Rights Situation Bleak In Pakistan: Report

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) painted a bleak picture of human rights in the country in its annual report issued yesterday.

Calling upon the military leader General Pervez Musharraf to restore democracy in the country the report said that every interruption of representative government had only done damage to national integration, political growth and international standing.

Top human rights activist and UN rapporteur Asma Jehangir said that the holding of local bodies election to bypass the general election was not a right step. While appreciating the devolution of power, she said the military government's plan to hold local bodies polls should not be in isolation but be a part of the general restoration of democracy.

 

The report demanded that the political leaders and activists charged with any kind of misconduct should be tried in open court, transparently and according to the normal laws of the land.

Discrimination against minorities was on the rise. The report claimed that the Hindu minority had to suffer intolerance, particularly during the tension with India.

The report recommended a crackdown on all camps imparting guerrilla training. It recommends trial of the religious complaints in the ordinary courts.

The report disclosed that 1000 women were killed in the name of honour killings with 353 incidents of Karo-Kari (honour killings) in Sindh alone.