By IRNA,
Islamabad : A Pakistani Senate Committee on Saturday demanded the immediate closure of the detention centre in Guantanamo Bay as it is in complete violation of the norms of a civilized world.
The Senate Functional Committee on human rights through a unanimous resolution also called for releasing the six Pakistanis detained there.
The Committee met at the Parliament House under the Chairmanship of Senator S.M. Zafar and discussed the issue of detention of a woman, believed to be a Pakistani national, at US Army’s Bagram Detention Centre in Afghanistan for over 4 years.
The issue was highlighted in the national press on July 07, 2008 after the issue was raised at a press conference by Ms. Yvonne Ridley a British journalist who converted to Islam after she was captured and held briefly by the Taliban shortly before the American invasion of Afghanistan in October 2001.
Members of the Committee underlined the need for making more coordinated efforts to know the facts whether there was any woman languishing in illegal detention of the US forces at Bagram in Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay.
The committee was told that 67 Pakistanis have been freed so far from the Guantanamo Bay prison but six are still there.
The committee members directed the Ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs and the Human Rights Division to take up the matter with the Intelligence Agencies whether they had handed over any women to the US forces for interrogation or not.
The Committee observed that the issue was of immense importance, all out efforts should be made not only to get the correct information but also take appropriate steps to get the women, if detained, released.
It gave clear cut directions to the concerned ministries that bureaucratic snags should not mar the issue and priority should be given to the matter.
The Committee was informed that Interior Ministry has approached the ministry of Foreign Affairs to contact the US authorities in this regard and the diplomatic mission in Kabul to take up the issue of Pakistani detained woman with authorities in Bagram Military base.
Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told the Committee that the matter is being pursued vigorously.
The Committee was informed that the Public Affairs Wing of the US force based at Bagram in Afghanistan has already denied that any woman prisoner is detained in Afghanistan.