Human rights situation in Pakistan ‘abysmally alarming’: HRCP report

ISLAMABAD – Terming the overall human rights situation in Pakistan as “abysmally alarming”, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) pointed out in its report on human rights in Pakistan in 2010 released on Thursday that police, criminals, and the United States – through its drones’ strikes – retained their penchant for extra-judicial killings without any accountability. Launching the annual report, HRCP Chairman Dr Mehdi Hassan and Secretary General IA Rehman said the Commission of Enquiry on Missing Persons cited the intelligence agencies’ role in enforced disappearances and for the first time the Supreme Court (SC) issued notices to the heads of these agencies.
“The 18th Amendment to the constitution, through a consensus, offered a glimpse of what could be achieved when political actors put their minds to it. The amendment also acknowledged three more rights, to education, information and fair trial,” they said. In its introduction, the report said that although there were hints of movement towards acknowledging and addressing the concerns of the people in Balochistan, it would take a lot more to undo the damage done by the persistent indifference of the state towards its people. “While all people suffered as a result of the government’s inability to provide a safe environment, the most vulnerable were members of minority communities and women.
Journalists and human rights defenders encountered hazards in highlighting the tribulations of ordinary citizens and many paid the price for their mission with their lives,” the report claimed. LAW & ORDER: The report presents a grim picture of law and order in the country, revealing that 12,580 people were murdered, and 581 cases of kidnaps for ransom and 16,977 of abduction were reported in Pakistan in 2010. The HRCP report stated further that US drones strikes were responsible for 957 extra-judicial killings in 2010, while 338 people were killed in police encounters. There were 37,088 cases of vehicle theft or snatching and the police seized 60,884 illegal weapons, the report said.
The report revealed further that 1,159 people were killed in 67 suicide attacks over the year. “2,542 people were killed and 5,062 injured in terrorist attacks. 237 political activists and 301 other civilians were killed in targeted killings in Karachi. 118 people were killed and 40 injured in 117 targeted killings in Balochistan,” it added. LAW & LAW MAKING: The report said that parliament achieved a singular success by adopting the 18th Amendment Act through a consensual process, and then responding quickly to the Supreme Court’s reservations on the appointment of judges, passed the 19th Amendment.
“Dozens of bills passed by the National Assembly were pending adoption by the Senate and the Domestic Violence Bill, duly approved by the National Assembly, lapsed as it could not be pushed through the Senate within the prescribed period,” it said.
ADMINISTRATION OF JUSTICE: The report said that the government and the SC remained on a collision course for the better part of the year and in a moment of alarm, the SC held a midnight sitting and passed an order against any withdrawal of the 2009 notification that had restored the judges sacked by former president Pervez Musharraf. “The SC dealt with a number of cases relating to NRO (National Reconciliation Ordinance) beneficiaries, financial scams and irregular actions of the executive.
Frequent invocation of the suo motu jurisdiction once again raised the question whether this was the only way to ensure proper governance,” the report said.
ENVIRONENT: The report stated that a 55 percent cut was made in allocations for the Environment Ministry. “Estimated damage to the environment cost Pakistan nearly a billion rupees a day. Annual monetary loss the country suffered due to environmental degradation constituted 6 percent of the GDP (Gross Domestic Product),” it said, adding that despite an official ban on deforestation since 1993, 155,000 hectares of forestland were declared non-forest and converted to residential areas. The report said further that 22,000 people in Pakistan lost their lives every year because of air particulate pollution.
WOMEN: The report said that the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill lapsed because it could not be submitted to the Senate in time. “Federal Shariah Court declared parts of the Protection of Women Act, 2006 unconstitutional. Protection Against Harassment of Women at the Workplace Act, 2010 was adopted,” it said, adding that female parliamentarians were not represented in the committee formed to draft the 18th Amendment Bill. The report said that as many as 791 women were killed in the name of honour while 2,903 women were raped, 2,581 of them in Punjab. “719 women committed suicide and 414 attempted suicide but their lives were saved,” it revealed.
FREEDOM OF THOUGHT, CONSCIENCE AND RELIGION: The HRCP report said that 99 Ahmedis were killed in faith-based violence. “Impunity for perpetrators of violence against minority communities continued. At least 64 people were charged under the blasphemy law, including Aasia Bibi, a Christian farmhand. Three men, including two Christian brothers, accused of blasphemy were killed in police custody,” the report said. The report said further that as many as 500 Hindu families from Balochistan migrated to India because of threats to their lives and security, while 73 members of religious minority communities committed suicide and 21 trued to take their own lives but failed. “418 people were killed in violence against various Muslim sects while 963 were injured,” it reveals.
FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION: The report indicated that the year 2010 was a disastrous year for freedom of expression, as 20 journalists and media workers lost their lives in attacks and targeted killings. “Security forces personnel subjected journalists to physical attacks, intimidation and arbitrary detention. Extremist militants and criminals hired by private individuals also harassed and assaulted them. Journalists faced difficult economic conditions as many employers did not pay their salaries or substantially delayed payment of salaries to them,” the report said.
EDUCATION: The HRCP report said Pakistan’s literacy rate was recorded at 57 percent in 2010. “Floods damaged more than 10,000 schools in the country. Between 5 and 6 percent of all schools were damaged,” the report said. “Between 1.5 million to 2.5 million students were affected. 2010 was declared national literacy year, but the budgetary allocation for education for 2010-2011, was a meager 2 percent of the GDP. Academic certificates of 54 parliamentarians were declared forged,” the report said.
POLITICAL PARTICIPATION: The report also pained a dismal picture of political participation in the country, saying that less than 50 percent members of the National Assembly actively took part in proceedings. “Eighty-seven MNAs did not utter a single word during the proceedings in three years (2008-2010) of their five-year term,” it says. The report revealed further that violence, both political and otherwise, led to the death of over 750 people in target killings in Karachi alone.
“Women parliamentarians remained the most active legislators, introducing nine private member’s bills in the 3rd parliamentary year, and 22 out of the total 26 in the 2nd parliamentary year that ended on March 16, 2010,” the report said. “The provincial governments did not hold local government elections in 2010, using delay tactics, and also did not indicate when the elections would be held,” it added.
HEALTH: Like many other sectors, the health sector also faced numerous challenges according to the report. It stated that public sector expenditure on health in 2010 was projected to be 0.54 percent of the GDP, down 27 percent from the previous year. “At least 4,000 Pakistani doctors accepted jobs abroad, creating a vacuum in many hospitals in Pakistan. One woman died every 30 minutes in Pakistan due to pre-, neo- or post-natal problems,” it added.
The report revealed further that 1,047,948 cases of tuberculosis were registered in the country while there were over 18 million registered hepatitis patients and 143 cases of polio were reported in the country. “There were more than 7 million diabetics and as many as 1.5 million people were blind. 97,400 HIV/AIDS (Human Immunodeficiency Virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) cases had been diagnosed, while only 5,000 AIDS patients had been registered. Thirty-four percent of the people suffered from a psychological disorder, 2,399 people committed suicide in the country and another 1,174 attempted suicide mainly because of stress or anxiety on account of illness, domestic disputes, financial problems or unemployment, etc,” it added.
CHILDREN: The report stated that around 10 million children were affected by the massive floods, 2.5 million of them younger than 5. “The 18th Amendment recognised free and compulsory education as a right for all children between 5 to 16 years of age. However, allocation of appropriate financial resources to fulfill that commitment remained absent. 170 juveniles committed suicide across Pakistan and another 76 attempted suicide but their lives were saved,” the report said.
LABOUR: The report said that over a million child labourers between the ages of 10 to 14 were working in the country. “At least 2,294 labourers were freed from debt bondage in Sindh alone,” it added.
HOUSING: The report said that there was a housing unit shortfall in excess of 8 million, which was growing by 300,000 houses annually. “30 million people in the country were either homeless or had been accommodated by their relatives. More than 50 percent of the urban population lived in slums in the county. Between 600 to 800 slums sheltered about 7.6 million people in Karachi,” the report said.
FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT: The report said the security forces did not allow journalists and civil society members to freely visit conflict-hit regions. “The threat of abduction and target[ed] killing in parts of Balochistan and FATA made them virtual no-go areas,” it added.
REFUGEES: The report said that in 2010, 109,383 registered Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan, while 1.6 million registered Afghan refugees remained in Pakistan. “Nearly 7 million people were forced from their homes in the floods. There were around 1.3 million conflict-displaced in the country. 500 flood-displaced Ahmedi families in South Punjab were denied relief and shelter on account of their faith,” the report said.
JAILS AND PRISONERS: The report said that continued awarding of death sentences pushed the death row population to around 8,000, with nearly 6,000 convicts on death row in Punjab alone. “The authorised capacity of the country’s 91 prisons was 42,617 persons, but 75,586 prisoners were detained there. Around 7,000 Pakistanis remained jailed in various [other] countries,” it said.
FREEDOM OF ASSEMBLY: The HRCP report said that the use of force by police and attacks by militants undermined the citizen’s right to freedom of assembly. “In 72 incidents of the use of force against protesters by police, 34 people lost their lives and another 300 suffered injuries. Over 300 people were killed in extremist attacks on political meetings or religious processions,” the report said, adding that the government frequently invoked legal provisions restricting citizen’s right to freedom of assembly.