{"id":6878,"date":"2014-01-27T11:14:53","date_gmt":"2014-01-27T11:14:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/?p=6878"},"modified":"2021-12-17T11:16:01","modified_gmt":"2021-12-17T11:16:01","slug":"ppo-a-ploy-to-legitimise-illegalities-hrcp","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/ppo-a-ploy-to-legitimise-illegalities-hrcp\/","title":{"rendered":"PPO a ploy to legitimise illegalities: HRCP"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0Lahore<\/i><\/b>, January 24:<\/i><\/b>\u00a0The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has\u00a0voiced alarm at the promulgation of Protection of\u00a0Pakistan(Amendement) Ordinance 2014 and said the law violated constitutionally guaranteed rights and legitimised illegalities.<\/p>\n

In a statement issued\u00a0on Friday, HRCP said: \u201cThere are far too many things in the PPO that rights respecting individuals would find difficult to stomach. The main concerns include giving the authorities the power to withhold information regarding the location of any detainee, or grounds for such detention; detention of a person in internment centre instead of ordinary jails; creating new classifications of suspects such as \u201cenemy alien\u201d or \u201ccombatant enemy\u201d; extending the preventive detention period for any suspect; and legitimising illegal detention and enforced disappearance through giving retrospective effect to the law.<\/p>\n

\u201cHRCP doubts that when the apex court had declared prolonged and unannounced detention by security forces illegal and called for legislation, ordinances like these were what it had called for. Citing exceptional circumstances to justify derogation of rights and for delegation of exceptional powers to the law enforcers is particularly worrisome in the context of enforced disappearances in\u00a0Pakistan. The ordinance will only compound the saga of enforced disappearance in\u00a0Pakistan\u00a0and strengthen impunity.<\/p>\n

\u201cHRCP hopes and expects that the glaring illegalities that the ordinance seeks to facilitate would not escape the notice of the judiciary.<\/p>\n

\u201cHRCP is of the opinion that while the new ordinance would certainly strip suspects of many rights, it would not contribute to making the country more secure or holding to account those responsible for widespread bloodletting in\u00a0Pakistan.<\/p>\n

\u201cHRCP is convinced that there is no justification for promulgating an ordinance on such an important issue in the presence of parliament, which should have been allowed to consider the controversial law.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n

Zohra Yusuf<\/b><\/p>\n

Chairperson<\/p>\n

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