Dr. Farooq Hassan

BA (Juris),MA,M. LiTT (OXON);
DCL (Columbia),DIA(Harvard);
Sen.Adv.Sup.Ct. (Pakistan),
Barrister at Law (UK),Attorney at Law(US).

According to women’s rights’ NGOs at least 800 rapes and gang-rapes were recorded in 2004 by the Police in Pakistan. This figure is believed to be merely a fraction of the number of such cases actually taking place. Several recent shockingly alarming incidents of gang rape cases have, however, sadly brought into sharp focus this terrible aspect of the current societal prejudices in this country. In some notorious incidents, there is clear surrounding evidence establishing government’s complicity in these grave and horrendous misfortunes to befall Pakistani women in distress.

There exists, in addition the unbelievable reality, now internationally noted by the media, evidence that from the very top of the governmental edifice there is a dedicated campaign to “hide” the truth from reaching concerned women NGOs and the Western Governments. It is even more painful to realize that factually, in three of the most notorious contemporary cases of this nature, there is governments’ institutional involvement. The victims of the rapes were done this horrendous mischief allegedly by (1) an army officer, (2) at the behest of a tribal jury and (3) in the latest one by serving Police officers of some significance. The three victims of this brutality were Dr. Sazia Kahlid, Mukatharan Mai and one Sonia Naz. At the moment of concluding this analysis yet another gang rape case has come to light pertaining to one Sairah, a 12 year old Christian girl in Islamabad, the nation’s capitol.

The events from Friday 9th June to 16th, 2005 concerning the above named Mukhtaran Mai, should have shaken the very soul of the people of Pakistan. Whether it did, I cannot say, but the Federal Government certainly disgraced Pakistan. Because of this particular incident however, Musharraf’s regime, much pampered by US the military and badly disguised as a “democracy”, has been, however, thoroughly exposed.

In the US during his recent visit to address the UN GA, Musharraf said shockingly that it was becoming a “profession” in Pakistan for women to be gang raped in order to get funds and Canadian citizenship! This was with reference to the offer of the Ottawa Government to Mukatharan Mai when she was, by all accounts, not only detained unlawfully but actually silenced and forbidden to travel to the US by admittedly the personal orders of General Musharraf. Worldwide condemnation of these comments of Musharraf saw such headlines as the one reported in Pakistan by the AFP: “Musharraf under fire for ’shocking’ rape comments.” The Canadian Premier personally showed his disapproval over such ideas of the Pakistani General while still in New York

Politicians and street protesters in New York, Islamabad and Karachi condemned Musharraf for these reckless and harsh comments to the Washington Post. It is really unbelievable that Musharraf tried to get out of this self created mess by denying that he had said anything as such in his interview to the Post on 15 September. The Post immediately put his entire tape on their website for the whole world to see and hear that that is exactly what Musharraf had said! Musharraf had told the Washington Post: “You must understand the environment in Pakistan,” He added: “This has become a money-making concern. A lot of people say if you want to go abroad and get a visa for Canada or citizenship and be a millionaire, get yourself raped”. Women Action Forum in Pakistan directly demanded: “He must withdraw his remarks if he really thinks he is a liberal and a moderate.”

This author deeply regrets that a person in that lofty a position can say such things and then get caught denying them falsely as well! No wonder that after the conclusion of his New York visit the Pakistani General complained that even though the US establishment was busy in rolling out the red carpet for him the American media was not appreciative of his performance. One may well ask what is that “performance” that he speaks of which could possibly excuse him for giving such degrading comments about women?


The New York Times’ (of 6/14) scathing humiliation of Pakistan and the Musharraf and his military junta speaks volumes of what in fact is occurring in Pakistan. In an Op Ed piece Nicholas Kristoff brutally, yet accurately, remarks: “No wonder the Pakistan government can’t catch Osama bin Laden. It is too busy harassing, detaining - and now kidnapping - a gang-rape victim for daring to protest and for planning a visit to the United States.”

Be that as it may, Mai stood vindicated and won worldwide acclaim for her pursuit of justice in June 2005 when Pakistan’s Supreme Court ordered the re-arrest of 13 men linked to her case and suspended their acquittals by lower courts.


Not long before the Mai matter surfaced with such worldwide condemnations, there was the terrible case of 32-year-old doctor Shazia Khalid after she was gang raped by allegedly military security forces guarding the Sui gas pipeline in the remote areas of Pakistan in Baluchistan. She had to leave the country during her ordeal in January 2005 at, apparently, as she told AFP in an interview in London in February, “the ‘request’ had come from the top of the Musharraf government”. Once in the UK, the British Government prompted gave her asylum. She said it was necessary for her to leave as her non acceptance by the local society for this terrible stigma was very painful. The government authorities, whose task was to protect her, as is well known by now, were only interested in hiding the identity of the accused as he was a serving military officer.


Some essential facts of the Mai case may be noted briefly to realize the mindset of the Federal authorities in disallowing her to move at all in or out of Pakistan. She was invited by a Pakistani medical doctor’s NGO in the US called AANA and was supposed to be present on July 2 at Houston at the national conference of this organization. On becoming aware of this impending visit, the Pakistani Government went out to get her in a military type operation. From Thursday 7th May she was placed under house arrest and literally made incommunicado with the world as her cell phone was knocked out of functioning. After she had been detained, a court ordered her attackers released, putting her life in further jeopardy. That happened on a Friday afternoon, when the courts do not normally operate as the day is invariably a half day holiday in the country.

Kristoff may well be quoted again to succinctly realize the point why Musharraf did what he did: “Even if Ms. Mukhtaran were released from local detention, airports have been alerted to bar her from leaving the country. According to newspaper (reports), the government took this step, “fearing that she might malign Pakistan’s image”. What is Pakistan’s “image”, one may well ask, that would be damaged by a battered woman?” He interestingly added: “Excuse me, but Ms. Mukhtaran, a symbol of courage and altruism, is the best hope for Pakistan’s image. The threat to Pakistan’s image comes from President Musharraf for all this thuggish behavior. But now President Musharraf has gone nuts.” The New York Times goes on to suggest to the US government: “So, Mr. Bush, how about asking Mr. Musharraf to focus on finding Osama, instead of kidnapping rape victims who speak out? And invite Ms. Mukhtaran to the Oval Office - to show that Americans stand not only with generals who seize power, but also with ordinary people of extraordinary courage.”

The maneuvering to place an “ordinary” person like Mai on the dreaded Exit Control List (ECL) of the Government of Pakistan, the highest in Administration was involved. The gagging suggestion came initially from a retired military general now Pakistan’s Ambassador in Washington. The Foreign Minister, who does not seemly get tired of pleasing all his de facto and de jure military bosses, quickly endorsed it! The matter was then taken up by Musharraf’s who decided to put a lid on this poor creature.

Kristoff aptly observes finally: “Then a few days later, the Pakistani government went berserk.” This comment needs some explanation! Mai was brought to Islamabad by road by government intelligence people from her home some four hundred miles away. Instead of showing up at the US Embassy along for a visa on June 15th, she showed up in a press Conference along with a woman advisor of the Government. She proclaimed she was not interested to go the US! However she reluctantly admitted to the press that she was confined by police when they were “protecting” her in her home town of Meerawala.

How did her name, as matter of law, get into the ECL? Under the law, the only persons who have this misfortune is if they are, (1) known bank defaulters, (2) known terrorists (3) known politicians who are considered threat to the regime. She was none of the above. So someone has to explain what really happened for the government to go berserk as the NY Times aptly put it! She was detained without legal authority, a damning violation of Article 9 and 10 of the Constitution, she was not allowed to move, a violation of Article 15 of the Constitution, made incommunicado and had her phone contact rendered ineffectual, a violation of Article 19 of the Constitution. Above all she was humiliated, thereby violating Article 14 of the Constitution. She was no worse than an “enemy combatant”, a term with which the Western press is by now quite familiar.

The US Government, through Christina Rocca, Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia, had expressed extreme disappointment at this behavior of the Government of Pakistan. Similarly the State Department Press briefing given in Washington DC on 15th of June, 2005 echoes this thought:

“The United States expects Pakistan’s leaders to honor their pledge to protect the basic human rights of their citizens, including the freedom to travel… She is a courageous woman who is a victim of a horrendous crime. Ms. Mai is welcome to travel to the United States at any time. We were confronted with, what I can only say, was an outrageous situation where her attackers were ordered to be freed while she had restrictions on her travel placed on her. We conveyed our views about these restrictions to the senior levels of the Pakistani Government. … “according to the reporting, notably by Kristof of the New York Times, she was brought to Islamabad, detained and placed in custody and even though she’s free to go, which I guess is a good thing, it’s a rather odd thing that the Pakistani Government should have seen fit, if the reports are accurate, to have detained her and questioned her. It’s not clear what crime she committed.”

What happened to Mai is happening everyday to scores of people in Pakistan. Only they are not, by circumstances, so well known by their misfortunes to have attracted world wide focus of attention. Not only in Pakistan, too often for the comfort of prudent constitutionalists, the army walks in when ever it so feels, by ousting an elected government to assume total control of the powers of the state.

Those with memory may recall that, but for 9/11, the US foreign policy towards tin pot military dictators was brilliantly summed by President Clinton when he made a four hour stop in Islamabad on 25th April 2000, after four days in India . He not only refused to see Musharraf, calling instead on the elected President Tarar, he publicly admonished the General for having committed the gravest political crime one can imagine of using the powers of the state’ s army to arbitrarily take over from an elected head of government.

Under a military regime nothing seems sacrosanct in Pakistan, least of all the liberty of the citizens and respect for Rule of Law. But the press needs to be given high praise as it ensures that thuggish behavior cannot always be kept hidden. Before concluding, I must mention the grave and ferocious injustice now done to a Christian child at the hands of a villainous culture that seems undeterred by the commission of such evil crimes. As mentioned earlier, there is the most recent case of such morbid and painful activity. On September 5th, a 12-year-old Christian female child, Sairah Tabassum, was reportedly abducted and gang raped for several days by 16 Muslim men near Islamabad. It is further reported in the press that, during such rapes, she was told to convert to being a Muslim.

This terrible case has been focused upon by foreign media. So the story of Pakistan, rapes of women and the ruthless indifference, even surreptitious connivance of the Government towards this issue goes on. The regime is only keen to “protect its image”, whatever that means. General Musharraf statements’ on this sorry topic equate Pakistan’s interests with that of the General himself. The US crutches, made available since 9/11, to a military junta and the military uniform kept by the Pakistan Army Chief, years after his legal retirement, are as much threat to democracy as to a decent living of all, particularly women. Sociologically, if the military dictatorship feels women are out to do anything for getting money and foreign visa, what can be said of the ordinary people in a conservative milieu?

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