The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of Senator Asif Ali Zardari of Pakistan, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/176/13(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 175^th session (October 2004),

Taking account of the information provided to the Committee by the Pakistani delegation at the hearing held during the 112^th IPU Assembly,

Recalling that Mr. Zardari was first arrested in November 1996, that a series of criminal cases and accountability cases have been brought against him, some of which have remained at a standstill, and that he was later released on bail in all cases, except the so-called BMW car case, for which he was arrested in December 2002,

Considering that on 22 November 2004 Mr. Zardari was also released on bail in the latter case, that he has been provided with a passport, and that his name was taken off the Exit Control List, thus enabling him to travel abroad,

Recalling that Mr. Zardari was tortured on 17 and 19 May 1999, as established by judicial inquiry on 16 September 1999, and that the culprits have yet to be brought to justice, that in May 2004 Mr. Zardari submitted a private complaint against several former and current officials relating to the injuries he had sustained, that, according to the sources, the judge in that case ordered the Sindh police to register a criminal case against those persons, that the police declined to do so, and that an application for contempt of court is pending against the responsible police officer,

Considering that, according to a note conveyed by the Pakistani delegation, a case was registered at the request of Mr. Zardari regarding his torture (case register vide First Information Report (FIR) No. 10/2002) and that the note refers to a report by the senior superintendent of police investigation Zone-1 Karachi, according to whom the investigation could not be finalised "because the injured was in judicial custody. Under law, an accused in judicial custody cannot be transferred to police custody without the court's intervention. Mr. Zardari therefore could not be made to join investigation for preparation of a memorandum of the place of occurrence. Similarly, the alleged perpetrators of torture could not be identified on account of his non-availability with the police. Now that Mr. Zardari stands released ... it is available to him and his lawyers to identify the accused ... To reiterate, no evidence has so far been brought on the record identifying the accused for the above-stated reasons. The investigation, however, is still alive and continuing.",

1. Thanks the Pakistani delegation for the information provided and looks forward to continuing cooperation with a view to the settlement of this case;

2. Notes with satisfaction that Mr. Zardari has finally been released on bail;

3. Is perplexed at the contention that Mr. Zardari's prolonged detention, which had long been a concern in itself, was to blame for the lack of progress in the investigation towards identifying his torturers;

4. Is deeply concerned that, almost six years after Mr. Zardari was tortured, not only have the police apparently failed to act on the substantive leads which would help them make progress in this regard, but they have also refused to implement a court order issued as a result of Mr. Zardari's private complaint against those he named as the presumed culprits; and can but consider that the failure to do so, which has so far shielded the presumed perpetrators from prosecution, lends weight to the accusations put forward in Mr. Zardari’s complaint;

5. Urges the competent authorities to ensure that the court order is implemented without further delay by carrying out an independent and effective investigation into the substantive leads in this case, in particular by examining the register with the names of the officers on duty at the time and place of his torture; and would greatly appreciate receiving information on any steps taken to this end;

6. Calls once again on the competent Pakistani authorities to ensure that the proceedings against Mr. Zardari are conducted with all necessary diligence with a view to their speedy completion; and wishes to ascertain whether a timetable is in place for this purpose;

7. Requests the Secretary General to convey the present resolution to the competent executive, parliamentary and judicial authorities and to the sources;

8. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held on the occasion of the 113^th IPU Assembly (October 2005).

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