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/179/11(a)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 178th session (May 2006),

Taking account of the hearing the Committee held with a member of the Pakistani delegation during the 115th Assembly, and of the information provided by one of the sources on 9 October 2006,

Recalling that Mr. Zardari was tortured on the night of 17 May 1999 and again on 19 May 1999 while in the custody of the Central Investigation Agency, Civil Line; his wrists and tongue were cut and he received a two-and-a-half-inch cut to his throat and neck; a judicial investigation was launched which concluded in August 1999 that the injuries were not self-inflicted but the result of severe ill-treatment, but that no further action was taken; noting that Mr. Zardari subsequently filed a complaint against the police officers, and that it was only by order of the court that a First Information Report (FIR) was registered on 9 February 2005; however, the ensuing police investigation being to no avail, the court dismissed the case on 13 September 2006 and acquitted the suspected police officers for lack of evidence; an appeal against this order is pending before the High Court of Sindh at Karachi,

Recalling also that several criminal and accountability cases are pending against Mr. Zardari and that, having been granted bail in all of them and his name having been struck off the Exit Control List in December 2004, he was able to travel to Dubai and meet his family and that, at present, he is undergoing medical treatment in New York,

Noting, as regards the proceedings under way against him, that Mr. Zardari has been granted exemption from personal appearance in court except in one case which has been pending against him since December 1996, where a non-bailable arrest warrant has now been issued for him; an appeal against that decision is pending; considering, moreover, that in May 2006 a new case, allegedly time-barred as it dates back to 1995 and 1996, was reportedly registered against Mr. Zardari before the Sessions Judge Islamabad under section 42-A of the Representation of the People Act 1976 and a non-bailable arrest warrant was issued for him which the Judge is seeking to have implemented through Interpol although he reportedly has no competence to do so; according to the source, it is widely reported that the judge, against whom proceedings on corruption charges were pending, received the assurance that the charges would be shelved if he followed the instructions of the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) in this case,

1. Thanks the Pakistani delegate for the information he provided;

2. Is appalled that seven years after Mr. Zardari was tortured, as acknowledged by a judicial inquiry, the perpetrators have still not been identified and the case was dismissed for lack of evidence, although the exact date, time and place where Mr. Zardari was tortured is known, and it must therefore be possible to identify the persons who were on duty at the time;

3. Considers 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;

4. Recalls that the prohibition of torture is absolute and that States have an obligation to prevent, investigate, prosecute and punish any act of torture; urges therefore the authorities to identify the culprits without any further delay and to bring them to justice;

5. Is concerned that the cases which have been pending against Mr. Zardari since 1996 are not duly proceeding and that instead new cases, reportedly even a time-barred one, are brought against him, and notes with particular concern the reports that the latest case against him may have been brought by a corrupt judge, and would appreciate receiving the observations of the authorities in this regard;

6. Firmly recalls the principle that justice delayed is justice denied, and fears that justice may well be delayed in Mr. Zardari's case;

7. Requests the Secretary General to bring this resolution to the attention of the authorities and the sources and to seek from them information on the current stage of all the proceedings pending against Mr. Zardari;

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 116th Assembly (April-May 2007).

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* The delegation of Pakistan expressed its reservation regarding the resolution.

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