A US human rights report, as cited by The News on Wednesday, highlighted that Pakistan “rarely” took credible measures to identify and punish officials potentially involved in human rights abuses. These concerns encompassed extrajudicial killings, enforced disappearances, and torture.
The “2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices,” released by the US State Department, underscored a lack of significant improvements in Pakistan’s human rights landscape over the past year.
The report outlined various significant human rights issues, including “credible reports of unlawful or arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, torture, and instances of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment by the government or its agents.” It also addressed harsh prison conditions, arbitrary detention, and the existence of political prisoners.
Furthermore, the report highlighted serious concerns regarding enforced disappearances, severe restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, violence against journalists, unjustified arrests and disappearances of journalists, censorship, criminal defamation laws, blasphemy laws, internet freedom restrictions, and limitations on peaceful assembly and association. It also mentioned restrictive laws on the operation of non-governmental and civil society organizations, as well as restrictions on religious freedom and freedom of movement.
The report additionally raised issues of government corruption, restrictions on human rights organizations, gender-based violence, and crimes targeting religious, racial, and ethnic minorities. It noted the contribution of militant organizations and non-state actors to a culture of lawlessness, with instances of violence, abuse, social, and religious intolerance.
The executive summary concluded by highlighting terrorist and cross-border militant attacks that caused numerous casualties, noting continued significant campaigns against militant and terrorist groups by military, police, and law enforcement agencies.
