HRCP annual report reveals: US drone attacks claim over 957 lives, targeted killing 656

The US drone attacks have claimed over 957 lives during year 2010, suicide attacks 1,159 lives and target killing 656 lives, whereas more than 12,580 people were murdered, revealed in annual report of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
The HRCP in its annual report released here on Thursday by its Chairman, Dr Mehdi Hassan and Secretary General I A Rehman, revealed that over 237 political activists and 301 common people were killed in targeted killings in Karachi, 81 people in Lyari gang wars and 118 people were killed and 40 injured in Balochistan.
The reports, which focuses on human rights violations in the country also lays emphasis on terror attacks in 2010 as a result of which 1,159 people were killed. The HRCP reported that 581 kidnappings for ransom and 16,977 cases of abduction were reported during the year 2010, while 34 new cases of enforced disappearance were reported and bodies of 59 missing persons were recovered from various parts of Balochistan.
The HRCP lamented over government for its failure to stamp out the domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Bill lapsed because it could not be submitted to the Senate in time. The Protection against Harassment of Women at Workplace Act 2010 was adopted, but on the contrary not a single women parliamentarians was part of the committee formed to draft 18 Amendment Bill.
The report stated that 791 women were killed in the name of honour, 2,903 women were raped, 719 women committed suicide and 414 attempted suicide, but their lives were saved. There were 931 women detainees in prisons across the country. The report also claimed that one woman died every 30 minutes in Pakistan due to pre-neo-or postnatal problems. 1,047,948 cases of tuberculosis were registered.
Secretary General of HRCP said that about ten million children were affected by the massive floods, 2.5 million were under 5-year. He said that over seven million people were forced to move from their homes in the floods as floodwater receded in many areas and millions remained in tents, with their houses destroyed and livelihood lost. Flood has also damaged more than 10,000 schools in which between 1.5 million to 2.5 million students were affected, he added.
He said that 163 attacks were reported on educational institutions in which 22 teachers were killed in Balochistan from January 2008 to October 2010. The report stated that 109,383 registered Afghan refugees returned back to Afghanistan, while 1.6 million registered refugees are still leaving here.
More than 1,154 juveniles were detained in the prisons across the country during the years while 170 juveniles committed suicide across the country and another 76 attempted suicide, Rehman said while briefing about the salient features of the HRCP report. HRCP in its report praised the services of women parliamentarians, saying that women parliamentarians remained the most active legislators, introducing nine private members' bill in the third parliamentary year and 22 out of total 26 in the second parliamentary year that ended on March 16, 2010. The human rights watchdog criticised the provincial governments for their inability to hold local government elections in 2010 using delaying tactics.
According to report there were 18 million registered hepatitis patients whereas over 1.6 million malaria cases were reported annually. A total of 143 Polio cases were reported during the period. There were more than seven million diabetics and as many as 1.5 million people were blind. There were 150,000 thalassemia patients and over 7,000 patients were infected with the dengue virus and 31 people died of the disease.
Around 114,000 patients of swine flu were reported, whereas 97,400 HIV/AIDS cases had been diagnosed while 5,000 AIDS patients had been registered. The report claimed that 34 percent of the people suffered from a psychological disorder. 2,399 committed suicide in the country and another 1,174 attempted suicide mainly due to stress or anxiety on account of illness, domestic disputes, financial problems or unemployment etc.