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Powell urged to take up rights issue

New York July 26. The U.S. Secretary of State, Colin Powell, during his visit to Pakistan, should address violence against women and the military Government's proposed changes to the Constitution, Human Rights Watch said in a letter to him released here on Friday.

Gen. Powell will travel to Pakistan this week as part of a larger trip to Asia, during which he will meet senior officials to discuss key bilateral, regional and global issues. ``This is an enormous opportunity for Secretary Powell to push for accountability for women's rights abuses and adherence to democratic principles,'' said Lashawn R. Jefferson, executive director of the Women's Rights Division of Human Rights Watch.

In a letter on July 18, Human Rights Watch had said that the Pakistan Government's response to continuing violence and discrimination against women was been inadequate and that the Government should repeal discriminatory provisions of the 1979 Hudood Ordinances that impede and discourage women from seeking justice.

The ordinances, which criminalise adultery and fornication, are frequently used to prosecute victims of rape. Although Pakistani law enforcement agents arrested some of the perpetrators in a recent, widely reported gang rape case, and an investigation is under way, Human Rights Watch said police misconduct in the case and the excessive authority of tribal councils in Pakistan needed to be addressed. The case involved the rape by four men of Mukhtaran Bibi during a tribal council meeting in southern Punjab on June 22.

The rape, which occurred in the presence of a large number of villagers, was intended as a "punishment'' for the conduct of her brother, who had been seen with a woman from another tribe. Gen. Powell should also advise the Pakistani President, Pervez Musharraf, against amending the Constitution unilaterally, Human Rights Watch said.

Gen. Musharraf's proposed amendments to the Constitution would significantly strengthen the power of the presidency, formalise the army's role in governance, and diminish the authority of elected representatives.

The amendments would circumscribe freedom of association and the right of individuals to stand for elected office, limiting the opportunity for moderate voices representing the majority of Pakistani citizens to seek political leadership roles.

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