(HRCP) – Page 6 – Newswire Pakistan

June 20, 2022June 21, 2022

HRCP demands repeal of colonial laws that curb peaceful assembly

Islamabad, June 20, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) announces the launch of its study titled Freedom of Peaceful Assembly in Pakistan: A Legislative Review. The study proposes to repeal and review many archaic colonial-era laws and discontinue primitive policing strategies. It makes elaborate recommendations to the legislature, executive as well as law enforcement agencies to ensure fulfilment of the right to peaceful assembly as per international human rights law standards. HRCP was assisted by a high-profile working group, including Hina Jilani, Farhatullah Babar, Habib Tahir, Reema Omer and Saroop Ijaz, while the study itself was conducted by Mr Asfand Yar Warraich.

The right to peaceful assembly is a cornerstone of any democratic society. The study provides an analysis of this right as enshrined in Article 16 of Pakistan’s constitution as well as offers a review of legal provisions and procedures that impact it. Moreover, HRCP was able to conduct a detailed mapping of assemblies from years 2010 to 2020 through this study, to find that disproportionate curbs were placed on at least 392 of the 858 assemblies surveyed; these included excessive use of force, arbitrary and politically motivated arrests and detentions, registration of criminal or terrorism charges, and the imposition of moratoriums on assemblies for extended periods of time for no valid reason.

The study proposes creating and enforcing better protocols for law enforcement agencies that involve training in human rights and crowd-management practices, with an emphasis on minimal use of force; allowing unrestricted media and digital access to assemblies; and facilitating free speech and movement for all assemblies rather than imposing content-based restrictions or blockading routes.

For more information, contact:
Chairperson,
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)
Aiwan-i-Jamhoor, 107-Tipu Block,
New Garden Town, Lahore-54600
Tel: +92-42-35864994
Fax: +92-42-35883582
Email: hrcp@hrcp-web.org
Website: www.hrcp-web.org

June 18, 2022June 20, 2022

HRCP demands economic stability, political rights

Lahore, June 18, 2022 (PPI-OT):On concluding its biannual meeting, the governing council of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expressed its concern at the alarming polarization in political discourse, which is detrimental to the cause of democracy, supremacy of parliament and constitutionalism. It is equally concerned about the ensuing economic instability, the runaway inflation and the threat of food insecurity that are disproportionately impacting the working and middle classes. Punjab, the country’s biggest province, stays in a political limbo. HRCP calls for a non-partisan consensus on crucial issues facing the country.

The Council highlighted multiple grave human rights issues being faced by the populace, including the impact of climate change evident in the recent glacial flooding in Gilgit-Baltistan, the ongoing heatwave in Punjab, the acute water shortages in Sindh and Balochistan, leading to provincial conflicts, displacement and loss of livelihoods.

It noted the worsening instances of police brutality against peaceful protestors across Pakistan with arrests of activists and political workers on anti-state charges becoming a common feature. Freedom of press is in continuous stress and journalists have been persistently targeted. The state must uphold people’s rights to freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly instead of retaliating with unwarranted violence.

HRCP brings to the government’s notice that there is no letup in cases of enforced disappearances, particularly in Balochistan, Sindh and KP. What is worse is the uptick in enforced disappearances of Baloch and Pashtun students. It reiterates its demand to enact the law that criminalises enforced disappearances and the state must ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.

Violence against women and transgender persons showed no signs of abating. Religious and sectarian minorities remain vulnerable, with incidents such as the mob lynchings in Sialkot and Mian Channu, the attack against Shia worshippers in Peshawar, and desecration of Ahmadiyya graves, becoming more frequent. HRCP calls on the state to curb the rising tide of religious extremism, and grant the National Commission for Minorities a statutory position in light of the Tassaduq Jillani Supreme Court judgement 2014 so it may fulfil its duties.

HRCP welcomes the passage of the Sindh Student Unions Bill, and the decisions to suspend the PDMA’s establishment and carry out a review of PECA. However, seats on various parliamentary committees remain vacant, since the passage of vote of no confidence, while the NCHR and NCSW are under-funded and hence not fully functional. HRCP also questions the Council of Islamic Ideology’s statements criticising Islamabad High Court’s statements on underage marriage.

The promise to grant Gilgit-Baltistan provincial status must be fulfilled. The Council criticised the ‘discreet talks’ with militant groups in Afghanistan without taking the parliament into confidence. HRCP also demands that the state accede to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and pass legislation for refugees’ rights.

June 14, 2022June 27, 2022

HRCP stands with Baloch students and demands accountability

Lahore, June 14, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) strongly condemns the recent cycle of abductions and manhandling of Baloch students from Karachi University. These students are allegedly being picked up by law enforcement personnel, and those who demand their release are roughed up and arrested. In the case of two students who have just been released after pressure from their kin and civil society, it is noteworthy that their whereabouts remained unknown until the time of their release. Such enforced disappearances are not only illegal but inhuman.

HRCP also expresses grave concern over the excessive use of force on 13 June by the Sindh police against the relatives, activists and friends of the disappeared students. These peaceful protesters, which included women and children, had gathered outside the Sindh assembly to demand the safe recovery of their loved ones, but were met with violence and forcibly dispersed by the police.

We reiterate our demand that enforced disappearances must be criminalised in line with International Convention for the Protection of all Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Not only must this heinous practice be recognised as a distinct, autonomous offence and the perpetrators held strictly accountable, but the victims and their families must also be compensated for all they have suffered.

June 8, 2022June 9, 2022

Federation must end GB’s constitutional, political and economic deprivations – HRCP concludes fact-finding mission

Gilgit, June 08, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has concluded a high-profile fact-finding mission to Gilgit-Baltistan (GB), comprising Council members Salima Hashmi and Muzaffar Hussain, senior journalist Ghazi Salahuddin, and HRCP regional coordinator Israruddin.

During its five-day visit to GB, the mission found that the human rights situation in the region had deteriorated, with political workers, rights activists, the legal fraternity and religious leadership expressing their disappointment at the federation’s failure to integrate GB with the rest of the country. The groups that the mission consulted were of the view that GB should, at the very least, be granted provisional provincial status or, as a last option, granted a governance system similar to that of Azad Jammu and Kashmir.

The political leadership that met the mission also demanded that GB be made part of the electoral reforms process being undertaken to ensure free and fair elections in this region. In addition, the fact that appointments to the higher judiciary are made by the prime minister puts a question mark over the independence, integrity and impartiality of the GB judiciary, eroding public confidence in the institution.

It is a matter of great concern that freedom of expression and peaceful assembly remain under threat in GB: rights campaigners, political workers and students continue to be charged under anti-terrorism and cybercrime laws, particularly Schedule IV.

Based on the evidence, the mission believes that the abolition of State Subject Rule has paved the way for exploitation of local natural resources by external private corporations and individuals not resident in GB. This has led to demographic changes in the region, to the consternation of residents, who also feel that GB is being excluded from development projects, primarily those being launched under CPEC.

The mission is especially alarmed by the apparent surge in suicide cases in various parts of GB, particularly in district Ghizer. A large number of these victims comprise women and the mission has reason to believe that some cases of honour killings have been labelled suicide and thus ‘forgotten’.

The mission is gravely concerned to learn that the victims of the 2010 Attabad Lake disaster have still not been compensated or rehabilitated. The glacial lake outburst floods that occurred recently on the Shishpar glacier have also uprooted over a dozen families with worrying allegations that a state-owned organisation may have diverted the flow of water towards the village to protect a resort.

During meetings with people affected by the Kargil War, the mission learnt that they had still not been compensated for the loss of their homes and livelihoods. Respondents alleged that the civilian and military authorities continued to shift responsibility onto each other for the redressal of their grievances. The victims also claimed that security forces had laid landmines in their area, preventing them from returning home. A detailed report documenting the mission’s findings and recommendations will be released as soon as possible.

For more information, contact:

Chairperson,

Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)

Aiwan-i-Jamhoor, 107-Tipu Block,

New Garden Town, Lahore-54600

Tel: +92-42-35864994

Fax: +92-42-35883582

Email: hrcp@hrcp-web.org

Website: www.hrcp-web.org

May 31, 2022June 1, 2022

IHC ruling, enforced disappearances committee positive steps

Lahore, May 31, 2022 (PPI-OT):The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) welcomes the Islamabad High Court’s order holding previous and incumbent chief executives accountable for what the court has termed a ‘tacit approval of the policy regarding enforced disappearances.’

It is critical based on the overwhelming evidence to expressly articulate the role of security agencies in using this practice to quell political dissent, deny ordinary citizens the right to due process, and generally build a climate of fear in the name of ‘national security’. The court’s order, if implemented in letter and spirit, may go some way in compensating for the failure of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED) to hold perpetrators accountable.

While the government’s constitution of a seven-member committee to deliberate on a policy on enforced disappearances is also a positive step, any such policy must institute protection and compensation mechanisms for victims and their families. It must also clarify the mandate of security agencies, and commit to closing down internment centres and revoking the arbitrary powers available to state agencies under the KP Action (in Aid of Civil Powers) Ordinance 2019.

The ‘missing’ bill on enforced disappearances should be resurrected and deliberated on further, and the COIED replaced with a judicial commission with an effective and reputable chair. The committee must also lobby strongly for Pakistan to sign the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance.