Pakistan Senate committee calls for closure of Gauntanamo Bay jail

Islamabad, July 19 PPI: A Pakistani Senate Committee Saturday demanded the immediate closure of the detention center in the Guantanamo Bay as it is in complete violation of the norms of a civilized world.


The Senate Functional Committee on human rights through a unanimous resolution also called for releasing the six Pakistanis detained there.

It met at Parliament House under Chairmanship of Senator SM Zafar and discussed issue of detention of a woman, believed to be a Pakistani national, at U.S. Army's Bagram Detention Center in Afghanistan for over four years.

The issue was highlighted in national press on July 7, 2008 after issue was raised at a press conference by a British journalist who converted to Islam after she was captured and held briefly by the Taliban shortly before American invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.

Members of Committee underlined need for making more coordinated efforts to know facts whether there was any woman languishing in illegal detention of the U.S. forces at Bagram in Afghanistan and the Guantanamo Bay.

The Committee was told that 67 Pakistanis had been freed so far from the Guantanamo Bay prison but six are still there. Senators directed the ministries of interior, foreign affairs and Human Rights division to take up the matter with the intelligence agencies whether they had handed over any women to the U.S. forces for interrogation or not.

The Committee observed the issue was of immense importance, all out efforts should be made not only to get correct information but also take appropriate steps to get the women, if detained, released.

It gave directions to concerned ministries that bureaucratic snags should not mar the issue and priority be given to the matter.

It was told Interior Ministry had approached Ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the U.S. authorities in this regard and the diplomatic mission in Kabul to take up the issue of detained Pakistani woman with authorities in Bagram military base.

Foreign Ministry officials told the Committee that matter was being pursued vigorously.

The Committee was informed that Public Affairs Wing of the U.S. force based at Bagram in Afghanistan had already denied that any woman prisoner was detained in Afghanistan.