The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Having before it the case of Mr. Riaz Fatyana, a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan affiliated with the Pakistan Muslim League Q and a substitute member of the IPU Standing Committee on Democracy and Human Rights, which has been examined by the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians, pursuant to its Procedure for the treatment by the Inter-Parliamentary Union of communications concerning violations of the human rights of members of parliament,

Taking into account the information provided by a member of the delegation of Pakistan who appeared before the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians during the 127th IPU Assembly (Quebec, October, 2012), and of the information transmitted by the sources,

Considering that Mr. Fatyana has been a vocal critic of Pakistan’s police system, repeatedly denouncing police heavy-handedness and brutality during parliamentary debates, and that he has been outspoken on other violations of human rights such as missing persons, targeted and extrajudicial killings, abuse of authority and acts of torture carried out by law enforcement agencies,

Considering the following information provided by the sources:

• On 19 June 2012, Mr. Fatyana’s residence was attacked by a group of activists from the ruling political party in Punjab province, the Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N);

• The police, when they arrived at the scene, allegedly allowed the attackers free access to his house and arbitrarily arrested and kept Mr. Fatyana in detention until 21 June 2012; 13 of Mr. Fatyana’s employees were arrested at the same time and have reportedly been charged with killing one of the attackers, an allegation which the sources claim is false;

• During Mr. Fatyana’s detention, the police brought charges against him for being involved in the attack against his own residence, including through arson (FIR No. 205/12); the sources allege that these charges were fabricated and are not supported by any evidence; after a long investigation the case against Mr. Fatyana was dismissed; however, the 13 employees arrested with Mr. Fatyana are still being held in Toba Tek Singh district of Punjab province;

• The police refused to register Mr. Fatyana’s complaint about the attack for three days, but eventually did so on 22 June 2012, following the intervention of the Provincial Police Office (FIR No. 206/12); to date, however, no serious investigation has been undertaken by the police, and none of the attackers has been arrested; it appears that the report of the Commissioner and the District Coordinator Officer on the incident exposed a personal vendetta of the local police against Mr. Fatyana and confirmed the names of the accused; however, instead of arresting these suspects, the police arrested a member of Mr. Fatyana’s personal staff;

• Mr. Fatyana was threatened by the police both during and after his detention, and has been forced to flee with his whole family; he was told by police officials during his detention that he should not run in the forthcoming National Assembly elections, otherwise he and his family would face reprisals;

• The sources believe that Mr. Fatyana has been framed by the Punjab police, at the instigation of PML-N leaders in Punjab and of Mr. Chourdry Asad ur Rehman Ramdey, his long-standing main political opponent in the constituency, in order to sideline him in the run-up to the general elections in March 2013; the sources indicated that the local police, the lower ranks of the judiciary and the local administration of Punjab are completely controlled by these officials,

1. Thanks the member of the delegation of Pakistan for the information provided;

2. Is deeply concerned at the attack on Mr. Fatyana’s residence; is dismayed that it allegedly occurred with the complicity of the police and that, rather than being treated as the victim, Mr. Fatyana was first considered a suspect; considers that the allegations cast serious doubts on respect for the rule of law in Punjab province;

3. Appreciates the fact that the Speaker of the National Assembly has publicly denounced the attack; trusts that the National Assembly is closely monitoring the case with a view to ensuring that justice is fully served;

4. Is deeply concerned that the perpetrators of the attack reportedly continue to enjoy de facto impunity; urges the competent authorities to take the necessary steps forthwith to hold them to account and to ensure that an independent investigation is carried out into the local police operations in this case; wishes to be kept informed of the steps taken in this regard;

5. Is alarmed that Mr. Fatyana and his family have received serious threats, forcing them to flee; calls on the competent authorities to do everything possible, as is their duty, to investigate these threats and provide Mr. Fatyana and his family with effective protection so that they can return home and Mr. Fatyana can exercise his mandate without hindrance and, should this be his wish, participate in the 2013 general elections; wishes to ascertain what steps the authorities are taking for this purpose;

6. Requests the Secretary General to convey this resolution to the Speaker of the National Assembly, the other competent authorities at both federal and provincial level in Punjab, and the sources;

7. Requests the Committee to continue examining this case and to report back to it in due course.

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