According to the organization Sahil, more than 10 cases of child sexual abuse are reported daily across Pakistan. Hundreds have been arrested over blasphemy allegations, most of them members of religious minorities. On July 9, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) blocked three television news channels—Capital TV, 24 News HD, and Abbtakk News Network—after they broadcast speeches of opposition leaders. In May, Pakistan and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) agreed on a US$6 billion bailout package for Pakistan. There was a lack of government accountability, and abuses often went unpunished, In June, the murder of 19-year-old Mahwish Arshad in Faisalabad district, Punjab, for refusing a marriage proposal gained national attention. Child sexual abuse remains common. After Qandeel’s murder, the parliament passed a law closing the pardon loophole  used by families to protect perpetrators. Pakistani law mandates capital punishment for 28 offenses, including murder, rape, treason, certain acts of terrorism, and blasphemy. Most of those facing blasphemy allegations are members of religious minorities. The Taliban and affiliated armed groups continued to attack schools and use children in suicide bombings in 2018. On April 18, unidentified assailants forced 14 passengers to disembark from a passenger bus on the Makran Coastal Highway and then executed them. On June 16, Muhammad Bilal Khan, a freelance journalist who ran a popular YouTube channel covering politics, was stabbed to death in Islamabad. The police officials involved were arrested and face murder charges. The death penalty is mandatory for blasphemy, and 40 people remained on death row at time of writing. Human Rights Watch received several credible reports of intimidation, harassment, and surveillance of various NGOs by government authorities. Pakistan failed to enact a law criminalizing torture despite Pakistan’s obligation to do so under the Convention against Torture. GEO TV, a private television channel,  was forced off the air or had its audience’s access restricted as punishment for editorials criticizing the government. The Pakistani government rejected a large number of key recommendations that states made to it during the UPR. Climate change and its impact on Pakistan featured more prominently in public discourse. Punjab police ordered an inquiry. In response to such threats and attacks, journalists increasingly practice self-censorship. At least 17 people remain on death row in Pakistan after being convicted under the draconian blasphemy law, and hundreds await trial. Human Rights Watch defends the rights of people in 90 countries worldwide, spotlighting abuses and bringing perpetrators to justice, Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in the US under EIN: 13-2875808, Freedom of Expression and Attacks on Civil Society, Terrorism, Counterterrorism, and Law Enforcement Abuses, As China’s Grip Tightens, Global Institutions Gasp, You Should Be Worrying about the Woman Shortage, burned down at least 12 schools in Diamer, 11 cases of child sexual abuse are reported daily across Pakistan, Zainab Ansari was among the dozen children to be murdered in Kasur district, Punjab in 2018, police identified a gang of child sex abusers. Human Rights Watch received several credible reports of intimidation, harassment, and surveillance of various NGOs by government authorities in 2018. At least half were girls’ schools. The Pakistani government did not amend or repeal blasphemy law provisions that provide a pretext for violence against religious minorities, as well as arbitrary arrests and prosecution. Media outlets came under pressure from authorities against criticizing the government. Human Rights Watch received several credible reports of intimidation, harassment, and surveillance of various NGOs by government authorities in 2018. Blasphemy allegations and related rhetoric from both private actors and officials increased in 2018. The vaccination campaign resumed after the government launched an awareness campaign and asked social media platforms to remove anti-vaccine content. Human Rights Watch: Pakistan - Investigate 'Disappearance' of Activist. A spate of attacks in April resulted in the government temporarily suspending the polio immunization campaign throughout the country. Human Rights Watch is one of the world’s leading independent organizations dedicated to defending and protecting human rights. In May, riots erupted in Mirpurkhas, Sindh, after a Hindu veterinary doctor was accused of  blasphemy for allegedly providing medicines wrapped in paper printed with Islamic verses. 570 likes. In May, Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman who had spent eight years on death row for blasphemy, was released and allowed to rejoin her family in Canada. HUMAN Rights WATCH Pakistan, Islamabad, Pakistan. However, strikes primarily targeting law enforcement officials and religious minorities killed hundreds of people. Human Rights Watch | 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor | New York, NY 10118-3299 USA | t 1.212.290.4700 Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in … In August, the district administration in Lahore sealed an Ahmadiyya prayer center after the local clerics objected to Ahmadis being allowed to pray openly. The Pakistani government rejected a large number of key recommendations that states made to it during the UPR. A forensic report subsequently corroborated the torture claims. However, in September 2017, it led Organisation for Islamic Cooperation member stat… In June, the European Union and Pakistan announced their 2019 Strategic Engagement plan, which includes cooperation on human rights. On May 4, the fatal shooting of Muni, a transgender woman in Mansehra district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa province, attracted national attention. Pakistan said the level of support for its candidacy reflected the confidence of the international community in its human rights credentials. The rape of a 6-year-old girl in Sukkur district, Sindh, was confirmed by a medical report on August 10. Human Rights Watch says new law, nationwide verification process threaten citizenship rights of millions of Muslims. Pakistan-based Islamist militant group Jaish-e-Mohammed claimed responsibility for the attack. ‎االسلام عليڪم اسين سڀ ملي جھلي ڪري ڪنھن به مزلوم جي مدد ڪيون انساني حق بڻجي ٿو خداجي راھ ۾ انسان جي مدد ڪيو‎ Those on death row are often from the most marginalized sections of society. Since Pakistan was elected to the Human Rights Council in 2017, it has generally failed to take a strong stance on serious human rights situations. THIS IS ORGANIZATION HELP THE NEEDFULL PEOPLES OF PAKISTAN PROVIDE THEM LEGAL HELP AND ADVOCACY CURRENT ISSUE'S They were effectively excluded from participating in the 2018 parliamentary elections: to vote, Ahmadis are required to declare they are not Muslims, which many see as a renunciation of their faith. In some cases, regulatory agencies blocked cable operators from broadcasting networks that aired critical programs. When this did not materialize, Pakistan, backed by China and many states of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, instead delivered a joint statement. In January, the rape and murder of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari in Kasur, Punjab, led to nationwide outrage and prompted the government to promise action. He was badly injured but survived. On the same day, a suicide attack claimed by ISIS in Orakzai tribal district killed at least 33 people. The court said that a person with psychosocial disabilities cannot be executed. It was the second consecutive constitutional transfer of power from one civilian government to another in Pakistan. In August, militants attacked and burned down at least 12 schools in Diamer district of Pakistan’s Gilgit-Baltistan region. In September, the new Imran Khan government appointed Atif Mian, a prominent academic belonging to the Ahmadiyya community, to join the government as economic adviser and then, almost immediately after, asked him to step down after the TLP and other Islamist groups objected to his appointment because of his religion. In August, the national assembly’s standing committee on law and justice rejected a bill proposing to fix the minimum age of marriage of girls at 18. The Pakistan Supreme Court had acquitted Aasia in October 2018, but she had remained in custody due to nationwide protests by religious groups. The government cracked down on members and supporters of political parties. BAP politician Nawabzada Siraj Raisani was killed in the attack. Gul Bukhari, a journalist in Lahore, was abducted in June by unknown assailants and released after a few hours. Human Rights Watch | 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th Floor | New York, NY 10118-3299 USA | t 1.212.290.4700 Human Rights Watch is a 501(C)(3) nonprofit registered in … However, very few cases of honor killings  were prosecuted. Historically tense relations between Pakistan and India have shown no signs of improvement, with both countries accusing each other of facilitating unrest and militancy. Early marriage remains a serious problem, with 21 percent of girls in Pakistan marrying before the age of 18, and 3 percent marrying before age 15. Over 5 million primary-school-age children are out of school, most of them girls, for reasons including lack of schools in their areas, child marriage, and gender discrimination. In April, a tailor in Taxila, Punjab, was arrested after local traders and religious leaders accused him of blasphemy. They face increasing social discrimination as militant groups and the Islamist political party Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) accuse them of “posing as Muslims.” The Pakistan penal code continues to treat “posing as Muslims” by Ahamdis as a criminal offense. On June 12, the Supreme Court upheld the convictions of Imran Ali for the rape and murder of Zainab Ansari and at least eight other girls. Pakistan and China deepened extensive economic and political ties in 2019, and work continued on the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, a project consisting of construction of roads, railways, and energy pipelines. In August, Honey, a transgender woman, was shot and killed in Manshera district, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Taliban and other militant groups targeted candidates and their supporters in the lead-up to the July election. According to the organization Sahil, an average of 11 cases of child sexual abuse are reported daily across Pakistan. Each accused the other of initiating the clash at a military checkpoint at Khar Kamar. However, in September 2017,  it led Organisation for Islamic Cooperation member states at the council in expressing concerns about the ethnic cleansing campaign against the Rohingya by the Myanmar military. Over 5 million primary school-age children in Pakistan are out of school, most of them girls. On election day on July 25, 31 people were killed in a suicide attack targeting a polling station in Quetta. According to the local group Trans Action, 479 attacks against transgender women were reported in Khyber-Pakhunkhwa province in 2018. Press release HRCP elects new council Demands that state improve its human rights record Lahore, 9 November. Amnesty International, International Commission of Jurists, Human Rights Watch issue joint statement. On November 23, gunmen attacked the Chinese consulate in Karachi, killing four people, including two police officers. In 2015, police identified a gang of child sex abusers in the same district. Suicide bombings, armed attacks, and killings by the Taliban, Al-Qaeda, and their affiliates targeted religious minorities, security personnel, and politicians, resulting in hundreds of deaths. In July, the EU deployed an election observation mission to Pakistan that later issued a report highlighting significant curtailment of freedom of expression, allegations of interference in the electoral process by the military-led establishment, and politicization of the judiciary. A number of  women and girls were trafficked to China and sold as “brides.”. The militant group Baloch Liberation Army claimed responsibility for the attack. Those on death row are often from the most marginalized sections of society. At least 511 individuals have been executed since Pakistan lifted the moratorium on death penalty in December 2014. Postive Push. Human Rights Watch Pakistan, Daraza. In August, the Punjab anti-corruption department accused police officers in Lahore of keeping suspects in a secret detention cell and torturing them. In a major development, Pakistan's parliament in May, passed a law guaranteeing basic rights for transgender citizens and outlawing discrimination by employers. Groups supporting the blasphemy law took to the streets to protest the decision of Aasia’s release, damaged public and private property, and threatened judges of the Supreme Court, government officials, and military leadership with violent reprisals. In June, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) released the first-ever report by the United Nations on human rights in Kashmir. 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The Security Council held a closed-door discussion on the issue at the request of Pakistan and the backing of China. Our researchers investigate human rights crises in some 90 countries around the world. The same day, four people were killed and at least 32 injured, when the convoy of Akram Khan Durrani, a senior political leader of Muttahida Majlis-e-Amal (MMA), was targeted in a remote-controlled blast in Bannu district, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In June 2019, Pakistan's Supreme Court halted the execution of Ghulam Abbas, a prisoner with a psychosocial disability who had spent more than 13 years on death row. Illiteracy and ignorance of their rights is the main reason for the prevailing violation of human rights in the Country. Attacks by Islamist militants resulted in fewer deaths in Pakistan in 2018 than in recent years. A climate of fear continues to impede media coverage of abuses both by government security forces and militant groups. 55 likes. While numerous cases of violence against women and girls highlighted the difficulty survivors face getting justice, authorities succeeded in enforcing some key reforms. On September 1, Saluhddin Ayubi in Rahim Yar Khan district, Punjab was arrested for robbing a cash machine and soon died in custody. They also carried out unlawful attacks targeting civilians. However, Pakistan’s penal code criminalizes same-sex sexual conduct, placing men who have sex with men and transgender women at risk of police abuse, and other violence and discrimination. Pakistani activists estimate that there are about 1,000 “honor” killings every year. A faction of the Taliban claimed responsibility, media reported. Imran Ali was executed on October 17. Human Rights Watch, New York, New York. As Ali Dayan Hasan, the Pakistan director of Human Rights Watch, explained: “Militant attacks on the Shia have occurred with increasing ferocity while the security forces have looked on helplessly. Human Rights Watch - Pakistan Reports, background briefings, testimony, press releases and commentary on the human rights situation in the country View Detail South Asia Earthquake Relief Journalists increasingly practiced self-censorship in 2018, after threats and attacks from militant groups. His family claimed Ayubi, who had a mental health condition, had been tortured to death by the police. "Pakistan’s government intensified its clampdown on the media, political opposition, and nongovernmental organizations in 2019,” the group Human Rights Watch said … Sajid Masih alleged that the police torture he endured while being held led him to attempt suicide, by jumping out of the interrogation room window. In October, Pakistan’s Supreme Court quashed the conviction and ordered the release of 47-year-old Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman from a village in Punjab province who had been on death row for eight years. The government used the “Regulation of INGOs in Pakistan” policy to impede the registration and functioning of international humanitarian and human rights groups. The TTP and other Islamist militant groups carried out violent attacks on healthcare workers involved in providing grassroots services and polio immunization. On July 10, Haroon Bilour, a senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), was killed along with at least 20 others in a suicide bombing targeting his election meeting in Peshawar, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. In several cases, government regulatory agencies blocked cable operators from broadcasting networks that had aired critical programs. The Tehrik-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Al Qaeda, and their affiliates carried out suicide bombings and other indiscriminate attacks against security personnel that caused hundreds of civilian deaths and injuries during the year. On the same night, Asad Kharal, a broadcast journalist, was assaulted and injured in Lahore. Kadafi Zaman, a Norwegian journalist, was arrested by police in July while covering a political rally and was beaten up. PAKISTAN 2 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2019 United States Department of State • Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labor of laws criminalizing consensual same-sex sexual conduct between adults; and the use of forced or compulsory child labor. At least four transgender women were killed there in 2018, and at least 57 have been killed there since 2015. According to local groups, at least 65 transgender women have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province since 2015. Scores of civilians were killed in attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, Al Qaeda, and other armed groups. On January 19, the police in Sahiwal district, Punjab killed four members of a single family including a teenage girl in an operation police claimed was targeting a militant leader. In March, the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) adopted the outcome of Pakistan’s third Universal Periodic Review (UPR), which was conducted in November 2017. Several members of the political opposition were imprisoned on what they say are politically-motivated charges, raising fair trial concerns. Human rights violations in the Balochistan province of Pakistan have drawn concern in the international community, being described by Human Rights Watch (HRW) as having reached epidemic proportions. Pakistan has more than 4,600 prisoners on death row, one of the world’s largest populations facing execution. Since Pakistan was elected to the Human Rights Council in 2017, it has generally failed to take a strong stance on serious human rights situations. In January, the European Union’s High Representative Federica Mogherini welcomed the release of Aasia Bibi, calling on Pakistani authorities to ensure her safety and that of her family. 2.7M likes. Media outlets came under pressure from authorities to avoid reporting on several issues, including criticism of government institutions and the judiciary. The law grants individuals the right to self-identify as male, female, or a blend of genders, and to have that identity registered on all official documents, including National Identification Cards, passports, driver's licenses, and education certificates. Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party won the highest number of seats in parliamentary elections in July, and Khan took office as prime minister in August. Denouncing the attack on Pakistan’s minority Ahmadi community, international human rights groups - Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ)- on Thursday urged the Imran Khan-led government to 'urgently and impartially investigate a surge in violent attacks on members of the Ahmadiyya religious community'. On July 13, in one of the most deadly suicide bombings in Pakistan’s history, at least 128 people were killed during an election rally held by the Balochistan Awami Party (BAP) in Mastung district, Balochistan. By Vatican News. Pakistan’s volatile relationship with United States, the country’s largest development and military donor, deteriorated in 2018, amid signs of mistrust. Women, religious minorities, and transgender people continued to face violence, discrimination, and persecution, with authorities often failing to provide adequate protection or hold perpetrators accountable. During counterterrorism operations, Pakistani security forces often are responsible for serious human rights violations including torture, enforced disappearances, detention without charge, and extrajudicial killings, according to Pakistan human rights defenders and defense lawyers. On May 12, after militants attacked a hotel in Gwadar, Balochistan, killing 5 people, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA) claimed responsibility. In September, following the Indian government’s decision to revoke the constitutional autonomy of  Jammu and Kashmir state, and arrest Kashmiri leaders and cut off phones and the internet, Pakistan downgraded its diplomatic relations, expelled the Indian high commissioner, and sought international intervention with a Security Council discussion. In the campaign, Khan pledged to make economic development and social justice a priority. The TTP claimed responsibility for all the attacks. The government continues to muzzle dissenting voices in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and media on the pretext of national security. On July 1, PEMRA terminated a live interview with former President Asif Ali Zardari on GEO TV shortly after it began. Zainab Ansari was among the dozen children to be murdered in Kasur district, Punjab in 2018. Violence against transgender and intersex women in Pakistan continues. Members of the Pashtun Tahhaffuz Movement (PTM) held protests demanding accountability for extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances. Pakistan has not banned the use of schools for military purposes, or endorsed the Safe Schools Declaration as recommended by the United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in 2017. Limiting Beijing’s Influence Over Accountability and Justice, Convincing “Middle Powers” to Fight Autocrats Despite High Costs, Time to Re-Energize the “Never Again” Movement, Human Judgment and Responsibility in the Age of Technology, Helping Older People Stay Connected, and at Home, Changing the Terms of Engagement with Silicon Valley. Historically tense relations between Pakistan and India deteriorated further following a February suicide bomb attack on a convoy of security vehicles in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir. On February 2nd, the Pakistan army once again used its favorite 'a pack of lies" phrase to reject the Human Right Watch (H.R.W.) In May, an estimated 1,500 farmers walked 140 km from the Indus Delta region to Thatta, Sindh, demanding that the government d… Justice Tahira Safdar was appointed as the chief justice of Balochistan High Court, becoming the first woman ever appointed chief justice of a high court in Pakistan. In July, police in Sahiwal district, Punjab, found the bodies of two transgender women who had been tortured to death. However, witness accounts suggest that the police fired indiscriminately at the family’s car. On concluding its 34th Annual General Meeting (AGM), the general body of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called on the state to improve its human rights record—in particular to protect freedom of expression and to […] Despite the many downfalls on human rights for women, there was an increase of 3.8 million women able to vote in the most recent election compared to 2013. Despite high levels of domestic violence, the parliament has failed to enact laws to prevent it and protect women." Authorities do not allow independent monitoring of trials in military courts and many defendants are denied the right to a fair trial. Durrani survived. On April 12, 20 people were killed, and 48 injured in an improvised explosive device attack in a market in Quetta, Balochistan, targeting the Hazara community. Pakistan has more than 8,000 prisoners on death row, one of the world’s largest populations facing execution. Zaman was released after three days. 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