Pak Rangers termed as agents of fear by rights body

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has termed the country's paramilitary Pakistan Rangers as an agent of fear instead of providing security to citizens.
In a special report about extra judicial acts by the Rangers in Karachi, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said that the Rangers have on many occasions abused their power and not disclosed charges against abducted persons.
The report was based on the study of 11 cases of abduction, extra-judicial killings and torture by the paramilitary force.
The HRCP report, which has yet to be made public, has declared that the police also delayed the registration of FIRs and the cases were only reported on court orders.

HRCP Sindh chairperson Amarnath Motumal said that the Rangers have failed to control the law and order situation in the city.
"They are a total failure and now they are involved in taking innocent lives" he said.

"The courts can play a vital role in taking action against the law enforcement agencies as the police are ineffective in doing anything against their own force," said Motumal.
The HRCP team met families of the missing persons, who have been picked up allegedly by the Rangers, and found out that the police have no prior criminal records on them.
The human rights activists also met the families of a taxi driver, Mureed Ali and 21-year-old Muhammad Bilal.

Quoting Bilal's post-mortem report, the commission said the torture marks on his body were 36 hours before he was handed to the police, which means that the Rangers had inflicted torture on him.
The Pakistan Rangers are deployed in Karachi and Lahore in internal security roles apart from manning border positions along the international border with India. It is under the direct control of Pakistan's Interior Ministry but is commanded by personnel from the Pakistan Army.