LAHORE, Nov 17: Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Chairperson Asma Jahangir has said she proposed formation of an interim government of national reconciliation during her meeting with PPP head Benazir Bhutto.

Speaking at a press conference held on Saturday for highlighting the maltreatment of lawyers being kept in jails across Pakistan, Asma said: “We have provided her with a paper (on the proposal) as a contribution of civil society.”

She said the civil society was convinced that all political parties must narrow down their differences and sit on “one table” for the greater good of the country. She said: “We have also been talking to other politicians like Nawaz Sharif and Asfandyar Wali. We need to listen to their opinion too.”

The government, she said, would rig the elections without lifting the martial law imposed in the garb of emergency rule. “The elections will be devoid of legitimacy when political leaders, representatives of civil society and the media, who express themselves freely, will still be restrained.”

She said the civil society didn’t have any personal enmity with Gen Musharraf who could still explore his options of safe exit. “This message is for Gen Musharraf alone; not to those generals who might be thinking of politics in deviation from their responsibilities,” she made it clear.

To a question regarding operation in Swat, the HRCP chairperson said only the action permissible within the domain of law was acceptable. “Indiscriminate killing is not a solution to the problem. There could be several ways of bringing the situation to normalcy,” she added, and regretted that militancy had already caused an enormous loss to the economy of the country and the social fabric of society.

She said in Pakistan, a trade union of generals prevailed as they urged one another to usurp power in the country through martial laws and coup. She said the situation had debilitated society from progressing.

Musharraf was putting every thinking citizen of the country behind bars to kill dissent and civil society which had started asserting its rights. “He is silencing and demoralising the civil society demanding its fundamental rights.”

She said banning of news channels, ARY and Geo, was unfortunate and reprehensible, and lauded the journalists for speaking the truth and working under repressive environment.

Answering a question on US dictates to Pakistan, she said she certainly did not approve of any dictation from outside world, but would welcome any help which promoted the cause of the people of Pakistan.

She said over 700 lawyers were booked in Lahore and sent to different jails of Punjab. Two-thirds of the lawyers associated with the Balochistan Bar Council were arrested. She said seniors like Rashid Rehman and Jam Saqi, who could hardly walk, were hauled up.

She said the HRCP office in Quetta was forced to close down while in Lahore they arrested 70 people for holding meeting in a closed room. Several people in that meeting were above 80 years of age and they included IA Rehman, Shah Taj Qizalbash and Shahid Kardar.

She said lawyers, doctors and intellectuals were abused and manhandled before they were hauled up in raids. The Sindh High Court chief justice was still under house arrest.

Asma said the judge, who had earlier expressed his inability to work because of his health, was made the chief justice of the SHC. She said she had met judges in Punjab and found they were being blackmailed.

In Kasur, eight lawyers were kept inside a death cell without basic necessities like water and toilet. “They are still behind bars and being treated like animals,” she added.

“When they were arrested, they were bundled into vans. In a van which has space for 30 people, some 57 lawyers were shoved and transported from Lahore to Bahawalpur. Two caught pneumonia and some suffered from fever and flu among the majority of lawyers who fell ill during the journey,” she deplored.

The rights activist said she had met several young lawyers who were not able to keep their eyes still when they talked because of torture. She said Aitzaz Ahsan was being kept in solitary confinement while Advocate Ali Ahmad Kurd was being shifted to Jhelum jail.

Justice Tariq Mahmood (retired) was not being allowed to see his family. “His children were allowed to see him for three minutes. They said he looked disturbed and disoriented,” she said.

The authorities were sending a doctor to see Munir A Malik, who had been seriously ill, with an intention to get a positive report regarding his health. She said there were apprehensions that Aitzaz, Munir, Tariq and Kurd might be tried for treason under Article 6 of the Constitution (on its restoration).

She said several lawyers were stripped, given injections and tortured beyond explanation. Musharraf had proved himself to be the enemy of the country by causing the Baloch youth to grow bitter.