UMERKOT/ KARACHI: The Sindh Human Rights Commission (SHRC) has completed its fact-finding /investigation into the extrajudicial killing of Dr Shahnawaz Kunbhar, revealing a pattern of legal violations, administrative failures, and negligence by law enforcement officials.

The findings highlight significant gaps in the legal process, inadequate protection of fundamental rights, and a lack of proper action from the authorities. The SHRC’s report urges urgent reforms to prevent similar incidents in the future.

A team from the SHRC, led by Chairperson Iqbal Ahmed Detho and retired Justice Arshad Noor Khan along with others carried out an inquiry from September 20-27, 2024.

The fact-finding mission involved meetings with Dr Shahnawaz’s family, local law enforcement, and civil society representatives.

SHRC highlights significant gaps in legal process, inadequate protection of fundamental rights

The investigation uncovered negligence by officials, failure to follow legal protocols, and weak charges filed in the First Information Report (FIR).

The inquiry uncovered ‘severe police misconduct’ particularly in staging a ‘fabricated’ encounter as now confirmed by the inquiry team formed by the IGP Sindh.

“Dr Shahnawaz Kumbhar was wrongfully identified as the blasphemy suspect, an error likely stemming from systemic flaws in the FIR registration process,” said the report, adding that “this mistaken identity had devastating consequences, ultimately leading to his death”.

“The situation was further exacerbated by the police’s lack of transparency regarding his arrest and the alleged fabricated encounter that followed.”

This underscored the critical issue of accountability within law enforcement, suggests the report.

A significant recommendation from the report is the exhumation of Dr Shahnawaz’s body for a proper post-mortem to ascertain the cause of death, which could provide evidence of torture and other abuses.

‘Dangerous’ momentum built by social media

The SHRC report also highlighted the ‘dangerous momentum’ built on social media, which amplified calls for violence and played a role in fuelling the tragic outcome.

“This case points to the urgent need for stronger vigilance on digital media channels,” recommends the report.

“Criminalisation of hate speech, provocation and digital violence must be prioritised and comprehensive counter-narratives to violent extremism should be developed,” said the report, adding that this included “programming and initiatives designed to complement the policy framework for countering violent extremism and improving public discourse in the digital realm”.

“Dr Shahnawaz was deprived of his constitutional right to a fair trial,” said the report, adding the fact he was killed in a police encounter rather than being allowed to defend himself in court, was a “grave breach of this right of a fair trial” under Article 10-A.

The report has severely criticised the police role.

“The police encounter that led to Dr. Shahnawaz’s death appears to have been staged as confirmed by the inquiry conducted by the special committee set up by the IGP and this (encounter) indicates a serious breach of police conduct and abuse of power”.

The SHRC report said that there was ‘negligence or complicity’ by police in mob violence.

“The police failed to prevent the desecration of Dr Shahnawaz’s body by a violent mob,” the report said adding that ’despite the family informing the police about the funeral, law enforcement officers arrived only after the mob had committed the desecration, raising suspicions of negligence or even complicity.

Regarding ‘mob instigation,’ the Commission’s report said “there was inadequate police action in addressing the mob violence that erupted following the blasphemy accusations. FIR (191/2024) filed against 14 identified individuals, reflected an incomplete response by law enforcement, as a majority of the perpetrators remain unidentified.”

Highlighting perceived failures of relevant stakeholders to ‘address religious extremism’, the SHRC said hate speech and incitement indicated significant failure in enforcing Pakistan’s Countering Violent Extremism (CVE) framework.

“The failure to prevent the dissemination of hate speech, mob violence and extremist actions underscores a breakdown in the enforcement of the National Action Plan (NAP) on Countering Terrorist and Extremism 2014, National Countering Violent Extremism Policy Guidelines 2018 and Sindh Sound system (Regulation) Act 2014.

The inquiry also highlights the police’s lack of capacity for cybercrimes and observers that “the police neglected to consult the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to verify the authenticity of the blasphemous content, leading to premature declarations of guilt”.

“This mishandling of the case contributed to the escalation of violence, with law enforcement agency actions and public statements inciting further unrest.”

Published in Dawn, October 11th, 2024