TODAY marks the 26th International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, commemorating the adoption of the UN Convention Against Torture in 1987 and the absolute prohibition on torture in any and all circumstances. Each year, this day provides a platform for stakeholders to come together in universal condemnation of the reprehensibility of torture, and to rally support for the victims and survivors.

Pakistan’s relationship with the phenomenon of torture has always been an uneasy one. Despite repeated condemnation by the state and accession to various international human rights instruments, torture is an institutionalised practice that permeates nearly every facet of our criminal justice system. Impunity breeds violence, and in the absence of clear-cut accountability mechanisms, those in power were free to exercise this violence to coerce, intimidate and extract unlawful confessions from the public.

When the president put his assent to the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022, in November last year, it seemed as though years of effort were finally yielding some progress; the past decade had seen the introduction and subsequent failure of five separate bills criminalising torture. As such, the passage of this law (introduced by the previous government’s interior ministry and taken up by the incumbent one) was nothing short of momentous. It may have been out of a sense of duty to the public, or perhaps to protect themselves from the victimisation they inevitably face depending on which way the ballot goes, or even a step towards compliance with international obligations. Regardless of their motivations, our lawmakers have succeeded in bringing to life a procedural framework within which torture by public officials is defined, criminalised and penalised.

Pakistanis aren’t aware of the protections offered by the anti-torture law.

Since then, however, there has been no documented use of this law, despite the rampant prevalence of the term ‘custodial torture’ in today’s public discourse. Seven months on, it seems the general public, particularly those who most regularly find themselves in the police’s cross hairs, are largely unaware of this Act and the protections it offers. The true success of any law lies not in whether it receives the approval of our legislature, or how many brownie points it gets us in the UN Treaty Body reporting phase. Without passing rules that detail responsibilities, powers and procedures, similar to those notified under the Anti-Rape (Investigation and Trial Act), 2021, the Act criminalising torture will remain a token piece of legislation introduced as a cosmetic measure in advance of Pakistan’s GSP-Plus reapplication.

On this International Day in Support of Victims of Torture, perhaps more than simply bringing attention to the prevalence of torture in the country (which is no great secret), the priority should be ensuring every Pakistani who has or may unlawfully suffer at the hands of public officials knows how to hold them to account.

Under the Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act, 2022, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) and the National Commission for Human Rights are granted investigative authority. As an independent institution mandated to protect and promote human rights across the country, it is imperative that the NCHR be sufficiently empowered, and that its resource constraints and bureaucratic encumbrances be addressed immediately. Given that they have the power to initiate inquiries and investigations into human rights abuses upon receiving a complaint, they remain the best avenue for ensuring culpability and justice.

However, there are also other channels available to victims that remain woefully underutilised. The ju­­dicial magistr­a­­te presiding over the arrest of an individual may, of their own volition or acting upon a complaint, di­­rect the FIA to launch an investigation into alleged torture in custody. The FIA (similarly plagued by resource constraints and capacity issues) may be directly approached as well, as can the Ministry of Human Rights and the National Commission on the Status of Women. Furthermore, in Punjab, the ‘Meri Awaz’ app can be used by women subjected to torture.

In the absence of concrete results in the form of successful prosecutions of perpetrators through impartial investigations, accountability and compensation for victims and a reduction in police excess, the Act will never be more than a piece of paper. Our government must fulfil its duty to train and capacitate the relevant actors, allocate resources, spread awareness amongst the Pakistani people and notify a procedural framework, should it truly wish to demonstrate its commitment to eradicating the blight of torture.

The writer is a policy and advocacy officer at Justice Project Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2023