The Sadar police station Toba Tek Singh has registered a case under 16 MPO against Tariq Mehmood, district general secretary Labour Party Pakistan and district coordinator of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan under the pressure of Jammat Islami. The Police FIR registered on 8^th March 2011 blamed Tariq Mehmood of disturbing the peace of the city and incitement of hatred against the family of Khalil Ahmad Azam of Chack 289 GB Chando Wattala Toba Tek Singh.

The court in Toba Tek Singh has accepted the bail application of Tariq Mehmood till 14^th March.

Jamaat Islami activists Mohammed Asif, Library assistant at Government Girls High School Chack 289 GB, had sexually harassed a 15 year old girl student of the village in August 2010. A delegation of the village came to LPP office to seek help in this regard. Tariq Mehmood helped them to peruse the case.

Several labour leaders belonging to jamaati Islami National Labour Federation joined LPP and National Trade Union Federation. This angered the local Jamaati islami as well.

Tariq Mehmood was also one of the key figures to help the Christian community while there were under attack in Gojra last year. He was arrested by Gojra police on the pressure of the fanatic Muslim on fake charges and a case under anti terrorist laws was registered against him. He spent nearly a month in jail and later, the anti terrorist court in Fiasalabad cleared him of all charges.

On 7^th February 2011, a rally led by Siraj Ul Haq former senior minister of NWFP and one of the main leader of Jamaat Isamai attacked the office of Labour Party Pakistan in Iqbal Nagar Toba Tek Singh. Fortunately, Tariq Mehmood and others LPP activists had left the office in time after hearing the news of the rally coming to LPP office. They were demanding the immediate arrest of Tariq Mehmood and later the protest rally against LPP made a round in the city center.

On 8^th February, Tariq Mehmood moved an application to police to register a case against Jamaati Islami for attacking LPP office. No action taken so far by police in this regard despite several reminders.

Jamaati Islami pressurized the father of the girl who was sexually harassed to take action against Tariq Mehmood for defaming the family on making the case known. It was his father along several others who seek the help of LPP initially. Now the father of the girl went to police and filed a complaint against Tariq. The police under the pressure of Jamaat Islami registered the case under 16 MPO.

Toba Tek Singh is my home town. I was a candidate for national assembly from here during the 2008 general elections before accepting the plea of the lawyers to boycott the elections. On hearing the news of this, I went to the city on 10^th March, a five hours drive from Lahore. I met the district police officer. He was the one who had arrested me several times during the lawyer’s movement in Lahore. He was happy to see me and told that that police will do justice in this case. I protested against the registration of this case and told them that in future this will be a precedent and no social activist will help the women victims, and that we just helped a girl when his several elders of the village came to us. We had documentary proof of that. I told Ahsan Younas, the DPO, that we will help any women victim regardless of the fear of such reactions. Those guilty of harassing the girl should be arrested, and not the one who helped the victim family to complain about it to the relevant government departments. I also told that this is not acceptable. The police officer told me about his respect for LPP and its commitment to the working class, and that the police will investigate the whole issue.

Very next day, a group of progressive lawyers went to the court to seek bail for Tariq Mehmood and it was accepted till 14^th March.

My press statement condemning the police registration of this case was published today by Daily Jang and we plan to o more protests in this regard. We will keep you informed. We may need your help in this case to force the police to take back this case registered under pressure on the Mullahs.

We are asking Mr. Riaz Fatyana MNA, the chairman of parliamentary standing committee on human rights, to take up this case and raise it with the relevant police officers and summon them to parliament to explain why they have registered a case against the known human rights activists. he hails from this district as well. We are also asking the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan to take up this case.

Farooq Tariq
spokesperson
Labour Party Pakistan