Corporate report

Pakistan - Country of Concern

Updated 21 January 2015

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

In 2013, there were further concerns about the breadth and severity of human rights violations and abuses in Pakistan. In June 2013, a newly-elected government inherited challenges across a number of fronts, including a deteriorating security environment, an energy crisis, and frequent terrorist attacks across the country. It remains unclear how far legislation and international commitments agreed by the previous government will be progressed. The new national human rights commission, ratified by the National Assembly in 2012, has still not been set up, nor have recommendations to prevent violence against religious minorities, agreed with the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) during Pakistan’s Universal Periodic Review (UPR), been implemented. In June, the new government merged the Ministry of Human Rights with the Ministry of Law and Justice, a move opposed by local NGOs and human rights groups.

With our EU partners, we lobbied the new government to continue the moratorium on the death penalty, and no executions were carried out in 2013. In December, the EU granted Pakistan duty-free access to EU markets under the Generalised System of Preferences Plus trade scheme. To retain this status, Pakistan will need to demonstrate progress in implementing 27 international conventions on human rights, good governance, and labour and environmental standards. Pakistan remains near the bottom on a number of crucial indicators including the UN Human Development Index, and there is an urgent need to address Pakistan’s wide-ranging human rights issues.

In last year’s report, we identified several human rights objectives for Pakistan in 2013: freedom of expression and freedom of religion or belief, implementation of international treaties, democracy and elections, promotion of the rule of law, child and maternal health, and women’s rights. Without concerted efforts to tackle some of these objectives, there is a risk in 2014 of a further deterioration in human rights standards in Pakistan. The UK will continue to urge the government of Pakistan to guarantee fully the human rights of all of its citizens, as set out in the Constitution of Pakistan, and in accordance with international standards. In November 2013, Senior Minister of State, Baroness Warsi, called for religious freedom to be made a priority that should be tackled at international level. We will continue to work with our international partners to ensure this issue is regularly raised at all levels. Respecting human rights is an underlying principle governing the aid the UK gives to Pakistan, and we will also continue to lobby the Pakistani government to commit formally to maintaining the death penalty moratorium and to move towards abolition of capital punishment.

The recent upsurge in violent extremist attacks, including on military targets, resultant military reprisals, and possible military operations in Pakistan’s tribal areas to tackle militants, is likely to result in continued violence and thus human rights violations and abuses, with a potential increase in the numbers of internally displaced people.

Through our aid programme the UK continues to work with government, NGOs and international development partners to influence policy, leverage Pakistani resources, and strengthen state accountability to bring basic services and entitlements to poor and excluded people. This includes: education and health programmes, particularly focused on women and girls; a cash transfer programme to help support the basic needs of the very poorest; a rehabilitation and reconstruction programme which is helping to deliver basic infrastructure and longer-term reforms in regions affected by conflict; jobs and skills training programmes; work to improve access to security and justice services; work to strengthen the state-citizen relationship through support to local and national elections; and a grassroots voice and accountability programme.

Elections

2013 was a historic year in Pakistan’s democratic development. Federal and provincial elections held in May resulted in the first ever democratic transfer of power from one civilian government completing its full term in office to a new civilian government. Despite an often violent election campaign, with over 130 people killed, the elections were among the most credible in Pakistan’s history, with an improved electoral register and the highest ever number of women and first-time voters. We supported the work of Pakistan’s Electoral Commission during the elections, and worked with our EU and Commonwealth partners to provide election monitoring teams. In June, the Prime Minister was the first foreign head of government to visit Pakistan since the new government took office, and congratulated its people and institutions on the steps taken towards a strong, stable democracy.

The UK has also been working to enable more people to vote than ever before, especially women and minorities. The Department for International Development (DFID) supported citizens’ groups to hold elected representatives and public institutions to account, and worked with political parties to be better organised and more responsive to citizens’ needs. DFID also worked with the Election Commission of Pakistan to improve the credibility of the electoral process, including increased participation of women both as voters and as candidates.

In order to protect the credibility of these elections it is vital that allegations of malpractice are thoroughly investigated. At the time of writing, election tribunals set up for this purpose had still not adjudicated on around 400 cases of alleged poll-rigging, including incidents where women were not allowed to vote in several constituencies. In 2013, local elections were announced for the first time since 2008-09, but by December only one province out of four, Balochistan, had completed these. We continue to press the authorities to hold local elections in line with their own constitution, and to implement the EU Election Observer Mission’s recommendations.

Freedom of expression and assembly

Despite a diverse and lively media and active civil society, Pakistan remains one of the most dangerous places for journalists to work. Reporters Without Borders rated Pakistan 159 out of 179 countries (down eight places) in its 2013 World Press Freedom Index. In 2013, at least six journalists were killed, whilst covering the May elections or caught up in suicide bombings. The mutilated body of a Baloch journalist missing since March was found in August in Karachi. Pakistani journalists complain of harassment by the security forces if they report on Balochistan and other sensitive areas, and increasing threats by the Pakistan Taliban if they are critical of their activities. Foreign journalists can also be targeted. In May, on the eve of national elections, the Islamabad bureau chief of The New York Times was expelled from the country for “undesirable activities”. The New York Times coverage of militancy and Balochistan was reported to have displeased the army. Restrictions remain on social media. The government block of YouTube has remained in place since September 2012. We continue to call on Pakistan to allow space for free media to operate in.

Access to justice and the rule of law

Pakistan still needs to address issues surrounding the rule of law. Poor access, corruption, and low standards of integrity plague law enforcement throughout the country. Human rights violators and abusers are further emboldened when they are able to act with impunity. Mistreatment of people held in police custody continues to be reported, and there is little evidence of the authorities taking these allegations seriously.

The promulgation of the Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO) in October 2013 was of particular concern. The PPO empowers police and security agencies to arrest anybody on the basis of “credible” information that he/she is involved in anti-state activities, terrorism and treason. Several of its provisions contravene international human rights standards, for example by allowing security forces to conceal the location of detained persons, and their handing over to security forces without legal oversight. We regularly make our concerns about the PPO known to the government of Pakistan

In 2013, our project work attempted to address some of these issues. In line with the Foreign Secretary’s speech on Countering Terrorism Overseas, through our CAPRI programme, the UK is working with the Pakistani police, prosecutors and judiciary to enhance their capacity for investigating, prosecuting and sentencing terrorist suspects in line with international human rights law and standards. Our assistance is specifically designed to improve human rights standards and strengthen the rule of law.

At the federal level, activities focus on building political support for counter-terrorism (CT) prosecution reform, and efforts to improve the legal framework for CT in Pakistan to ensure that law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges have the tools they need to tackle terrorism in a human rights compliant manner. We are also working in the Punjab to deliver targeted interventions designed to improve the capacity of the key elements of the CT criminal justice system. The activities are focused on developing and building capacity in key CT criminal justice institutions – primarily the police and Anti-Terrorism Court prosecutors. Our training for these institutions under CAPRI has included a module on human rights.

Longer term, the UK is working at a provincial level in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to improve security and access to justice through strengthening civilian security (police, prosecution and correctional services) and the formal and informal justice sectors. Our programme aims to make these institutions more human rights compliant and more accountable and responsive to citizens, particularly women.

Death penalty

In 2012, one of the UK’s recommendations to Pakistan during its UPR at the UNHRC was to make permanent the death penalty moratorium, introduced by the previous government. The UK opposes the death penalty as a matter of principle in all circumstances. The Prime Minister raised this issue with the government of Pakistan during his visit in June. We will continue to urge the Pakistani authorities not to return to regular executions. Although no executions were carried out during 2013, death sentences continued to be handed out, and there are currently more than 8,300 prisoners on death row.

Conflict and protection of civilians

Throughout 2013, high rates of terrorist and sectarian violence continued, in particular in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas, Karachi, Peshawar, Quetta and wider Balochistan. State security forces, supporters of political parties, sectarian groups, and wider communities are the most frequent targets. The perpetrators are rarely caught and brought to justice. Over 200 people were killed in attacks on the mainly Shia Hazara community in Balochistan. Clashes between Sunni and Shias on 15 November in Rawalpindi resulted in ten deaths, and a curfew was enforced.

Human rights activists, the media, minorities and NGO health workers were increasingly targeted. More than 20 polio vaccination and health workers were killed in terrorist attacks opposing “western” health projects.

The ongoing conflict between security forces and militants in Pakistan raises human rights concerns, particularly over the reported conduct of the Pakistani forces. There are regular allegations of human rights violations in Balochistan, particularly reports of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. We welcomed the judiciary’s attempts to hold the security forces to account. In July, Pakistan’s Attorney General admitted that 500 “disappeared” persons are in security agency custody. In August, the International Commission of Jurists and Human Rights Watch called on the Pakistani government to affirm its commitment to end enforced disappearances by ratifying the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance. Since November, “The Voice of the Missing Baloch” group has been marching from Quetta to Islamabad to protest the disappearances.

We regularly raise the need to maintain human rights and the effective rule of law in fighting terrorism with senior military and government figures. For example, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, most recently raised this issue with Minister of Interior Nisar during her visit in September. Human rights will continue to be a core consideration in any security and justice sector assistance we give to the Pakistani authorities.

Freedom of religion or belief

2013 saw violent and often unprecedented attacks continue against Muslims and non-Muslims. Shia Muslims and in particular Hazaras were targeted by extremists; according to the Pakistan Institute for Peace Studies there were approximately 1,200 sectarian killings throughout Pakistan in 2013. An estimated 400 Shias were killed in 2013 across Pakistan in what Human Rights Watch in November termed “a bloodbath”. In September, Baroness Warsi met with representatives of the UK Hazara community, and subsequently raised their concerns at senior level in Pakistan. In the same month, more than 80 Christians were killed in a double suicide bombing at a church in Peshawar. Baroness Warsi immediately condemned the attacks. Christian, Hindu, Ahmadia, Shia and minority ethnic communities report intimidation and violence, kidnap, forced conversion and marriage, and other forms of targeted persecution and discrimination.  Muslims and non-Muslims continued to be charged under the country’s controversial blasphemy law. In September 2013, the Council of Islamic Ideology debated amending the blasphemy laws to impose a stricter punishment on those who misuse the laws, but no agreement was reached. In December, the Federal Shariat Court issued orders to remove the provision of life imprisonment from the blasphemy law, stating that only death is punishment for blasphemy, and have asked the government to confirm when this law would be implemented.

In 2013, at least 16 people were on death row for blasphemy, and another 20 are serving life sentences. One of the most high-profile cases, Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death for blasphemy in 2010, remains in prison. Foreign & Commonwealth Office ministers and officials in our High Commission have raised her case and others during the year, but there has been little progress reported.

Last year we reported on the case of Rimisha Masih, a young girl arrested for blasphemy. Although the case against her was dismissed by the Supreme Court, Rimisha Masih continued to face threats and, in the summer, she was granted asylum in Canada. In August, the religious cleric accused of damaging a Quran to falsify evidence in Rimsha Masih’s case was acquitted of all charges when the original witnesses withdrew their statements. We will continue to raise our concerns with the Pakistani authorities where these laws have been misused.

Women’s rights

In 2013, Pakistan further slipped from 115 to 123 (out of 148) in the UN Gender Inequality Index, and there is little evidence to suggest this trend is being reversed. This year, civil society organisations expressed concern at the increasing violence against women in Pakistani society, with reported incidents of so-called “honour” killing, rape, acid burning, domestic violence and assaults, continuing to rise. Women were also targeted by militants. In one incident in June 2013, at least 14 female students were killed and another 27 injured when their bus was attacked in Quetta.

UK aid targeted gender rights in 2013, particularly in the fields of education, health and empowering girls and women. DFID worked with public sector and low-cost private schools to support two million more girls in primary and lower secondary schools. In Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provinces, marginalised girls were provided with stipends to increase their participation and retention in secondary education. With regard to health, our priority is to work with provincial governments and non-state providers to improve nutrition to pregnant women, and increase the uptake of reproductive health and family planning services. UK aid also supported the Acid Survivors Foundation (ASF), which helps survivors of acid attacks and aims to raise awareness to eliminate acid violence in the country. We also supported the development and implementation of provincial legislation to protect women and strengthen their rights.

The UK’s support to the government of Pakistan’s Benazir Income Support Programme provides women in the poorest families with regular cash payments. We also encouraged greater economic participation by women through supporting training in new skills and helping women access financial services such as micro-loans. In addition, the UK worked to empower poor communities, women and minority groups, by strengthening their political voice, and enhancing citizen and community capacity to engage directly with state service providers, to resolve disputes peacefully and inclusively.

This publication is part of the 2013 Human Rights and Democracy Report.

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