ISLAMABAD: The US government’s annual report on human rights practices pointed out a lack of Pakistan’s government accountability, and abuses, including corruption and misconduct by security services, as well as seldom probe or punishment of the government officials for reported human rights abuses or acts of corruption.
The US State Department’s annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2022 which was released on Monday also stated that Pakistan is a federal parliamentary republic and on April 11, parliament elected Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz’s Shehbaz Sharif as prime minister and head of government.
“This parliamentary election, conducted in accordance with procedures in the constitution, followed a successful no-confidence vote in the National Assembly called by opposition parties, which replaced the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf administration by bringing to power a coalition government led by Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz,” the report stated in its executive summary.
In 2018, it pointed out that the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party won the most National Assembly seats in the general elections, and the party’s leader, Imran Khan, became prime minister.
“While independent observers noted technical improvements in the Election Commission of Pakistan’s management of the polling process itself, observers, civil society organizations, and political parties raised concerns regarding pre-election interference by military and intelligence agencies that created an uneven electoral playing field. Some political parties also alleged significant polling day irregularities,” it noted.
The report pointed out that police have primary domestic security responsibility for most of the country, adding that local police are under the jurisdiction of provincial governments.
“Paramilitary organizations, including the Frontier Corps that operates in Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas, as well as the Rangers that operate in Sindh and Punjab, provide security services under the authority of the Ministry of Interior,” it added.
The Frontier Corps’ primary mission is the security of the border with Afghanistan, and the corps reports to the Ministry of Interior in peacetime and the army in times of conflict, it stated, adding that the military plays a role in domestic security, including as the lead security agency in many areas of the former Federally Administered Tribal Areas.
“While military and intelligence services officially report to civilian authorities, they operate independently and without effective civilian oversight or control. There were reports that members of the security forces committed numerous abuses,” it further noted.
The report point out “significant human rights issues included credible reports of: unlawful or arbitrary killings, including extrajudicial killings by the government or its agents; forced disappearance by the government or its agents; torture and cases of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents; harsh and life-threatening prison conditions; arbitrary detention; political prisoners; transnational repression against individuals in another country; arbitrary or unlawful interference with privacy; serious restrictions on free expression and media, including violence against journalists, unjustified arrests and disappearances of journalists, censorship, and criminal defamation laws, and laws against blasphemy; serious restrictions on internet freedom; substantial interference with the freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of association, including overly restrictive laws for the operation of nongovernmental organizations and civil society organizations; severe restrictions of religious freedom; restrictions on freedom of movement; serious government corruption; lack of investigation of and accountability for gender-based violence; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting members of racial and ethnic minorities; crimes involving violence or threats of violence targeting lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or intersex persons; the existence or use of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults; restrictions on workers’ freedom of association; and existence of the worst forms of child labour.”
“There was a lack of government accountability, and abuses, including corruption and misconduct by security services, often went unpunished, fostering a culture of impunity among perpetrators. Authorities seldom investigated or punished government officials for reported human rights abuses or acts of corruption,” it added.
The report pointed out that kidnappings and enforced disappearances of persons took place across the country. “Some officials from the intelligence agencies, police, and security forces reportedly held prisoners incommunicado and refused to disclose their location,” it noted.
The report also referred to figures released in May 2022 by the government’s Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, of the 8,463 missing person cases reported to the commission since 2011, 3,284 were solved, while 2,219 remained pending.
It further highlighted the violence, abuse, and social and religious intolerance by militant organizations and other non-state actors, both local and foreign, contributed to a culture of lawlessness.
“Terrorist violence and human rights abuses by non-state actors contributed to human rights problems, with terrorist violence exceeding that of the prior year. Terrorist and cross-border militant attacks against civilians, soldiers, and police caused hundreds of casualties,” it noted.
The report added that military, police, and other law enforcement agencies continued to carry out significant campaigns against militant and terrorist groups.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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