ISLAMABAD: Human Rights Com­mission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chai­­r­person Hina Jilani on Wedne­sday said that no institution had the right to force politicians to negotiate.

Ms Jilani made these comments in response to questions from journalists during the launching ceremony of the HRCP report, ‘State of Human Rights in 2022’, here on Wednesday.

The report notes an uptick in enforced disappearances in Balochistan, with 2,210 reported cases having remained unresolved even as a bill criminalising the act was passed by the National Assembly.

According to HRCP Co-chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt, the issue was becoming a reason for differences among provinces and putting the country into a blind alley. “People are being arrested without warrants and they remain missing for months and years. There are cases in which people have been missing for 15 years. When an institution won’t respect the Constitution can it expect from the masses to respect and follow the Constitution,” he asked.

State of Human Rights 2022 notes upward trend in disappearances, violence against women, trans community

Freedom of religion

The report says escalating threats to freedom of religion or belief have remained a grave concern. While the number of police reports on blasphemy charges fell, the incidence of mob lynching appeared to have risen.

The Ahmadi community came under particular threat, with several places of worship and over 90 graves desecrated, primarily in Punjab.

Violence against women continued unabated, with at least 4,226 instances of rape and gang-rape compounded by an abysmally low conviction rate for perpetrators. Additionally, the scale of violence and discrimination against transpersons has increased, it notes.

Rights of workers neglected

About the rights of workers, the report notes that the rights of workers and peasants were sorely neglected. Although the minimum wage was increased, the state has yet to acknowledge that this falls below the threshold of a living wage.

Additionally, it says, while around 1,200 bonded labourers were freed in Sindh, the district vigilance committees constituted in 2022 remained largely dysfunctional. The death toll in the country’s mines also remained very high with 90 workers killed in coal-mine accidents.

The report says that immediate action by the state is needed on all these issues if it is to move towards a pro-people approach to politics, law and governance in the country.

HRCP treasurer Husain Naqi said that 4,000 girls were raped last year and the youngest of them was a newborn and there were also six months old girls. There were a number of cases of acid throwing and karo-kari,“ he said.

In her speech, Ms Jilani also criticised the settlement of militants in KP, alleging that they were responsible for a recent upsurge in terrorist attacks. She said it was a positive step that traders and hotel associations had opposed such a decision as it had affected their livelihood and business.

Uptick in terror attacks

Ms Jilani expressed concern over forced conversions and forced marriages of girls belonging to minorities. She also raised the issue of discrimination against minorities, especially the people belonging to the Ahmadi community.

“National institutions of human rights are not exercising the authority they have. Violence against transgenders is a problem of every province. There is discrimination in employment, education and other rights. People living with disabilities are not getting their rights. Freedom of expression and assembly is not being allowed to people. The human rights community is extremely vulnerable and it has been continuously losing the space which it gained after a long struggle. Even today there are no-go areas for civil society,” she said.

She also said there was no indication of involvement of military establishment in the no-confidence motion against the PTI government. However, she said, Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa assemblies were dissolved to create political turmoil, adding that the political situation should be tackled by political parties.

Senior HRCP Council Member Nasreen Azhar suggested the media should highlight issues of the masses instead of just focusing on politics.

Published in Dawn, April 27th, 2023