Civil, economic rights under strain: HRCP

On Human Rights Day, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) called on the state to uphold the fundamental rights enshrined in the country's constitution, especially those facing immense pressure over the past year.

In its statement issued on Monday, the rights watchdog highlighted pressing concerns about increasing strains on civil and economic rights, emphasising freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, economic and climate justice, and calling for an end to enforced disappearances and custodial torture.

It expressed concerns over "rapid deterioration in people's right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly".

"Raids on homes, preventive detention and the use of disproportionate and even illegal force have become the norm against protestors, whether those marching against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings or political workers from the opposition," the statement read.

It raised alarms that "tacit censorship" has given way to more direct measures, particularly in the digital sphere, with increasingly stringent regulations and bans on social media platforms.

The short-term disappearance of journalists and activists has further stifled any space for investigation and advocacy, much less dissent, it added.

"HRCP reminds the government that jobs and livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable workers and peasants, remain under strain," the statement urged.

It stressed that the state must prioritise people's right to decent work and understand that beyond fair wages and collective bargaining, this right intersects with the right to connectivity for gig workers, land rights for landless peasants and small farmers, and clean air for all urban and daily-wage workers.