Human rights situation in Pak 'greatly worrisome', no religious freedom for minorities: Report

Pakistan's human rights record in 2019 was "greatly worrisome" with systematic curbs on political dissent and chokehold on press freedom, the country's human rights commission said in its annual report, warning that the ongoing coronavirus pandemic will worsen the condition of the most vulnerable, including the religious minorities.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in the report released on Thursday also pointed that the religious minorities remained unable to enjoy the freedom of religion or belief guaranteed to them under the Constitution.

"For many communities, this has meant the desecration of their sites of worship, the forced conversion of young women, and constant discrimination in access to employment," said the report State of Human Rights in 2019'.

The HRCP said that widespread social and economic marginalisation have left the weakest segments of society invisible and unheard. HRCP's honourary spokesperson I A Rehman during the release of the report termed Pakistan's human rights record in 2019 "greatly worrisome", adding that the ongoing global pandemic "is likely to cast a long shadow on prospects for human rights."
Lamenting that Pakistan has failed to protect its most vulnerable, the HRCP said "reports of child labourers being sexually abused in mines surfaced in Balochistan, while news of young children being raped, murdered and dumped has become frighteningly common."