ISLAMABAD, Feb 2: Military rejected on Saturday Human Rights Watch World Report 2013, which accused it of abuses in counter-terrorism operations and maintaining links with extremist groups, as “a pack of lies”.“The recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report is a pack of lies, propaganda driven and totally biased,” a military spokesman said while commenting on the report.

The military saw the report as yet another attempt to malign Pakistan and its institutions through “fabricated and unverified reports”.

The HRW report released on Friday has evaluated human rights record of some 90 countries during 2012.

“The government was unable or unwilling to break the links between Pakistan’s military and intelligence agencies with extremist groups. Sunni militant groups, including those with known links to the Pakistani military, its intelligence agencies, and affiliated paramilitaries, such as the ostensibly banned Lashkar-i Jhangvi, operated openly across Pakistan, as law-enforcement officials turned a blind eye to attacks,” the report had noted.

The military spokesman said: “The HRW report seems to be a clear attempt to further fuel already ongoing sectarian violence and to create chaos and disorder in Pakistan.”

The military was also accused of human rights abuses while dealing with Taliban militants in Swat and tribal areas and crushing a separatist movement in Balochistan.

The spokesman said the report “completely favours an anti-Pakistan agenda”.

He reminded that Pakistan director at HRW Ali Dayan Hassan was among those who testified at the controversial Dana Rohrabacher hearings on Balochistan in US Congress.

The HRW, he pointed out, has based its opinion on imprecise facts and biased views.

The spokesman said the HRW had no credibility and had been criticised worldwide for raising controversies through its biased reports.

Opinion

Editorial

Exit strategy
Updated 18 Mar, 2026

Exit strategy

MOST members of the international community, particularly states in the greater Middle East, are gravely concerned...
Unsafe trains
18 Mar, 2026

Unsafe trains

SUNDAY’S accident involving the Shalimar Express has once again brought into sharp focus the deep structural and...
Disappointment in Dhaka
18 Mar, 2026

Disappointment in Dhaka

FOR a side looking for lift-off after a disappointing T20 World Cup, it was despair for Shaheen Shah Afridi’s ...
Missing in action
17 Mar, 2026

Missing in action

NOT exactly known for playing a proactive role in protecting the interests of Muslim nations and populations...
Risk to stability
Updated 17 Mar, 2026

Risk to stability

THE risks to Pakistan’s fragile economic recovery from the US-Israel war on Iran cannot be dismissed. Yet the...
Enrolment push
17 Mar, 2026

Enrolment push

THE federal government has embarked upon the welcome initiative to enrol 25,000 out-of-school children in Islamabad...