A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission
January 12, 2009
Ms. Zarina Marri, a 23-year-old schoolteacher from Balochistan province, was arrested in late 2005, and has been held incommunicado in an army torture cell at Karachi, the capital of Sindh province. She has been repeatedly raped by the military officers and is being used as a sex slave, to induce arrested nationalist activists to sign state-concocted confessions.
One man, who was arrested by a state agency and kept in military
torture cell almost for nine months, narrated the story of this young
woman to Reporters Without Borders (Reporters Sans Frontières, RSF); nowpublic.com <http://www.nowpublic.com; the International Red Cross; and at Woolwich Court in London. The
current whereabouts of the young woman are not known. It has been
asserted that women who are fighting for the greater autonomy of
Balochistan are being arrested by the state agencies and being forced
into sex slavery in their custody.
Mr. Munir Mengal, the managing director of a Balochi-language
television channel, was arrested on April 4, 2006 from Karachi
International airport by the state intelligence agencies and
transferred to a military torture cell in Karachi for nine months
(http://www.ahrchk.net/ua/mainfile.php/2006/1666/
). He narrated the story of the forced sex slavery of the young
teacher Zarina Marri whom he encountered in a military cell.
According to the Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Mr. Munir Mengal
witnessed many human rights violations in this military prison.
Mengal says that, “a young Balochi woman, Ms. Zarina Marri, was used as a sexual slave by the officers. They even once threw her naked into my cell. I did not know what had happened to this mother of a family who was arrested by the army in our province.”
Another Balochi nationalist (name omitted by request), who was
arrested by the military intelligence agency twice and kept in
military cells in different cities, has confirmed to the AHRC that
there were young Balochi females seen at those two torture cells,
naked and in distress. The prominent Balochi nationalist leaders say
that they know fact that young Balochi women are being arrested,
either during or after protest demonstrations on the disappearances
and are missing. They also know about the women are sexually abused in the military custody but they cannot say so publically because of their sanctity and harassment of their families.
Mr Munir Mengal was also tortured and his penis was severely injured when he refused to have sex with Zarina Marri. He told RSF, “on 27th January, 2007 at 6 pm Major Iqrar Gul Niazi (Military Intelligence) called me in his office and showed me some nude pictures, and laughingly told me that you have been a director of a TV channel so certainly you have good relations with actresses.”
When he returned to his cell he found porn pictures strewn all over it. Around 12 pm a low-ranking military officer called Subedar brought a female there. She was trembling and weeping. “He threw her on my body and told me, ‘You know what to do with her. You are not a child we have to tell what to do with her.’” Mr. Mengal says after half an hour the officer returned, and seeing them sitting apart, abused them and forcibly took off their clothes. Mengal said he was stunned when the woman began praying in the Balochi language. She told Mengal her name was Zarina Marri and that she belongs to the Kohlu area, headquarters of the rebel Marri tribe, a scene of a bloody insurgency that begun in 2005. She said she was a schoolteacher and that the army personnel had abducted her along with her one-year-old.
“They accuse us for spying for the Baluchistan Liberation Army,” Zarina Marri said. She begged Mengal to kill her. I have been undressed several times for them.”
Mengal said on the refusal to have sex, the intelligence officials inflicted cuts on his private parts. “I thought I would lose my manhood,” he said. Ms. Zarina told to Mengal that she has seen some females in the torture cell but was not allowed to talk with them.
At the time of this incident Colonel Raza of the Pakistani Army was
in charge of that cell. After a few days he was transferred to Rawalpindi, Punjab province and Colonel Abdul Malik Kashmiri came as head of the military torture cell.
Mr Munir Mengal was released from the military torture cell on 4th
August 2007 and was held in a civilian jail on August 5th. The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) representatives met
him in Khuzadar jail, where he provided them with a detailed briefing
which they wrote down. The next day their doctor also checked the
injured portion of his penis. Mr. Andrew Barterlays, the officer of
ICRC who visited Mr. Mengal several times in jail, told Mr. Mengal
that until he was out of custody the ICRC could not take up the issue
of Zarina Marri, because both their lives would be threatened.
The Asian Human Rights Commission has already reported that 52
torture cells are run by the Pakistan army, please see following link
(http://www.ahrchk.net/statements/mainfile.php/2008statements/1574/
), Karachi was stated to have three military torture cells. The
testimony by Mr. Munir Mengal has revealed the most heinous methods of army torture, using young women as sex slaves to induce political opponents to sign the government-concocted confessions of terrorist and anti-state activity.
The AHRC severely condemns the use of women as sex slaves by the
Pakistan army and for keeping these women incommunicado. Pakistan is the signatory to Convention on the Elimination of All Forms Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) but women are being used as sex slaves in a gross violation of the Convention by army officers.
The AHRC urges the government of Pakistan to immediately hold a
judicial investigation into the women detainees being used as sex
slaves by the army officers in their detention centers, and to arrest
all the army officers posted in the torture cells; both in Karachi and
in the rest of Pakistan. The perpetrators of these heinous crimes must
be brought before the law. The government should ascertain the
whereabouts of the women arrested from Balochistan province who have disappeared after their arrest, including Zarina Marri. It is the
duty of the government to search for the missing persons taken by
State intelligence agencies, who have held them in torture cells for
many years.
Pakistan proudly calls itself the Islamic Democratic State but its rulers appear to lack the courage to bring its own military into check. It is a military that engages in torture and some of the most heinous methods of breaking the spirit of those that it considers the enemy, it is a military that pays no heed to the norms of civilised behaviour and is one that, if not brought to book will convert Pakistan into a barbaric state.
though attrocities might be commited by arny against the baloch but levelling such kind of allegations is just a desperate attempt to provoke public against army. as not only baloch but all pakistanis are sensitive to the issue. my opinion is that in this case mr. mengal is lying. if you just analyse his one point where he is alone with zarina muree.
“Around 12 pm a low-ranking military officer called Subedar brought a female there. She was trembling and weeping. “He threw her on my body and told me, ‘You know what to do with her. You are not a child we have to tell what to do with her.’” Mr. Mengal says after half an hour the officer returned, and seeing them sitting apart, abused them and forcibly took off their clothes. Mengal said he was stunned when the woman began praying in the Balochi language”
Here it is absolutely unbelieveable that mr. mengal being a journalist sat with ms. zareena alone for half and hour and even dont tried to enquire about her and about cirumstances. moreover is it believeable that when the low ranking officer came zareen narrated all about her. and the low ranking officer did not even tried to stop her as if he wanted ms zareena muree to narate the whole story instead of acting as a sex slave.
such absurd tactics and lies should be followed to the root. if the case of Zareena Muree is true member of her family with her and their true identity should be searched out. if this can happen in the case of real incidents of dr. shazia it can be done in this case to.
so to my opinion the whole story is fake and alleged and is a mere reason to gain political interests.
though attrocities might be commited by arny against the baloch but levelling such kind of allegations is just a desperate attempt to provoke public against army. as not only baloch but all pakistanis are sensitive to the issue. my opinion is that in this case mr. mengal is lying. if you just analyse his one point where he is alone with zarina muree.
“Around 12 pm a low-ranking military officer called Subedar brought a female there. She was trembling and weeping. “He threw her on my body and told me, ‘You know what to do with her. You are not a child we have to tell what to do with her.’” Mr. Mengal says after half an hour the officer returned, and seeing them sitting apart, abused them and forcibly took off their clothes. Mengal said he was stunned when the woman began praying in the Balochi language”
Here it is absolutely unbelieveable that mr. mengal being a journalist sat with ms. zareena alone for half and hour and even dont tried to enquire about her and about cirumstances. moreover is it believeable that when the low ranking officer came zareen narrated all about her. and the low ranking officer did not even tried to stop her as if he wanted ms zareena muree to narate the whole story instead of acting as a sex slave.
such absurd tactics and lies should be followed to the root. if the case of Zareena Muree is true member of her family with her and their true identity should be searched out. if this can happen in the case of real incidents of dr. shazia it can be done in this case to.
so to my opinion the whole story is fake and alleged and is a mere reason to gain political interests.
dear siraj.this is unhumutarian act i felt so sad my eyes turn to tear to read this information . well the have challenged the rid of baloch because for dignity and soul respect we baloch never compromise with any one rather it is the army of pakistan ,firstly being a tribilast baloch iwe never compromise the anti military of pakistan.they dont have a respect for a women the take pleasure to expose the respect of a woman these are the biggest enemyies of balochs .dear siraj now they have crossed the border of humunatarian now you should justify being a human rather a baloch the didnt cosider as human.now enough is enough we must take severe action act this anyi element of pak army by our articles and by power in order to expose dramaticall govt of pak and its milittary infront of internayionall media. jahanzaib shah baloch panjgoor
dont be stupids. all of you sitting outside the country enjoying petty advantages offered to you by your masters you just want local poor balochistanis to suffer endlesly. stop taking these poor ppl for granted.