HRCP warns of rights violations

KARACHI:

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) drew on Sunday urgent attention to deteriorating human rights and weakening democracy.

On concluding its 38th annual general meeting, the general body of the rights body voiced strong opposition to the proposed amendment to the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997, which would allow armed forces to detain individuals preventively for 90 days.

The HRCP noted that instead of fortifying democratic norms and safeguarding fundamental rights, the state has increasingly prioritised consolidating authority.

"Where the state should be focusing on efforts to uphold the rule of law, reduce violence against women, children and transgender persons, protect the rights of workers and peasants, and fulfil people's right to health and education, it has instead prioritised its own authority at the expense of democratic norms and people's fundamental rights."

HRCP called on all political parties to reach a consensus on civilian autonomy and guarding federalism.

It stressed that the government must focus on strengthening trade unions and seriously consider instituting a living wage, especially for vulnerable workers.

HRCP also believes that the provision of healthcare and education is the duty of the state, the statement added.

Climate emergency

HRCP declared the climate crisis as an existential threat, raising alarm over Punjab's hazardous air pollution and water scarcity in Sindh.

It criticised the Green Pakistan Initiative's canal constructions on the Indus River, which have drawn protests from small farmers and peasants.

"The most pressing issues are the lethal levels of air pollution in Punjab, posing serious risks to health, and the immediate threat of water scarcity, especially in lower riparian Sindh, where the construction of canals on the Indus under the Green Pakistan Initiative has raised objections from small farmers and peasants."

It also strongly opposed the Gilgit-Baltistan Land Reforms Bill 2024, "which seeks to centralise control over private, communal and ancestral land in the guise of 'reforms' for development".

HRCP deplored the increasing use of short-term enforced disappearances, including against the political opposition, and called once again for the head of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances to be removed for sheer incompetence.

"The conduct of the state has been marked by violence with impunity and a tendency to succumb to far-right ideologies."

HRCP noted with concern the fact that its chairperson was detained for questioning by the police and four FIRs filed against its members in connection with their human rights work.