‘Political instability’ takes a toll on human rights

LAHORE:

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed its concern on Wednesday over the ongoing political and economic turmoil in the country and its serious impact on the human rights situation.

In its annual report, the HRCP stated that the both previous and the current governments failed to respect the supremacy of parliament, while the tussles among the legislature, executive and judiciary undermined institutional credibility.

The report, titled ‘The State of Human Rights in 2022’ noted that political victimisation continued throughout the year, with colonial-era sedition laws being weaponised to stifle the voice of dissent.

Dozens of journalists and opposition politicians were arrested, with ensuing claims of custodial torture – though in the same year that the parliament passed a bill, criminalising the use of torture.

The agitation that followed the successful vote of no-confidence against former prime minister Imran Khan saw law-enforcement personnel clashing with protesters in various parts of the country, with the right to freedom of assembly being violated.

Read more: What political upheaval in Pakistan means for rest of the world

The year saw an alarming resurgence in terror attacks—the highest in five years – with 533 lives lost, the report said, adding that the state continued to fumble in addressing militancy despite warnings.

The HRCP also noted an uptick in enforced disappearances, particularly in Balochistan, with 2,210 reported cases remaining unresolved even as a bill criminalising the act was passed by the National Assembly.

The report stated that relief and rehabilitation of over 33 million people affected by the climate change-induced floods in the country, fell woefully short, which underscored the need for “empowered, well-resourced local governments” in every province and territory.

The HRCP expressed grave concern over escalating threats to freedom of religion or belief. While the number of police reports on blasphemy charges fell, the report noted, the incidence of mob lynching appears to have risen.

The Ahmadiyya community came under particular threat, with several places of worship and over 90 graves desecrated, primarily in Punjab, the report said.

Violence against women continued unabated, with at least 4,226 instances of rape and gang-rape compounded by an abysmally low conviction rate for perpetrators.

Additionally, the scale of violence and discrimination against transgender persons – the theme of this edition of the report – was compounded by the conservative backlash against the hard-won Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018.

In a year that began to see the country’s economic situation unravelling, the report noted that the rights of workers and peasants were sorely neglected. Although the minimum wage was increased, the state has yet to acknowledge that this fell below the threshold of a living wage.

Additionally, while around 1,200 bonded labourers were freed in Sindh, the district vigilance committees constituted in 2022 remained largely dysfunctional. The death toll in the country’s mines also remained very high, at 90 workers.

The HRCP demanded immediate action by the state on these issues if it was to move towards a pro-people approach to politics, law and governance.