SARGODHA / LAHORE / MUZAFFARGARH: Speaking to journalists from a prison van on Thursday, MNA Jamshed Dasti, who has been booked under various offences under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), alleged that he was being harassed and tortured in police custody.

He was brought to the court of a duty judge of the Sargodha district sessions court on Thursday as the special judge for the anti-terrorism court was on leave. Mr Dasti alleged that police officials would often set rats and scorpions on him in the jail cell and produced several dead scorpions and cockroaches before Judge Sohail Ikram.

He claimed that he was being punished for raising a voice for the downtrodden who had voted for him. He also produced a sample of rotten food that he said was served to him, and added that he was a law-abiding citizen.

Judge Ikram told the police to take Mr Dasti to the Sargodha District Jail and to produce him in the antiterrorism court on July 3. The judge assured Mr Dasti that he would personally oversee the quality of food served to him.

Punjab government, LHC take notice of allegations

Mr Dasti, who was kept at the Dera Ghazi Khan Central Jail, was moved to the Sargodha District Jail on Wednesday. In the video recorded from the prison van, Mr Dasti appealed to chief justices of the Supreme Court and the Lahore High Court, requesting them to take notice of the condition he was being detained in. He claimed that the police had not given him food for six days and that he was being kept in solitary confinement.

In a statement issued on Thursday, Punjab Law Minister Rana Sanaullah said the inspector general of prisons had been told to hold an inquiry into the claims made by Mr Dasti, and furnish a report within 24 hours.

Mr Sanaullah has also asked the IG to constitute a medical board to examine the detained lawmaker to verify the allegations of torture.

Protest

Mr Dasti’s sister Hafeez Bibi led a sit-in in Muzaffargarh on Thursday against the alleged maltreatment of her brother.

Several women joined the sit-in and blocked a main road for traffic.

Ms Hafeez said her brother was innocent, but some leaders of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) were ‘punishing’ him as they were threatened by the popularity of his political party — the Awami Raj Party — in three south Punjab districts.

Mr Dasti’s supporters told media personnel that they had received word that former Pakistan Peoples Party leader Babar Awan had consented to plead Mr Dasti’s case in court.

Advocate Jam Yunis of the Awami Raj Party appealed to the chief justice to take notice of the miscarriage of justice. Lahore High Court Chief Justice Syed Mansoor Ali Shah on Thursday took notice of media reports of the alleged torture of Mr Dasti.

Taking notice of the allegations, Chief Justice Shah directed the Sargodha district and sessions judge, the Sargodha antiterrorism court judge and the judge of the antiterrorism court in Dera Ghazi Khan to visit the jails and observe the conditions of the cell and barracks where the MNA was kept in custody and submit their reports on Friday (today).

CJ Shah also directed the judges to also investigate whether Mr Dasti was subjected to torture during custody and whether the jail authorities provided him the facilities allowed to MNAs.

He further asked the judges to check whether the MNA had filed a complaint before the court regarding alleged torture and inhumane treatment in prison.

A directive issued by LHC Registrar Khurshid Ahmad Rizvi said the matter was also in the notice of acting Chief Justice of Pakistan Asif Saeed Khosa.

Our Staff Reporter in Karachi adds: Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Syed Khursheed Shah on Thursday strongly condemned “police torture” of Jamshed Dasti and appealed to the chief justices of the Supreme Court and Lahore High Court to take notice of his complaints.

“The injustice and cruelty being shown by this democratic government is a reflection of the dictatorial regime and mindset,” he said.

“The Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) will resist every step which is against democratic norms and violates law and the constitution. The Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz has not learnt from the past when it used its leaders Saifur Rahman, Justice Qayyum and Rana Maqbool for their vendettas against rivals,” added the PPP leader.

In a statement issued after Mr Dasti’s complaint hit the headlines, the soft-spoken Mr Shah also warned the PML-N government that such “tactics and victimisation” would harm the democratic set-up and further damage its reputation.

Published in Dawn, June 30th, 2017