pakistan0614_ForUplaod

Mehmood also cited public fear as an impediment in evidence-gathering that in turn has
hampered undertaking prosecutions or achieving successful convictions against LeJ
militants:
In combating LeJ violence, lack of evidence is a huge problem. The public
lives in terror and people are unwilling to come forward and provide
evidence that may help the police in building a strong case. Consequently,
these terrorist groups work fearlessly and openly take credit for various
attacks in the local media. The media also lives in terror and as a result
publishes their statements on the front page of newspapers. 156
Victims and their families in Balochistan have viewed the role of the police and civilian
authorities with less sympathy. Ahmed Hussain, the older brother of Aqeel Raza, a student
killed on June 18, 2012, in a suicide car bomb attack on a university bus, concurred with
Mehmood’s assessment of the media’s role. However, he sharply criticized the police
response to LeJ violence:
The media are unwilling to speak the truth and name the criminals. They
don’t even want to name the criminals once they have claimed their crime.
The police are also unwilling to name the criminals in their reports. The
Lashkar-e-Jhangvi has claimed countless incidents in which Shias have
been killed and yet the police have always identified the criminals in those
cases as “unknown” or “unidentified.” We the Shias and Hazara Shias have
no expectations from the authorities. There is no point in approaching
anyone, including the police. 157
Recent revelations have linked the police with Lashkar-e-Jhangvi. On May 25, 2013, a
senior Quetta police official told the media of the arrest of Assistant Sub-Inspector Yahya
Sumbal following the discovery that “Yahiya was in contact over the phone with … Lashkare-Jhangvi
men.” A tip-off from Pakistan’s intelligence agencies led to his arrest. 158
156 Ibid.
157 Human Rights Watch interview with Ahmad Hussain, January 6, 2013, Quetta.
158 Syed Arfeen, “Shocking details of links between policemen and LeJ emerge,” The News, May 25,
2013, http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-13-23089-Shocking-details-of-links-between-policemen-and-LeJemergeBy-Syed-Arfeen.
49 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | JUNE 2014