• Speakers share insights on challenges faced by civil society and rights activists
• Lawyer Ali Palh describes enforced disappearances as a tool for permanent silencing of dissent

KARACHI: Civil society representatives and rights activists on Monday underlined the need to have a collaborative struggle to win the fundamental freedoms for the citizens of Pakistan as, they said, currently many rights were compromised.

They expressed these views at a webinar — ‘Where do we go from here? A year of the restricted state of civic freedoms in Pakistan’ — organised by The Knowledge Forum (TKF) to discuss the state of civic spaces and fundamental rights in Pakistan.

Fundamental freedoms include freedom of conscience and religion; freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression including freedom of the press and other media of communication; freedom of peaceful assembly; and freedom of association.

The webinar highlighted trends in media freedom, labour rights and civil liberties despite the transition to civilian rule.

The webinar brought together prominent voices including human rights activist Uzma Noorani, senior journalist Iqbal Khattak of Freedom Network, labour leader Mirza Maqsood and Advocate Ali Palh, who shared insights on the challenges facing civil society and rights activists in the country.

Ms Noorani, who has also worked as lead in the Women’s Action Forum for women’s rights, emphasised that the current political set-up had failed to improve civic freedoms, pointing to the recent treatment of Baloch protesters and continuing restrictions on freedom of assembly.

“The repression continues under civilian rule, similar to what we experienced under military regimes,” she noted.

She particularly highlighted the challenges faced by youth activists, the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, and organisers of marches for women’s rights, including the Aurat March, who face resistance from both state and non-state actors.

Speaking on the occasion, journalist Iqbal Khattak presented alarming statistics on media freedom, stating that 151 journalists were killed between 2000 and 2024.

“The media landscape has become increasingly dangerous for professional journalists seeking to maintain independence,” he said.

While acknowledging recent legislative progress in journalist protection at federal and provincial levels, he emphasised that implementation remained weaker, particularly in Sindh, which had become the “most dangerous region for journalists”.

Senior trade unionist and labour rights expert Mirza Maqsood outlined how trade unions had been systematically weakened through privatisation and legal amendments, particularly in the banking sector.

He stressed the need for stronger worker unity and called for trade unions to align with broader political and social movements to achieve meaningful change.

“Labour rights have been pushed off the priority agenda of the state and the society. Even political parties have distanced themselves from worker struggles,” he observed.

Lawyer Ali Palh addressed the critical issue of enforced disappearances, describing such cases as a tool for the permanent silencing of dissent.

Highlighting what he called new trends where human rights defenders face repeated short-term disappearances as an intimidation tactic, he emphasised the need for police reforms and Pakistan’s signing of international conventions, particularly the Rome Statute, to address these violations effectively.

The speakers collectively emphasised the need for greater solidarity among different sectors of civil society, labour movements, student associations and other human rights defenders for effective implementation of existing protection laws.

They underlined the need for strengthening of independent human rights institutions.

In her welcome remarks, TKF director Zeenia Shaukat said the forum had been actively engaged in knowledge production focusing on the community agenda.

As a part of this effort, this year, a series of webinars spotlighting key issues of the country have been organised to promote an informed understanding of the issues, she said, adding that a monthly bulletin, Pakistan Bulletin, was also launched to cover human rights, economics, politics and climate change.

Published in Dawn, December 24th, 2024