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Pakistan 'army death squad hangs Taliban body from lamp post' - Telegraph
Pakistan 'army death squad hangs Taliban body from lamp post'
Pakistani security forces have been accused of sending death squads to execute suspected Taliban militants, in one case hanging a body from a lamp post.
The country's leading human rights lawyer, Asma Jahangir, accused the armed forces of waging a campaign of extra-judicial killings in the Swat valley and called for an independent inquiry after reports that 20 bodies were found in a mass grave at the weekend.
The Human Right Commission, which she founded, said it had compiled evidence that at least six of the dead had been shot by the security services.
It also alleged that more than 100 bodies have been found dumped in the streets of towns and villages in Swat since July 13 when displaced residents started returning to their homes after a Taliban offensive was repelled by the army.
In Dargai in the neighbouring Malakand district, the body of a Taliban militant was left hanging from a lamp post with a note pinned to his body saying "anyone who joins the Taliban will meet the same fate". Mimicking a Taliban tactic, the act was a clear warning to the group.
One man from Swat's capital, Mingora, told The Daily Telegraph his brother, a Taliban fighter, had been arrested by soldiers two weeks ago. He alleged that four days later his dead body was found dumped on wasteland by neighbours. Locals said the bodies of four more militants were found in similar circumstances.
An army spokesman denied any of those killed had been in its custody. But Asma Jahangir said she had hard evidence and challenged army claims that local mass graves contained the bodies of militants killed by other Taliban fighters.
"We have allegations to the contrary, from eyewitnesses, that these were militants but they were not killed by other militants. We're asking for an investigation because no-one should be above the law," she said.
A western diplomat in Islamabad said he was concerned innocent civilians were being killed by mistake. "The local population is glad to see the back of the Taliban. Now we're getting these extra-judicial killings and most of them seem to be bona fide militants, but some were not."
He said security forces had burned down the homes of those who had been mistaken for militants.
"One of the reasons we don't do extra-judicial killings is that mistakes are made. [The Swat operation] was supposed to be the re-establishment of the state's writ, not summary executions," he said.
But thank you for your advice wrora.
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