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Far Pavilions
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PAKISTAN: ACTIVISTS
Dirty and dangerous
A former detainee reveals how Pak agencies use drugs to extract info from peace activists, reports Shahid Husain
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 Intelligence agencies in Pakistan are injecting drugs to extract information from political activists and doctors on the payroll of the state are believed to be playing a role in this unethical practice.
Abdul Wahab, 55, a Baloch activist, confirmed that he was injected a drug by intelligence agencies when he was arrested on May 28, 2008, in Karachi, for participating in a peace rally. “We held a demonstration in front of Karachi Press Club on May 28, 2008, the day when Pakistan opted to go nuclear several years ago, and condemned the bomb. After the rally, when I was going to Human Rights Commission of Pakistan office, I was stopped by two men, who put a revolver on my temple and pushed me into a white car and a ‘chaador’ was put on me,” he told TSI.
He said the car reached some place after nearly half an hour, a gate was opened and he was blindfolded. His hands were also tied from behind and he was taken to a room. “While I was blindfolded, I was also beaten so severely that I became unconscious,” he added.
“Those people were abusing Baloch leader Akhter Mengal and asking me from where we get ammunition, who was funding us and who were the people involved in a bomb blast at Hub, Balochistan, where was our headquarters, who was the chief of Watan Brigade and how many members it has, ” he said.
“After severe beating for a day, I was shifted to some other place and pushed on a stretcher-like thing. Somebody shot an injection in my forearm and I felt as if my entire body had become numb but my brain was active,” he said. “I started speaking voluntarily, but I don’t remember what I said. When I regained consciousness, I had severe headache and my mouth was dry,” he said.
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Wahab asked for some water and tea from his captors. He was given water and tea along with two tablets. When he requested his captors that he wanted to go to bathroom, his blindfold was removed for a while and he found himself in some sort of a lock-up, but not that of a police station. He was blindfolded again. He was taken to another room and he felt cooling, indicating it had an air conditioner. Somebody was now asking him questions albeit politely. Wahab informed him that he was a human rights’ activist and helped the families of “missing” people. He was told that “missing” persons were terrorists and helping them was a crime. Thousands of people, mostly Baloch activists have disappeared in Pakistan and are “missing” despite orders from the Supreme Court of Pakistan that they should be released and a promise by Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani that they would be set free.
After five days of confinement, Wahab was released near Finance and Trade Centre (FTC) on Sharea Faisal and was asked not to look back; otherwise, he would be shot dead. “Since then, I have been receiving abusive calls during the middle of the night. I have changed my cell phone many a times but it is always traced,” he said.
Doctors' fear Wahab was injected a drug that has been nicknamed “truth serum.” After taking the "truth serum," the person becomes very communicative, sharing his thoughts without hesitation. Dorlands' Illustrated Medical Dictionary describes that it is an "ultra-short-acting barbiturate (drug) to produce general anesthesia, and for narcoanalysis in psychiatric disorders."
The proper name for this drug is thiopental sodium; it is also called sodium pentothal. Eminent psychiatrist Prof.
S. Haroon Ahmed elaborated the affects of “truth serum” in detail. “There are various kinds of methods that are used to extract information from people suspected of anti-social or anti-state activities. The effect of injection is that the person becomes dis-inhibited and frequently tells facts which he/she does not want to tell in normal situations. The involvement of medical community in any act of torture or forced extraction of information has been banned by the international medical community. This has also been endorsed by Pakistan Medical Association (PMA),” he told TSI.
Dr. Shershah Syed, former general secretary of PMA concurred: “Doctors should not get involved in any kind of activity that causes physical, psychological and emotional torture in
collaboration with government or non-government agencies,” he said.
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Shahid Husain
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Comments
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sami baloch From quetta--
2/20/2010
baloch r fighting for independend balochistan, paki army and ISI cant do any think
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Fatema From Manama--
2/17/2010
This message is to the U.S. If nuclear armament is dangerous in the region is should apply to Pakistan as well. Also, imprisoning and torturing political activists will lead more violence and anti-American sentiment. Because, Baloch political activist who are mostly seculars will start to listen to the more radical groups such as Taliban just to avenge their relatives who are dead, captured, or tortured in the Pakistani prisons. Now, what is the role of the U.S. that supports an oppressive government of Pakistan who is responsible for killing innocent people?
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