Human rights in Pakistan

The situation of Human Rights in Pakistan ( ur, ) is complex as a result of the country's diversity, large population, its status as a developing country and a sovereign Islamic democracy with a mixture of both Islamic and secular law. The Constitution of Pakistan provides for fundamental rights. The Clauses also provide for an independent Supreme Court, separation of executive and judiciary, an independent judiciary, independent Human Rights commission and freedom of movement within the country and abroad. However these clauses are not respected in practice.

Although Pakistan was created to uphold the principles of democracy, military coups in Pakistan are commonplace, and for most of its history after independence has been ruled by military dictators who declare themselves president. The 2013 Pakistani general election were the first elections in the country where there was a constitutional transfer of power from one civilian government to another.
Elections in Pakistan have been prone to irregularities including vote rigging, use of threats and coercion, and discrimination between Muslims and non-Muslims. Additionally the Government of Pakistan has itself admitted on several occasions that it has absolutely no control over the Military of Pakistan and related security agencies.

Violence against women is an important social issue in Pakistan. An estimated 5,000 women are killed per year from domestic violence, with thousands of others maimed or disabled. In 2016 the provincial parliaments of Punjab and Sindh, which together comprise 65% of the country's population, independently condemned violence against women and took steps toward reducing its prevalence. Opposition to this type of legislation remains.

According to the 2016 Global Slavery Index, an estimated 2,134,900 people are enslaved in modern-day Pakistan, or 1.13% of the population.

Religious discrimination, religious violence, and lack of religious freedom continue to remain serious issues in Pakistan, and they have often been condoned by politicians such as Khawaja Nazimuddin, the 2nd Prime Minister of Pakistan, who stated: "I do not agree that religion is a private affair of the individual nor do I agree that in an Islamic state every citizen has identical rights, no matter what his caste, creed or faith be". This stands in contrast to the position of Muhammad Ali Jinnah, the founder of Pakistan, who stated in an address to the constituent assembly of Pakistan, "You will find that in course of time Hindus will cease to be Hindus and Muslims will cease to be Muslims, not in the religious sense, because that is the personal faith of each individual, but in the political sense as the citizens of the State."

Political Freedom in Pakistan

Although Pakistan was created to uphold the principles of democracy, its history is rife with Military coups in Pakistan, and for most of its history after independence has been ruled by military dictators who declare themselves president. The 2013 Pakistani general election were the first elections in the country where there was a constitutional transfer of power from one civilian government to another. The elections were marred by terrorist attacks that killed hundreds and wounded more than 500 and widespread rigging of polls, the highest in the country's recorded history.

Religious minorities were prevented from voting for Muslim candidates after Zia-ul-Haq's Islamization and non-Muslims are restricted in the posts they may contest for, with several of the higher posts being unavailable to them. Although some of these laws were later repealed, religious minorities still continue to face several restrictions in politics.

Although slow but steady progress has been made towards return to democracy in the last decade, many Pakistanis and foreign observers see the military still firmly entrenched in politics with the government playing second fiddle to the military. The government is widely seen as having no control over the armed forces and the Inter-Services Intelligence.

Most of Pakistan's laws are secular in nature, some of which were inherited from the United Kingdom's colonial rule of modern-day Pakistan before 1947. However, in practice, Sharia Law takes precedence over Pakistani law. The Constitution of Pakistan provides for fundamental rights which include freedom of speech, freedom of thought, freedom of information, freedom of religion, freedom of association, freedom of the press, freedom of assembly and the (conditional) right to bear arms. It has been changed several times in its short history, with Islamization being the driving factor. Although the government has enacted a few measures to counter any problems, abuses remain. Furthermore, courts suffer from lack of funds, outside intervention, and deep case backlogs that lead to long trial delays and lengthy pretrial detentions. Many observers inside and outside Pakistan contend that Pakistan's legal code is largely concerned with crime, national security, and domestic tranquility and less with the protection of individual rights.

In 2010, Foreign Policy ranked Pakistan as number ten on its Failed States Index, placing it in the "critical" category with such other failed or failing states as Afghanistan, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, and Somalia. Pakistan consistently figures near the top of the list of failed states year after year.

In September 2015, The Lahore High Court imposed a ban on speeches of Altaf Hussain, the founder and chief of Muttahida Qaumi Movement, a party known for its advocacy of interests of the Muhajir community in Pakistan. The court directed the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority and Additional Attorney-General Naseer Ahmed Bhutta to implement a ban on the broadcast of images and speeches of Muttahida Qaumi Movement chief Altaf Hussain across all electronic and print media till further orders.

Freedom of the press in Pakistan

Freedom of the press in Pakistan is legally protected by the law of Pakistan as stated in its constitutional amendments, but any reports critical of the government policy or critical of the military is censored. Journalists face widespread threats and violence making Pakistan one of the worst countries to be a journalist in, with 61 being killed since September 2001 and at least 6 murdered in 2013 alone. TV stations and news papers are routinely shut down for publishing any reports critical of the government or the military.

Freedom House rated Pakistan as "Not Free" in its report of 2013 and gave it a score of 64 (on a scale of 0–100, with 0 being most free and 100 being least free). The report brought to light widespread intimidation of journalists by various government, military and security agencies with killings allegedly being carried out by the Inter-Services Intelligence. Reporters Without Borders has ranked Pakistan number 158 out of 180 countries listed in its Press Freedom Index of 2014.

In 2013 veteran journalist Hamid Mir, a recipient of the Hilal-i-Imtiaz, Pakistan's second-highest civil award, was shot at by unidentified assailants wounding him with bullets thrice. He alleged that the Inter-Services Intelligence was behind the attack. His TV channel Geo Tv was shut down by the government for 15 days for airing reports that the ISI may have carried out the attacks.

Websites such as YouTube and many others were in the past blocked by the government for violating blasphemy laws. Websites that are deemed to criticize the government or the military, websites that expose human rights violations of minorities and websites that are perceived as blasphemous are all regularly blocked.

In May 2012, President Asif Ali Zardari signed the National Commission for Human Rights Bill 2012 for the promotion of the protection of human rights in the country. However, it remains to be seen if any positive effects will be derived from this.

In May 2018, a new constitutional amendment was passed that allowed tribal people to access their rights. The amendment allowed the people in tribal areas to enjoy the same constitutional rights as other Pakistanis. The constitutional amendment ended the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR), imposed under British rule in the 1850s. Under the FCR, people in the tribal areas were explicitly denied their right to appeal their detention, the right to legal representation, and their right to present evidence in their defence – sanctioning a wide-ranging series of human rights violations.

In 2019, a woman journalist was allegedly murdered by her husband - who was also a journalist - because she refused to quit her job. Urool Iqbal had been living alone at the time of her murder and had only recently filed a complaint against her husband with the police. The Coalition For Women In Journalism founding director Kiran Nazish said: “This case crystalizes the multi-layered dangers women journalists face in many countries, Pakistan being one of them. After speaking to those who were close to Urooj, it is very clear that her job as a journalist was a problem for her partner, who is accused in the fatal shooting that killed the young journalist."

In 2016, Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra) has imposed a complete ban on airing Indian content on local television and FM radio channels, in an effort to crackdown on “culturally-damaging” soaps from across the border. In 2017, The Lahore High Court lifted the ban, claiming that the world had become a global village and asked how long will unreasonable restrictions be imposed. This was overturned and the ban was reinstated by the Supreme Court of Pakistan in 2018. In 2019, the Supreme Court of Pakistan endorsed the ban and declined the request of Pemra to air ads of global big brands containing Indian content on the ground that they would damage Pakistani culture. Chairman of Pemra once again threatened cable operators with severe actions against the cable operators airing Indian Channels, a move which was strongly condemned by The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists.

Provincial inequality

Miscarriage of Justice

Security forces routinely violate human rights in the course of counter-terrorism operations in Balochistan and elsewhere. Suspects are frequently detained without charge and or convicted without a fair trial. Thousands of people rounded up as suspected terrorists continue to languish in illegal military detention without being produced in court or prosecuted. The army continues to deny independent monitors, lawyers, relatives, or humanitarian agencies access to the prisoners.

The 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act, which established Anti Terrorism Court, and subsequent anti-terrorist legislation, has arisen concerns about the protection of fundamental rights.

Muslim groups have persecuted non-Muslims and used some laws as the legal basis for doing so. The Blasphemy law, for example, allows life imprisonment or the death penalty for contravening Islamic principles, but the legislation was passed in October 2004 to attempt to counter misuse of the law.

Provisions of the Islamic Qisas and Diyat laws allow the murder victim's nearest relative or Wali (ولي) (legal guardian) to if the court approves, take the life of the killer or to agree to financial compensation paid to the heirs of the victim.

Enforced disappearances in Pakistan

Pakistan's military intelligence agency, Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), and law enforcement have been accused of arresting and kidnapping political leaders who have demanded more autonomy or freedom from Pakistan. They have also been accused of arresting student activists and teachers protesting the exploitation of the Pakistani government. Many human-rights activists in Pakistan have protested against forced disappearances and kidnappings.

Pakistan's former military ruler and President Gen. Pervez Musharraf explained in his 2006 autobiography, ''In the Line of Fire'': “We have captured 689 and handed over 369 to the United States. We have earned bounties totaling millions of dollars. Those who habitually accuse the U.S. of not doing enough in the war on terror should simply ask the CIA how much prize money it has paid to the Government of Pakistan.”

Multiple forced disappearances have been reported in Balochistan. According to Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) around 528 Baloch have gone missing from 2001 to 2017. In 16 cases documented by Human Rights Watch, the abductions were carried out by, in the presence of, or with the assistance of uniformed personnel of the Frontier Corps (FC), an Interior Ministry paramilitary force. In a number of cases, police assisted by being present at the scene or securing an area while plainclothes intelligence officers abducted individuals who later “disappeared.”

Pakistani-administered Kashmir

Pakistani-administered Kashmir, including Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Gilgit-Baltistan are recognized by the Government of Pakistan as nominally self-governing entities, though they are ''de facto'' provinces of Pakistan that lack political representation in the National Assembly and other constitutional rights that the provinces are entitled to. With the long-term goal of the eventual accession of AJK and Gilgit-Baltistan into Pakistan proper, the Pakistani government has routinely restricted free expression, freedom of the press and free assembly in the region. In 2021, Freedom House gave Pakistani Kashmir a score of 29/100 for the strength of their political rights and civil liberties along with a rating of "Not Free."

In October 2019, the People National Alliance organised a rally to free Kashmir from Pakistani rule. As a result of the police trying to stop the rally, 100 people were injured.

Women's rights

The social status of women in Pakistan is one of systemic gender subordination even though it varies considerably across classes, regions, and the rural/urban divide due to uneven socioeconomic development and the impact of tribal, feudal, and capitalist social formations on women's lives. The Pakistani women of today do, however, enjoy a better status than in the past.

Pakistan has a dual system of civil and sharia law. The Constitution of Pakistan recognizes equality between men and women (Art. 25(2) states "There shall be no discrimination on the basis of sex") but also recognizes as valid Sharia law (Chapter 3A. – Federal Shariat Court).

Violence against women

Domestic violence in Pakistan is an endemic social problem. According to a study carried out in 2009 by Human Rights Watch, it is estimated that between 70 and 90 percent of women and girls in Pakistan have suffered some form of abuse. An estimated 5,000 women are killed per year from domestic violence, with thousands of others maimed or disabled. The majority of victims of violence have no legal recourse. Law enforcement authorities do not view domestic violence as a crime and usually refuse to register any cases brought to them. Given the very few women's shelters in the country, victims have limited ability to escape from violent situations.

Human Rights Watch said in its report released in 2014 that "Violence against women and girls – including rape, honour killings, acid attacks, domestic violence, and forced marriage all remain serious problems in Pakistan. Despite high levels of domestic violence, the parliament has failed to enact laws to prevent it and protect women." In 2002, women's rights activists Saba and Gulalai Ismail founded Aware Girls, a grassroots women's rights initiative to empower women and girls against domestic and terrorist violence based in Peshawar. More recently Saba Ismail has represented women's rights at the United Nations.

Rape in Pakistan came to international attention after the politically sanctioned rape of Mukhtaran Bibi. The group War Against Rape (WAR) has documented the severity of rape in Pakistan, and the police indifference to it. According to Women's Studies professor Shahla Haeri, rape in Pakistan is "often institutionalized and has the tacit and at times the explicit approval of the state". According to a study carried out by Human Rights Watch there is a rape once every two hours and a gang rape every hour. According to lawyer Asma Jahangir, who is a co-founder of the women's rights group Women's Action Forum

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