The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) released its annual report ‘State of Human Rights in 2022’ last week to reveal that the political and economic unrest in the previous year have had a significant influence on the human rights situation in the country.
The research observed that the current and previous governments both disregarded the authority of Parliament and that disputes between the legislative, executive, and judicial branches undermined institutional credibility.
The study said that sedition laws from the colonial era were being weaponized to suppress dissent and that political victimization persisted throughout the year. Numerous journalists and opposition politicians were detained, and there were subsequent allegations of abuse in detention, HRCP claimed. Ironically, this happened in the same year that the Parliament approved a law making the use of torture illegal.
Law enforcement officers and demonstrators clashed during the unrest that followed the successful vote of no confidence against the former prime minister Imran Khan, and the right to freedom of assembly was not only infringed but also abused.
The HRCP study stated that despite citizens’ warnings that such events were impending, especially in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the state continued to struggle in combating militancy. As per the report, the year saw an alarming revival of terror attacks, the most in five years, with 533 lives lost.
In addition, HRCP saw an increase in enforced disappearances, notably in Balochistan, where 2,210 recorded instances remain unsolved despite the National Assembly passing a law making the practise illegal.
The research also claimed that over 33 million people were adversely affected by floods brought on by climate change, which devastated a portion of the nation. This lacklustre response has underscored the need for empowered, well-resourced local governments in every province and territory, the HRCP said in its report.
It said that, despite a decline in the number of police reports involving blasphemy accusations, the prevalence of mob lynchings seemed to have increased. Escalating threats to freedom of religion or belief remain a serious worry, it said.
The HRCP report added that the violence against women continued unabated, with at least 4,226 instances of rape and gang rape compounded by an appallingly low conviction rate for perpetrators. The Ahmadiyya community came under particular threat, with several places of worship and over 90 graves desecrated, mostly in Punjab.
This edition of the report’s subject, the prevalence of violence and discrimination against transgender people, was further exacerbated by conservative opposition to the hard-won Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act 2018.
The study points out that the rights of workers and peasants were gravely disregarded in a year that saw the nation’s economic position start to collapse. The research said that even though the minimum wage was raised, the state has failed to accept that it is still below the standard for a livable income.
The HRCP also pointed out that even though 1,200 bonded labourers in Sindh were released, the district vigilance committees established in 2022 continued to be mainly useless, and 90 miners continued to die in the country’s mines each year. HRCP has demanded immediate action by the state on these issues if it is to move towards a pro-people approach to politics, law and governance.
