Human Rights Commission of Pakistan Secretary General Iqbal Haider has aired concern over the situation of human rights. "The human rights situation in Pakistan has seriously deteriorated over the past years."
The Paris-based International Federation for Human Rights said in a communiqué following a recent fact-finding mission in Pakistan with the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (February 24 to March 3) to assess the situation of human right and of human rights defenders in the country.
It said among the most flagrant human rights violations that the mission had documented were "enforced "disappearances," generalised attacks against civilian population in popular gatherings or in military operations, repression of movements seeking recognition of their identity, in particular in Balochistan, deterioration of the condition of women, discrimination against religious minorities, restriction on the media, persecution and arbitrary arrests of human rights' defenders.
"Many of those attacks are committed under the guise of the fight against terrorism with the active support of the United States. The interference of this foreign power in Pakistan contributes in a significant way to the deterioration of human rights in the region," it said.
The mission called for an immediate release of the Supreme Court Chief Justice and his family; the reinstatement of deposed judges; respect for the physical and psychological integrity of all Pakistani human rights defenders; and respect for the independence of the judiciary.