KARACHI:
The UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office’s report on Human Rights and Democracy in 2010, which was released on Thursday, provides a damning assessment on the state of human rights in Pakistan.
The report also details the state of human rights in 25 other countries, including Afghanistan, Iran, Israel, Palestine and Saudi Arabia.
Describing Pakistan as “one of our highest foreign policy priorities”, the report appreciates that the government passed the halfway mark of its tenure, and “that a vibrant media and civil society continued to flourish, albeit within certain parameters, and the judiciary, although heavily politicised, remained highly independent of the executive.”
There is also some praise in the report for the measures taken by the government to improve the state of minorities and ratifying international conventions.
However, the many challenges Pakistan faces far outnumber any progress made in 2010. Among other issues, the report notes the lack of freedom of expression and practicing religion, extrajudicial killings, curbs on the media (including blocking the BBC Urdu radio service’s transmission), state of women’s rights and children, and the impact of the floods which “coupled with poor governance resulted in the ineffective delivery of basic services such as education and healthcare”.
It also highlights several key issues, such as the lack of progress on a national comprehensive strategy on improving the justice system, state of prisons and reforms of controversial laws such as the blasphemy law. According to the report, “unfortunately efforts by the Pakistani government to reduce the abuses associated with the blasphemy law have been stalled by public opposition to any reform following the assassination of (former Punjab) Governor (Salmaan) Taseer, and there is little likelihood of much-needed reform in the near future.” Surprisingly, the report does not mention the assassination of Federal Minister for Minorities Affairs Shahbaz Bhatti, but states that UK’s Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State Alistair Burt engaged regularly on this issue with Bhatti.
The report also quotes the allegations of extra-judicial killings, abductions and enforced disappearances in Pakistan, particularly in Balochistan. It notes that the inquiry into a video showing alleged extrajudicial killings in Swat has not yet reported publicly. The Inter-Services Public Relations told The Express Tribune last week that inquiry is still ongoing.
Other than the UK’s support for civil society and government institutions in reforming several key areas, it has also provided a great deal of financial assistance, including £16.3 million to increase the capacity of Pakistan and Afghanistan to govern in the border areas, reducing popular support for the insurgencies and encouraging better relations between the two countries and support confidence-building between India and Pakistan, as well as supporting peace in Nepal and Sri Lanka.
Regardless of the efforts made by the UK and Pakistan, the report assesses that while 2010 was an “extremely challenging” year for Pakistan, “2011 is likely to follow a similar course”.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 1st, 2011.
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