Human Rights Violations in Pakistan
Introduction
All individuals are entitled to human rights, regardless of their race, gender, ethnicity, language, or religion. These include the right to life, liberty, and freedom from torture
and slavery.
In Pakistan, the Constitution guarantees various fundamental rights. These include freedom of speech, religion, media, association, and assembly. It also provides for the right to bear arms.
role of human rights in Pakistan
In Pakistan, human rights are regarded as fundamental rights, and Article 8 of the Constitution guarantees that any law that violates these rights is void. This highlights the significance of these rights for society and the state.
Human Rights Violation
Human rights violations continued, including enforced disappearances, torture, repression of peaceful protests, attacks against journalists, and violence against religious minorities and other marginalized groups. The backlash against legal Gains in transgender rights has led to increased violence against transgender people. The Senate passed a bill that criminalizes torture by government officials for the first time. The political upheaval led to great uncertainty. The economic crisis has severely curtailed people's economic rights. Climate change has exacerbated heat waves followed by devastating floods that have killed many people and undermined a range of rights.
Enforced disappearances
State officials continued to use enforced disappearances to target human rights defenders, journalists, and people who are critical of the authorities. According to the Commission of Inquiry into Enforced Disappearances, at least 2,210 cases - probably many more - remained unsolved as of October 31. Intimidation of families and victims seeking justice often continued years after their loved one had forcibly disappeared. In June, authorities separately kidnapped journalists Nafees Naeem and Arsalan Khan; both were released after 24 hours.2 On 28 April, Baloch student Bebagr Imdad forcibly disappeared while visiting a friend at the University of Punjab in Lahore. He was released after 13 days. For the second time in just over a year, on October 21, the National Assembly reportedly passed a bill criminalizing the practice of enforced disappearances. Media reports said several MPs called for the removal of wording that refers to "false" charges of enforced disappearance that carry fines and prison terms. By the end of the year, the bill had not been passed because it had not been approved by the Senate and was not made available to the public.
Freedom of speech
The authorities further tightened control of the media. Media workers reported increased pressure, censorship, and arrests of journalists. On April 13, the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested eight people in Punjab province for allegedly organizing a smear campaign on social media against state institutions. On 5 July, police arrested journalist Imran Riaz Khan on sedition charges related to his criticism of the military. He was arrested under provisions of the Penal Code, including defamation, and various sections of the draconian Electronic Crime Prevention Act. On July 7, the court ordered his release, but the police immediately re-arrested him. He was released on bail on 9 July. He had not been brought to trial by the end of the year. On May 21, police detained Shireen Mazari, a senior official of the PTI political party, near her home in Islamabad. She was arrested in connection with a land dispute in 1972, but her family suggested that the arrest was politically motivated due to her criticism of the government and the military. She was released the same day on the orders of the Islamabad High Court. A criminal complaint was registered against her daughter, Imaan Hazir-Mazari, for making "defamatory" statements against the army after her mother's arrest. On 20 June, the charges against Imaan Hazir-Mazari were dropped after she issued a statement of remorse. On July 1, Ayaz Amir, a senior analyst at Dunya News, was attacked by unknown men. A few days ago, he reportedly criticized Imran Khan and the army during a seminar. In October, Arshad Sharif, a journalist and known supporter of Imran Khan, was killed in Kenya, where he had reportedly taken refuge after facing threats in Pakistan. a two-member government committee was tasked with investigating and concluding in December that the killing was a "planned murder".
Violence against women and girls
The Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill (2021) was not passed by the National Assembly, although it was passed by the Senate in 2021. Several high-profile cases highlighted the ongoing problem of violence against women. On 24 February, Zahir Jaffer was sentenced to death for the torture, rape, and murder of Noor Mukadam in 2021. Convictions were otherwise very low in cases of gender-based violence, so Zahir Jaffer's sentence was significant. However, far-reaching procedural and institutional reforms – without the use of the death penalty – were still needed to address the endemic problem of violence against women.
Conclusion
The development of state institutions to promote and protect human rights is an essential guarantee to ensure that people can achieve redress and redress in the face of injustice. A dynamic and autonomous human rights commission can play a role in this process. For this reason, it is important that existing human rights commissions are encouraged to play an active and central role in the promotion of human rights. In some cases, where the political will is present, this task requires only training and funding opportunities. In other cases, more pressure is required of the government to allow the formal and real independence of its human rights commission. Human Rights Commissioners must also be supported and pushed by the international community to push the envelope of their boundaries and withstand the inevitable backlash from other government agencies. This is a process that can only be achieved with sustained national and international attention over a period of time.