Police torture of deposed CJ’s family continues.

By Usman Manzoor
ISLAMABAD: After keeping the 83-year-old father-in-law of the deposed chief justice of Pakistan waiting for five hours and then allowing him to meet his daughter and grand children for only 10 minutes on Sunday, the law enforcement agencies did not let the sister-in-law of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry to see the detained justice's family on Monday.

Sameera Marri, the sister-in-law of Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry and the only relative of the detained judge in Islamabad, tried to visit the detainees in the judges' enclave at the request of her nephew and nieces but was asked to provide a birth certificate as proof of being a real sister of the detained wife of the deposed chief justice of Pakistan.

"Since November 3, I had only telephonic conversation with my sister and her children and when I tried to meet them I was stopped while the government claims that the CJ is not under confinement", Sameera told The News, adding: "The CJ's house is full of children, mainly girls and how can one leave everything upon the servants, how the innocent children will cope with the heavy deployment of police outside their home." She said if the government was sincere in releasing the family of chief justice of Pakistan then why she and the other people were not being allowed to meet with the chief justice and his family.

"We are the one who are at the receiving end and who are suffering the atrocities of the situation created by the government and if we are not given the permission to meet our nephews and nieces then why the government claims that Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry is not under detention," said the sister-in-law of the deposed chief justice. "A seven-year-old child and a 14-year-old girl is under detention since last four months and we talk to them only via telephones and we know how many telephones have been disconnected since November 3, 2007."

The determined lady said the schoolgoing children have been denied the basic right to go to their schools and if the government wants so then the detained family should be allowed to meet their relatives but the government would not let it happen. She said the motive behind keeping the justice's family in isolation was nothing but to bow the determined judge in front a dictator.

SSP Islamabad Sayed Kaleem Imam when approached by The News at the spot on cell phone, said the chief justice was free and his family members were also free to meet him and when this correspondent gave his cell phone to Sameera Marri, the SSP Islamabad told her that he had conveyed to the Magistrate on Duty, Rana Shaukat Hayat that she was free to meet Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

But Rana Shaukat Hayat was not present at the spot. When SSP Islamabad Sayed Kaleem Imam was again approached by this correspondent he said Rana Shaukat Hayat has been conveyed the directions and would reach the spot soon. But the Magistrate on Duty never reached at the spot till the police opened shelling on the mob that tried to meet Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry.

link: http://www.thenews.com.pk/print1.asp?id=99543