* Commission chairwoman\u2019s statement alleges absence of independent judiciary has given the government \u2018a free hand\u2019<\/p>\n
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Thursday drew attention to the fact that the government had cut off deposed chief justice of Pakistan Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry (CJP)\u2019s residence\u2019s water connection, and condemned the treatment being meted out to the him, members of his family and the legal fraternity. \u201cThe HRCP deplores that the water connection to the residence of chief justice Iftikhar Chaudhry has been disconnected,\u201d said a statement issued by HRCP Chairwoman Asma Jahangir on Thursday.It said such tactics were generally employed by \u201ckabza groups to harass people\u201d and it was \u201cmost regrettable that the present regime has behaved worse\u201d. The HRCP termed \u201cthe continued illegal detention\u201d of Chaudhry and members of his family \u201ca scandal\u201d. \u201cLeaders of bar associations, Aitzaz Ahsan, Tariq Mahmood and Ali Ahmed Kurd continue to be detained and are being refused proper medical treatment,\u201d it added.Free hand: The HRCP said the absence of an independent judiciary had \u201cgiven the Musharraf government a free hand to use tyrannical means to silence its opponents\u201d. It alleged that the government had shown no remorse over the series of human rights violations it had perpetrated in the last three years. The caretaker government has also continued to pursue the policy of oppression and intimidation, it added. \u201cLawyers and judges of Pakistan have played a pivotal role in mobilising public opinion in favour of the rule of law,\u201d the statement said, and vowed that HRCP would \u201ccontinue to support all efforts aimed at the restoration of the November 2 judiciary,\u201d and renew its campaign for the release of detained judges and lawyers. staff report<\/p>\n