LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) demands that the state should address the long-standing grievances of south Punjab, including harmful customary practices, forced conversions, unfair land allotment in Cholistan and working conditions of industrial workers and bonded labourers.

HRCP chairperson Hina Jilani on Saturday launched a fact-finding report titled South Punjab: Excluded and Exploited at a press conference at a local hotel in Multan. HRCP vice chair Raja Ashraf, Multan Regional Coordinator Faisal Tangwani and an activist, Muhammad Saqib, were also present.

Based on field visits and consultations with government officials and civil society, the report recommends that federal and provincial stakeholders initiate a political dialogue to recognise the Seraiki identity and ensure access to formal and effective policing systems to improve law and order.

The state must also institute mechanisms to provide redress to survivors of gender-based violence and discrimination, such as forced conversion and forced marriage, and protect the rights of transgender persons in south Punjab.

Religious minorities must be protected from grave violations such as land grabbing and malicious use of the blasphemy laws. Workers’ rights to adequate wages and social security must be ensured, with district vigilance committees made fully functional to monitor and report the incidence of bonded labour.

District-level committees must also be established to redress farmers’ grievances. Cholistan must be given special consideration in view of the chronic invisibility of its people, while land in the area should be allotted only to indigenous Cholistanis and without discrimination on the basis of religion.

National human rights institutions such as the National Commission for Human Rights and the National Commission on the Status of Women must be involved at every stage to address these rights violations.

The HRCP reiterates its demand for the establishment of a national commission for minorities’ rights with statutory authority.

The state must further upgrade the health, education and administrative infrastructure in the region, with sufficient budgetary allocations, particularly in extremely deprived areas such as Cholistan. The need for sustainable infrastructure is especially urgent in light of the devastation caused by recent floods. Ms Jilani also expressed solidarity with flood affectees in south Punjab.

“We are aware that the scale of the disaster is unprecedented. At the same time, it is clear that the role of the government and local administration in facilitating and rescuing victims has been disappointing,” she said.

Published in Dawn, August 28th, 2022