HRCP Calls for Urgent Attention to Human Rights and Democracy Threats

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has called for immediate attention to the threats facing human rights and democracy in the country. Following its 38th annual general meeting, HRCP issued a statement opposing proposed amendments to the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act.

In its declaration, HRCP emphasized the need for the state to uphold the rule of law, reduce violence against women, children, and transgender individuals, safeguard labor rights, and ensure access to health and education. The commission expressed concern that instead of prioritizing democratic values and public rights, the state has favored centralizing power.

The HRCP urged all political parties to build consensus on protecting civilian supremacy and the federal system. Additionally, it called on the government to strengthen trade unions and seriously consider establishing fair wages for workers, especially those in marginalized sectors.

The statement also voiced opposition to the Gilgit-Baltistan Land Reforms Bill 2024, which HRCP described as an attempt to seize private, communal, and ancestral land under the guise of “development reforms.”

The commission highlighted concerns over short-term enforced disappearances, particularly their growing use against political dissenters, and renewed its call for the dismissal of the head of the inquiry commission on enforced disappearances due to incompetence.

HRCP further raised alarm over police detention of its chairperson for questioning and the filing of four cases against commission members, attributing these actions to their human rights advocacy.

Lastly, HRCP called for the immediate and unconditional release of human rights activist Idris Khattak, who has been imprisoned for five years following a military trial on what the commission described as fabricated charges.