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/178/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 177th session (October 2005),

Taking account of the information provided by the source on 14 January and 2 May 2006,

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, that Mr. Zardari was tortured in detention on 17 and 19 May 1999, as established by a judicial inquiry on 16 September 1999, and that on 22 November 2004 Mr. Zardari was released on bail, and has since been free to travel abroad,

Considering that according to the source, in June 2005, Mr. Zardari suffered a heart attack and thereafter had to undergo emergency medical treatment in New York. In the meantime, despite his lawyers' submission of medical certificates attesting to his medical situation and the need for rest, non-bailable arrest warrants were issued for him by the very court which on 30 June 2005 had exempted Mr. Zardari from appearance, and he was officially declared an absconder by the court in three cases in November 2005; the source stresses that, under Pakistani law and jurisprudence, Mr. Zardari cannot be considered an absconder given that by then he had already left Pakistan, that his absence before court is neither wilful nor voluntary and that his counsel represents him at each and every hearing; Mr. Zardari's counsel therefore appealed to the High Court, which, at the beginning of April 2006, considered it appropriate to issue notice to the Deputy Prosecutor General, Accountability, to appear and assist the Court on the next date of hearing and ordered that meanwhile "no further order prejudicing the rights of the petitioner shall be passed".

1. Remains deeply concerned that, after more than six years, the authorities have completely ignored judicial findings which conclusively state that Mr. Zardari was tortured, and in particular that they have failed to take even the most basic steps, such as an examination of the register with the names of the officers on duty at the time and place of the torture, to identify the culprits and bring them to trial;

2. Can only consider this state of affairs to lend serious weight to the longstanding contention by the source that the authorities are deliberately shielding the presumed perpetrators from prosecution;

3. Urges the authorities once again, as their duty requires, to conduct an investigation into the substantive leads in this case without further delay in order to prosecute and punish the culprits;

4. Regrets the continuous lack of information regarding the current stage of the criminal and accountability cases pending against Mr. Zardari; and reiterates its wish to receive detailed information on this point, including whether a timetable is in place for completion of the proceedings;

5. Is concerned that Mr. Zardari may have been declared an absconder in the absence of any legal basis; notes that the matter is pending before the High Court; and would greatly appreciate being kept informed of the outcome of the appeal;

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

7. Desires that, during the on-site mission it has decided to carry out in the case of Mr. Hashmi, pending the agreement of the authorities, the case of Mr. Zardari should also be raised;

8. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session, to be held during the 115th IPU Assembly (October 2006).

Note: you can download a complete electronic version of the brochure "Results of the 114th IPU Assembly and related meetings in PDF format (file size 503K approximately ). This version requires Adobe Acrobat Reader, which you can download free of charge.

HOME PAGEHUMAN RIGHTSMAIN AREAS OF ACTIVITYIPU STRUCTURE AND DOCUMENTS