HRCP warns of lawlessness in K-P

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) fact-finding mission for Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa has expressed grave concern over the deteriorating law and order situation in the province and the merged tribal districts.

Addressing a press conference at the Peshawar Press Club, HRCP Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt and Co-Chairperson Munizae Jahangir said the security environment in K-P had reached a critical point, with terrorist groups operating freely in several merged districts while the writ of the state appeared virtually absent.

They noted that local communities had linked the rise in violence, forced displacement, security operations, and the proposed Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Mines and Minerals Act 2025 to increased competition over natural resources. "In many parts of the merged districts, terrorists are reportedly harassing and blackmailing residents, even enforcing curfews after sunset," the mission observed.

Expressing serious concern over the recent killings in Tirah, the mission demanded a transparent inquiry and urged both provincial and federal authorities to ensure accountability rather than shift responsibility onto each other.

The HRCP team also criticized the continued enforcement of the controversial Action in Aid of Civil Power Ordinance 2019, under which detention centers and preventive custody have been legalized. They termed it a blatant violation of Article 10 of the Constitution and Pakistan's international obligations.

Highlighting weak regulatory oversight and limited judicial supervision, the mission warned that enforced disappearances remained a pressing issue, with thousands of complaints still unresolved. It also voiced concern over the revival of alternative dispute resolution (ADR) mechanisms promoted by some in the legal fraternity, cautioning that such measures risked creating a parallel judicial system that could undermine the rule of law.

On the other hand, Federal Minister for Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and SAFRON, and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa PML-N President, Engineer Amir Muqam, has said that on Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's special directive, a high-level committee is working on recommendations to promote peace and development in the merged districts.

He on Friday visited Bara tehsil of Khyber district where he met the families of those martyred in the recent Tirah tragedy.