Lahore, April 26: While commenting on the Supreme Court verdict in the contempt case against the Prime Minister, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called for an end to confrontation between the state organs. In a statement issued today the commission said:

“While it is gratifying to note that the Supreme Court held its hand while sentencing Prime Minister Gilani, nobody can be happy that matters came to the point that the head of an elected government was convicted of and sentenced for contempt of court and that the court could not avoid making its decision controversial. That the situation resulted from the maximal and rigid positions taken by the two essential pillars of the state – the executive and the judiciary – can only be regretted. The executive earned no credit by apparently defying the apex court’s orders, which must be accepted even when they do not seem to be correct or sound, and only time will tell what cause has been promoted by the judiciary by belabouring the executive, out of the hundreds of issues on which it is liable to be chastised, on the issue of its own contempt. ‘The tendency to treat what is legally permissible as mandatory needs to be reviewed and greater reliance placed on the principle that all institutions must work not only within their constitutional limits but also adopt policies and postures that strengthen each other. Unfortunately the matter between the state institutions does not look like ending soon. It is hardly necessary to point out that Pakistan needs both justice and democracy in ample measure and that justice without democracy will be as inadequate a dispensation as democracy without justice. The people who have been kept on tenterhooks for week after week only wish to see the end of a confrontation that is looking more and more ungainly. They must not be disappointed.

 (Zohra Yusuf)
Chairperson

The Commission said in a statement: “HRCP is alarmed by the continuing sectarian bloodshed in Pakistan, particularly in Quetta and Gilgit Baltistan. The killings demonstrate a disturbing pattern and appear to be part of a well-planned sequence. It has been stated that miscreants from Afghanistan have been involved. That may be one problem but it certainly is not the only one. The mindless bloodshed that we witness day in and day out is rooted in religious intolerance cultivated by the state. Politics in the name of religion has substantially worsened what was already an appalling situation. It is alarming that no one responsible for these killings has been nabbed in years. The people are paying the price of indifference with their lives. Rather than wasting time on addressing mere symptoms,the root cause of the problem must be identified and addressed. Instead of living in denial, we must now identify the policies that strengthen extremism and promote faith-based hatred in society. These constitute the single biggest threat to Pakistan.

In these perilous times, all those who believe in people’s rights, human dignity and Pakistan’s future must not remain silent. Otherwise the consequences for the country will be unimaginably disastrous. It is time for the government, all democratic-minded political parties and conscious citizens to join hands to think of a way out of this brutal vortex in order to rescue the state that has been held to ransom by extremism and obscurantism.”

Zohra Yusuf

Chairperson

 A statement approved by the HRCP annual general meeting said on Sunday: “The country is passing through a critical phase where the democratic experiment is on trial and it is imperative that the political process is respected and reinforced. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan considers it important that the process of improving the constitution continues until all accretions of dictatorship are thrown out and the chapter on fundamental rights is further reinforced. In HRCP’s view a four-year term for parliament may also be considered so as to enable the people to exercise their democratic rights more frequently and to hold the government accountable. It will also create space for the emergence of fresh leadership. Now is the time to improve vigilance in guarding against any form of extra-democratic intervention in the forthcoming general elections, by the military, by extremists, or through any special judicial process. The people’s anxieties on that count must be given due weight and urgently addressed.

HRCP is acutely concerned over escalations in religious and sectarian violence and demands that the government launch and sustain a robust effort by civilian and military authorities to adequately respond to the growing menace, especially the oppression of the Ahmedis, the killing of the Shias, and the kidnapping for ransom and forced conversion of the Hindus. At least part of the focus must be on stemming intolerance in society. It is hard to find a silver lining in Balochistan where victims of enforced disappearance remain missing or their dead bodies are increasingly discovered. At least 173 bodies were found in 2011. Unless political means are used to address an essentially political problem, things are bound to get worse. Impunity for the security agencies must be ended, law and order improved and the explosion in the incidents of kidnapping for ransom brought under control. In the final analysis the people of Balochistan must have a decisive say in their affairs. HRCP demands that the government pay immediate attention to early warning signs of serious problems and unrest in Gilgit Baltistan and urges action to address people’s political and socio-economic concerns and put an end to sectarian violence. There has been no improvement in the situation in Karachi and nothing has been done to prevent the regular cycles of violence.

A new wave of targeting political activists in Sindh through abduction and murder has added to the alarm of the people. It is a disgrace that nearly a decade after the menace of enforced disappearance raised its ugly head, not a single person has been held to account for involvement in this travesty. The government must immediately acknowledge all such detentions, release the people and put in place means to ensure that disappearances become a thing of the past. It is high time to introduce a compensation regime for victims of crime by the state. A considerable number of people are known to be in military detention following the security forces’ operations against the militants. Due process must be ensured for these people too. The consensus on the need to introduce legislation to regulate the working of the intelligence agencies must be respected. Threats to human rights defenders have continued unchallenged and three HRCP activists have been killed in 2011 alone. The state must ensure protection for those defending others’ rights and provide an environment conducive for them to work without threats to their lives. The HRCP general body condemns the degree of freedom allowed to certain groups to circulate malicious material against individuals including Asma Jahangir. Such acts must be investigated seriously and the perpetrators brought to justice. The troubles of the internally displaced persons (IDPs) do not appear to be a priority for the government any more. That is unfortunate as the challenges of the displaced persons and HRCP’s concerns at their problems have grown in recent months. The shelter and livelihood concerns of those who have returned after displacement have not been adequately addressed and there is substantial room for improvement in consultation with the affected people. The health and education needs of the displaced children must be given much more priority than they have received so far. The number of the Pakistanis, many of them irregular migrants, who are detained abroad runs into thousands. Their plight has gone unnoticed for long and deserves attention. Efforts must be made to ensure their right to due process and to return home. The people are gravely concerned over the epidemic of kidnappings for ransom and a general breakdown of law and order all over Pakistan. Crime has grown in cities and rural areas alike and socio-economic reasons, including financial deprivation, have also played a role. Increased militant activity in the last few months has also added to these concerns.

The people feel vulnerable and at the mercy of criminals and militants. Weaponisation of society, violence in educational institutions of higher learning and murders in the name of honour continue. The HRCP general body reminds the government of its responsibility to protect the rights of the people beginning with their right to life. HRCP notes with disappointment that the recent amendments to the Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) have brought virtually no change to the system of governance. Urgent changes must be made to the law to ensure proper reform and due process. Collective punishment, punitive demolition of houses and all forms of arbitrary detention must be made illegal. The vacuum that exists in the enforcement of human rights in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas is indefensible and the creation of a mechanism for enforcement of human rights in the region cannot be delayed. HRCP expresses its grave concern over challenges to freedom of expression and the reported plans to censor the media and the Internet. Media, civil society and the people in general must be consulted before any changes are considered in the law. The media should do more to counter radicalization and intolerance. It is a scandal that the misuse of blasphemy laws and the official apathy and appeasement of extremists have continued. The government must abide by its promises to protect the people from vigilantes claiming to act under the banner of religion. HRCP welcomes the recently adopted pro-women rights laws and will keenly monitor how they are implemented. It also welcomes the SMS service provided by the Election Commission for verification of voters’ details and hopes that this would help ensure error-free electoral rolls.”

Kamran Arif
Co-chairperson

Lahore, March 13: On the occasion of the international day of action against Internet censorship, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) and its member organisation, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), have expressed deep concern over an attempt by the Ministry of Information Technology in Pakistan to further restrict freedom of expression, creativity and peaceful thought on the Internet, by projecting an extensive filtering system that will, if implemented, allow authorities to block up to 50 million “undesirable” URLs at the national level.

The National ICT R&D Fund of the Ministry of Information Technology released in February a call inviting academia/research institutions, companies, organizations to submit, by 16 March 2012, a proposal for the set-up of a filtering system. The call claims that Internet access in Pakistan is mostly unrestricted and unfiltered, so that Internet Service Providers (ISPs) and backbone providers in the country need a high-performance system to block millions of URLs containing “undesirable” content as notified by the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA).

“Censorship is already very tight in Pakistan; 13,000 websites considered guilty of publishing adult and blasphemous content have already been blocked. On 14 November 2011, authorities requested mobile operators to censor the content of SMS and ban 1,600 words and expressions. Over the last summer, operators received the order to submit lists of Internet users trying to escape censorship, which corresponds to a system of surveillance”, said Zohra Yusuf, HRCP chairperson.

In his annual report to the UN General Assembly in 2011, the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue, stressed that “as a general rule, there should be as little restriction as possible to the flow of information on the Internet, except under a few, very exceptional and limited circumstances prescribed by international law for the protection of other human rights”.

The Special Rapporteur also recommended that if restrictions are imposed, States must “provide full details regarding the necessity and justification for blocking a particular website, and determination of what content should be blocked should be undertaken by a competent judicial authority or a body which is independent of any political, commercial, or other unwarranted influences to ensure that blocking is not used as a means of censorship”.

“International law imposes a high threshold over the types of expression that could be legitimately restricted, such as incitement to racial hatred or child pornography, but restrictions on expressions and opinions on the mere ground that they are critical of the government or objectionable to prevailing social norms are not compatible with Pakistan’s obligation under international law to protect freedom of expression,” said Souhayr Belhassen, FIDH president.

FIDH and HRCP request the government of Pakistan to put on hold the set-up of the filtering system and ensure that the measure does not end up institutionalizing Internet censorship and surveillance and is consistent with Pakistan’s obligation to protect the freedom of expression.

Civil society and human rights groups should be consulted in an inclusive manner and their recommendations duly included in the project’s terms of reference.

The decision on what content should be blocked must not be left to the whims of bureaucrats. An independent judicial body should determine the necessity and justification for blocking a particular website to prevent arbitrary restrictions. Forums for appeal against the decisions of such a body should also be provided.

Zohra Yusuf
HRCP chairperson

Lahore, February 27: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed shock and alarm at the deviations from normal sensible behaviour that were witnessed during by-elections held in ten constituencies on Sunday.

A statement issued by HRCP on Monday said: “The events that took place during the by-elections have pointed to the dangers that can haunt us come the general election. These include preventing women from voting under agreement or otherwise, violence upon polling staff, unrestricted display of firearms and firing around polling booths and employment of police personnel for interference in legitimate balloting. All these events reported during this limited exercise must be thoroughly probed and no quarters given to any offender party, otherwise the dream of free and fair elections would forever remain elusive. The remedy lies not only with the Election Commission—although it has the first responsibility in the presence of abundant evidence of the infractions—but also with the government and the political parties and above all with the people who have to demonstrate responsibility and commitment to the democratic principle rather than to petty interests or clan loyalty.”

Zohra Yusuf
Chairperson

A statement issued by the Commission on Thursday said: “HRCP notes with alarm that the services of two representatives of Sindh University Teachers’ Association, Dr. Arfana Mallah and Dr. Azhar Ali Shah, have been terminated and show-cause notices issued to other teachers. The university had only reopened a few days ago on the assurance of the Sindh Governor that the vice-chancellor of Sindh University, who is past the age of retirement, would be replaced in accordance with the demands of the teachers.

“HRCP also has serious reservations over the authorities’ apathetic approach towards acknowledging and addressing teachers’ concerns. It defies reason why the teachers must protests for weeks upon weeks before their concerns register on the official radar. The teachers have protested long and in a peaceful manner for demands that are not unreasonable: a judicial probe into the assassination of Professor Bashir, withdrawal of police and Rangers from the campus, restoration of student unions and removal of the vice chancellor.

“It is regrettable that Sindh University and most other universities in the province are headed by academics who have crossed the retirement age. In a recent meeting with the HRCP vice-chairperson for Sindh and members of HRCP Council, the Sindh Governor had agreed to look into the issues concerning the Sindh University. HRCP calls upon the Governor, in his capacity as chancellor of Sindh University, to rescind the decisions regarding the dismissal and issuance of show-cause notices to teachers and take effective steps to fulfil the government’s obligation to ensure an atmosphere free from intimidation and conducive for academic progress at the university.”

 Zohra Yusuf

Chairperson

In a statement on Wednesday, the Commission said: “Our heart goes out to the families of the poor workers killed in the collapse of a so-called pharmaceutical laboratory building in Lahore on Monday. The disaster has exposed the utter non-existence of any regulatory system, which is as horrific as it is incredible. We now learn that the factory was operating without a licence and in a residential area, that most of the workers were women and very young children employed in clearly exploitative conditions, that the establishment had not been assessed for environmental impact and the premises had not been inspected because the provincial government have abolished labour inspectors’ visits to factories since 2002. The banning of labour inspection is a travesty that amounts to the government’s acquiescence into industrialists’ greedy operations above all else. How such an indefensible policy continues to prevail says something about the persuasive power of big business.

“If such appalling exploitation and illegalities go on unnoticed and unchecked in the country’s second largest city, it should not be too difficult for anyone, including the rulers, to imagine how bad things must be in places that are not quite so close to the seat of government or are not as well covered by the media. Those in power must realise that the people have entirely reasonable and exceedingly diminishing expectations of the government safeguarding their interest. They must preempt such tragedies rather than reacting with posthumous compensation packages and rhetoric. There is plenty of blame to go around and fixing such a broken system would take some doing. For the workers at the factory in Lahore it is too late but for the sake of countless others who continue to work in similar and worse conditions, it is hoped and demanded that the government shows some imagination and spine to put a stop to the policies that make a mockery of the people’s rights and precipitate such disasters.”

Zohra Yusuf
Chairperson

The Commission said in a statement: “HRCP regrets very much the deaths and injuries among demonstrators in Sibi when FC personnel opened fire on them. Media reports suggest that around 300 people had blocked the National Highway to protest the killings and had prevented an FC convoy from passing through.

“Such use of force plays into the hands of those who want the situation to aggravate in the province, if further aggravation is possible. HRCP reiterates the people’s right to peaceful protest and emphasises that the authorities must exhaust all possible options before resorting to the use of lethal force and only do that to prevent violence and bloodshed that cannot be prevented otherwise. Furthermore, in view of the charged environment in the province these things must not be seen as mere law and order issues. HRCP welcomes the government’s decision to hold a judicial probe and very much hopes that unlike earlier probes the findings of this one would be made public.”

 Zohra Yusuf
Chairperson