nations, Geneva, Switzerland

SUBJECT: STOP PAKISTAN ARMY USE SEX AND RAPE AS WEAPON OF WAR IN KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA & FATA

Your Excellency,

We the representatives of Pashtun people and office bearers of Pashtun Protection Movement (PTM), strongly condemn the horrific Khesor incident in North Waziristan where the personnel of Pakistani Military have been involved in  systematic harassment and sexual abuse of a family including women and children on daily basis .

According to a video, went viral on social media on January 19, 2019, a young boy Hayat Khan tells that the uniformed Army-men belonging to AK-16 unit of Pakistan Army enter his house on daily basis, violating the privacy and dignity of his family. The soldiers order him (Hayat Khan) to prepare a bed for them which points towards sexual abuse of his family members by them. Despite the fact, that Hayat khan’s elder brother and father have already been enforced disappeared by Pakistan Army some 4 month ago, the sexual harassment and inhuman and degrading acts by the  State of Pakistan and its  Military  are  shocking.

It is to be noted that it is not an isolated incident, as Pakistan Army has been accused of systematic use of rape and sexual abuse in the Military operations against Mullah Fazlullah in Swat Valley in 2009. Unconfirmed reports say that about 2000 women have been abducted from Swat and used as sex slaves by Pakistani Military personnel in different parts of Pakistan. In another case, reported by a TV channel Avt KhyberNews, a women and her two minor daughters were repeatedly raped by Pak-Army soldiers after killing their male member of the family in Kurram Agency, FATA.

These sexual abuse cases committed by Pakistani Military are in clear violation of the article 14 (1) of the constitution of Pakistan and Article 12 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948 which guarantee the right to dignity and privacy to all citizens.

 Pakistan Army has a very bad track record of human rights which dates back to the 1971 war of independence of Bangladesh when members of the Pakistani Military raped between 200000 to 400000 Bangladeshi women and girls in a systematic campaign of genocide rape. Recognized as one of the major war crimes committed anywhere, the atrocities ended after the surrender of Pakistan army on December 16, 1971.

We are demanding our basic fundamental Human Rights as guaranteed by International Humanitarian Law, International Criminal Law, UN declaration of Human Rights, UN convention on the rights of the child, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other relevant conventions and treaties to which the State of Pakistan is a signatory.

We, therefore, request to all the civilized countries of world, International Human Rights Organizations and United Nations to take notice of these inhumane, degrading and uncivilized and unconstitutional acts of  State of Pakistan and put pressure on her to order an independent Enquiry Commission to probe the incident and bring the culprits to Justice and to refrain from pushing Pashtun people to the point of no- return, which can plunge the country into chaos and Bangladesh like situation.

Best Regards

PTM ADVOCACY COMMITTEE EUROPE & KHYBER PAKHTUNKHWA:

Fazal ur Rehman AFRIDI

President PTM France