EXTERNAL (for general distribution)AI Index: ASA/33/10/91

Distr: UA/SC

UA 287/91Arrest/Unacknowledged Detention23 August 1991

PAKISTAN:Dr. Khatumal Jeevan, opposition legislator

Amnesty International is concerned for the safety of Dr. Khatumal Jeevan who has been held in unacknowledged detention since 4 August 1991. He is one of a large number of people who were reportedly arrested during and after a hunger strike observed all over Pakistan on the call of Pakistan People's Party (PPP) leader Benazir Bhutto. Pakistani media mention several hundred arrests but Amnesty International has not been able to verify these numbers. While the majority of the detained persons appear to have been subsequently released, some are reportedly still held in detention.

Dr. Khatumal Jeevan, a PPP Member of the National Assembly, was arrested by the police in Mirpurkhas, Sindh Province, on 4 August 1991 during the peaceful country-wide hunger strike. His arrest was witnessed by many opposition workers, among them Mir Munawar Ali Talpur, Member of the Sindh Provincial Assembly and former provincial Minister, and Mehboob Alam Rind, former Member of Provincial Assembly, Sindh.

According to information available to Amnesty International, the Sindh Government has repeatedly denied his arrest. Letters sent by the relatives of Dr. Jeevan and by the PPP to President Ghulam Ishaq Khan and to the federal government have reportedly not received any reply. A habeas corpus petition has been lodged in the Sindh High Court and a hearing is to take place on 26 August 1991.

According to reports, Dr. Jeevan is being continuously moved from one police station to another. An article in the Sindhi language newspaper Jago mentions that Dr. Jeevan was held following his arrest in Mirwah police station. On 21 August 1991 he was said to be held in Gulshan-e-Iqbal police station in Karachi. In a communication on a cigarette package sent out of Garhi police station on 10 August 1991 Dr. Jeevan stated that pressure was being brought on him to leave the party.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send courteously worded telegrams/telexes and express letters:

- expressing concern for the safety of Dr. Jeevan who has been held since 4 August 1991 in unacknowledged detention;

- urging the authorities to immediately and unconditionally release Dr. Jeevan and any other person like him still detained for the peaceful expression of their political opinions;

- protesting against the detention of any person in unacknowledged detention;

- expressing concern at the recent arrests of a large number of persons detained for their participation in a peaceful demonstration.

APPEALS TO:

1.

President

Ghulam Ishaq Khan

[Salutation: Dear President]

The Presidency

Murree Brewery Road

Rawalpindi, Pakistan

Telegrams:President Khan, Rawalpindi, Pakistan

page 2, UA 287/91...

2.

Mian Nawaz Sharif

Prime Minister

[Salutation: Dear Prime Minister]

Office of the Prime Minister

Islamabad, Pakistan

Telegrams:Prime Minister Sharif, Islamabad, Pakistan

Telexes:5742

3.

Mahmoud A. Haroon

Governor

[Salutation: Dear Governor]

Governor's Office

Sind Administration

Karachi, Pakistan

Telegrams:Governor Haroon, Sind Administration

Karachi, Pakistan

4.

Jam Sadiq Ali

Chief Minister

[Salutation: Dear Chief Minister]

Office of the Chief Minister

Sind Administration

Karachi, Pakistan

Telegrams:Chief Minister Ali, Sind Administration

Karachi, Pakistan

5.

Syed Muzaffar Hussain

Minister of Law and Parliamentary Affairs

[Salutation: Dear Minister]

Ministry of Law and Parliamentary Affairs

Karachi, Pakistan

Telegrams:Minister Law and Parliamentary Affairs Hussain,

Karachi, Pakistan

6.

G. Moinuddin

Inspector General of Police

[Salutation: Dear Sir]

Office of the Inspector General of Police

Karachi, Pakistan

Telegrams:Inspector General of Police

Karachi, Pakistan

COPIES TO: Diplomatic representatives of Pakistan in your country.

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY. Check with the International Secretariat, or your section office, if sending appeals after 20 September 1991.