The European Union (EU) has said that fundamental weaknesses of the police and judicial system combined with the use of the death penalty carry a very high risk of irreversible miscarriage of justice. The EU in its GSP plus assessment report released on January 28, 2016, maintained that the decision to carry out executions could, therefore, result in arbitrary deprivation of life and be in breach of Pakistan's international obligations.
Also, in a number of cases there is uncertainty about the age of the convicts; this is partly due to the absence of reliable birth registration in Pakistan. Execution of juveniles constitutes a continued violation of Article 6 of International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights ICCPR and article 37 of CRC. Under the 21st amendment to the constitution and a further amendment of the 1952 Pakistani Army Act, military courts have been given jurisdiction during 2 years to try civilians accused of terrorism-related offences.
The EU has observed that a vague definition of 'terrorism-related offenses' is problematic and the criteria for transferring cases have not been made public. Moreover, hearings have been held in-camera and verdicts have not been made public, making it impossible to ascertain if the defendants' right to a fair trial has been respected. While ICCPR does not prohibit the trial of civilians in military courts, it requires these trials to be fully in conformity with Article 14," the EU added.
"Beneficiaries must demonstrate a positive record of compliance with and effective implementation of the commitments made upon entry into the GSP+. If the Commission has a reasonable doubt that a beneficiary does not respect its binding undertaking to comply with the reporting obligations under the international conventions, or to cooperate with the relevant monitoring bodies or with the Commission, or to maintain ratification and ensure the effective implementation of the relevant international conventions, then the Commission will consider opening an investigation into whether a beneficiary is complying with its GSP+ undertaking. Following this, GSP+ benefits may be temporarily withdrawn, until the beneficiary demonstrates compliance with the GSP+," the EU maintained.
Pakistan maintains the death penalty for a large number of crimes, some of which do not fall into the category of "most serious crimes" to which the death penalty should be limited according to ICCPR. It is estimated that Pakistan has more than 6,000 people on death row. In December 2014 a moratorium on executions in place since 2008 (with the exception of one case, where a soldier was hanged in 2012) was lifted - initially only for terrorist charges, later for all charges. The Pakistani Government argues that capital punishment is necessary to fight terrorism. By early December 2015, over 300 persons had been executed. Although many of those executed were sentenced by anti-terrorist courts the overwhelming majority were convicted for common, albeit serious, crimes.
A cross-cutting issue, not restricted to human rights, is the poor implementation and enforcement of legal safeguards provided for in the constitution and in domestic legislation. Problems related to implementation are multifaceted and include prejudice and entrenched stereotypes, for example on the role of women, running contrary to basic human rights, the weakness of state institutions (notably the police and the judiciary), and the legal uncertainties and capacity gaps emanating from the devolution of power through the 18th Amendment. Altogether, this means that the work done to adopt new legislation may not always translate into tangible improvement on the ground.
Serious concerns exist related to implementation of the right to a fair trial as enshrined in ICCPR, article 14. There are widespread allegations of the use of torture to extract evidence in violation of obligations under CAT. At the same time access to qualified legal representation for indigent defendants is very limited, making it difficult for them to mount an adequate defence. It is also reported that courts are susceptible to pressure or intimidation from powerful individuals and, in addition the practice of Diyat, allow those rich enough to pay restitution, and thus avoid legal repercussions.
It has also been stated that violence against religious minorities was recurrent throughout the reporting period. Minorities' places of worship have on several occasions been the direct target of large-scale terrorist attacks. On 2 June 2014, the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights called on Pakistan to 'stop faith-based killings'.
Although Pakistan ratified the CAT in 2010, the practice of torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment and punishment persists in the country. The penal code does not define torture in line with the definition of the CAT, and a legislation to implement CAT has not yet been enacted, although a draft torture, custodial death and custodial rape bill is currently being discussed. Reports from various civil society organisations (40) provide information about torture and cruel, inhuman, degrading treatment and punishment - both absolutely prohibited under the CAT - being widely used during the investigative process to obtain a confession or information, as well as in detention facilities as a form of punishment. Such practices have been confirmed by Faisalabad District Standing Medical Board (DSMB), which was set up to conduct medical examinations in response to allegations of torture. The DSMB found conclusive signs of abuse in 1 424 of 1 867 cases examined.
According to the EU, current legislation does not provide meaningful redress for victims in line with Article 14 of CAT including restitution, rehabilitation, satisfaction and guarantees of non repetition. Pakistan has failed to provide any substantial information about action taken to address this very serious issue. As an example there is no information available suggesting that anyone has been prosecuted for torture in any of the 1 424 cases identified by the DSMB. There is in many cases - including for persons sentenced to the death penalty - evidence suggesting the use of torture to extract confessions. Investigations into these cases are not always carried out properly or sometimes not at all, which constitutes a violation of Article 12 of the CAT.
Sexual exploitation of children remains a serious problem throughout Pakistan, although difficult to document and largely absent from the public debate. Pakistan is one of the countries with the highest prevalence of child labour. However, there is a growing political will to address the problem. Concerns have been expressed in Pakistan on a number of areas related to freedom of association and collective bargaining both by the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR), and by trade unions.
In recent years there has been controversy surrounding the import/export of falcons and the hunting and export of the rare Houbara bustard. Pakistan has revealed that it only issues permits in line with the CITES Secretariat Guidelines. Pakistan has also informed the CITES Secretariat in April 2015 that it had not issued export permits for specimens of peregrine falcons (Falco peregrinus) and saker falcons (Falco cherrug) during 2014. In August 2015, the Supreme Court of Pakistan banned the hunting of the Houbara bustard. The provincial government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has implemented this ban in provincial law while this is still not the case in Balochistan.
Recently, SC has lifted ban on hunting of Houbara bustard on a review petition filed by the people of the southern Punjab. Pakistan's economy is still quite dependent on agriculture, which accounts for around 21 % of GDP and 43 % of employment (services and industry account for 59 % and 20 % of GDP respectively). Pakistan's economy has recently shown signs of recovery after experiencing subdued growth rates of 3-4 % over the past years due to an energy crisis, a volatile security environment, recurring natural disasters and challenges in economic governance. EU imports from Pakistan amounted to EUR 5.5 billion in 2014, an increase of 22 % compared to 2013. Over 70 % of EU imports from Pakistan are textiles and clothing. The EU is Pakistan's first export destination taking around 25 % of Pakistan's total exports to the world, followed by the USA (12 %), China (9 %) and the UAE (8 %). Pakistan takes part in the economic integration efforts within the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) and has trade agreements with China, Indonesia, Malaysia and Sri Lanka. Around 87 % of Pakistan's exports to the EU are eligible for GSP+ and over 95 % actually use the preferences. The enhanced trade preferences under GSP+ are of particular importance to Pakistan's textiles and clothing industry, which accounts for 8 % of GDP, contributes to 50-60 % of total export earnings and provides employment to 38 % of the manufacturing labour force. Pakistan's top export products such as bed and toiled linen, denim trousers and leather apparel enter the EU duty free, which would otherwise be subject to the normal GSP rate of 9.6 % or the MFN rate of 12 %. EU preferential imports of textiles and clothing from Pakistan increased substantially in 2014, 82 % compared to 2013 (from EUR 2 billion in 2013 to EUR 3.7 billion in 2014) and preferential imports of footwear increased by 121 %. 11.3.2. GSP+ Statistics Pakistan was granted GSP+ status for the first time on 1 January 2014 - prior to this, it was a beneficiary of the GSP (Standard GSP).