KARACHI: Mr Martin Ennals, Secretary-General of Amnesty International — a worldwide human rights movement — said ... that one of the major problems worrying his organisation … was the emergency powers being assumed by many Governments. In an interview with this correspondent before his departure for Nepal … Mr Ennals said that these emergency powers ultimately tended to become permanent instruments in the hands of Governments, thus leading to the erosion of fundamental human rights.

He stressed that in all countries, the Press, lawyers, doctors etc. had an important part to play in drawing attention to infringements of human rights. … Pakistan’s judiciary, he said, enjoyed a high international reputation for its commitment to the rule of law. Like their British counterparts who faced tensions resulting from the Irish problem, Pakistan journalists, lawyers and doctors had a special responsibility to ensure that measures taken in response to domestic political dissension did not curtail the fundamental liberties of the individual. Mr Ennals … said he had a meeting with the [Prime Minister] … and the latter had given his consent to setting up of an Amnesty Group in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, March 16th, 2025