Reports from HRCP’s election observers, who carried out spot-checks across 51 constituencies, indicate that the countrywide internet and cellular services shutdown on polling day and arbitrary changes in polling information compromised voters’ access to polling stations. This was particularly true for women with restricted mobility, persons living with disabilities, the elderly, and low-income voters. Of particular concern is the protracted delay in announcement of election results by the returning officers.

Broadly, the polling process itself remained transparent and peaceful. Polling staff were generally well-prepared and well-equipped. In almost all cases, polling agents and candidates were shown the empty ballot boxes prior to polling and the presiding officer was observed stamping and signing the back of each ballot paper before giving it to the voter. The ballot box was in everyone’s sight at all times and voters were allowed to stamp their ballot papers in secret.

However, the post-polling process was clearly unsatisfactory. In a fifth of all polling stations observed by HRCP, the presiding officer did not affix the statement of the count in a conspicuous place for public display or was not seen transmitting a photograph of the result to the returning officer and ECP. It was alleged in many instances that the returning officer’s announcement did not tally with the presiding officer’s count. Worryingly, reports of candidates, polling agents and observers being denied permission to witness the provisional consolidation of results, also surfaced.

HRCP recommends an independent audit of the 2024 elections under the supervision of a parliamentary body. Security and intelligence agencies should play no role in managing the electoral process or its outcomes. Parliament must also debate the utility of the caretaker government scheme. Seamless cellular and internet services must be available on polling day, including after polling has stopped.

The ECP must publish all Forms 45, 46, 48 and 49 in accordance with the Elections Act 2017. On receiving petitions from aggrieved political parties or candidates, the ECP should order ballot recounts in close contests and especially in cases where the number of rejected ballots exceeds the margin of victory.

The integrity of the 2024 elections was compromised, not only by lack of competence on the part of the ECP but also by constant pressure from extra-democratic quarters and questionable decisions by the caretaker government, all of which HRCP has documented in the year preceding the polls. It is now critical for all parties to collectively uphold and protect civilian supremacy through consistent, meaningful and inclusive political dialogue. Indeed, the biggest casualty of these elections has not been any one individual or political party per se, but democratic values, the rule of law and the aspirations of ordinary people.

Asad Iqbal Butt
Chairperson

Access the complete report here.

The post HRCP releases 2024 election report, demands independent audit appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

HRCP insists that the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) announce an election schedule promptly such that polls are held as close as possible to the stipulated 90-day period. The delimitation of constituencies must also be completed quickly and efficiently and under no circumstances used as an excuse to delay the elections any further. Moreover, HRCP is concerned by the scope for manipulating the electoral process by institutions such as NADRA and urges the ECP to guard against this possibility.

HRCP is greatly alarmed by the increasingly polarised environment, in which religious and sectarian divisions are being exacerbated reportedly to carve out artificial political space for far right parties such as the TLP. The divisive and violent tactics used by such parties to build their political identities—particularly at the expense of religious minorities and sects—is eating into organic political and civic spaces. The continuing terrorist violence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has also made political parties more apprehensive about campaigning in the province—a pattern we have witnessed before and must not go through again.

Apart from ensuring that free, fair and credible elections take place, the test of the current caretaker government is to see not only whether it will protect and respect people’s right to protest peacefully, but also whether it will respond to the issues that ordinary citizens are mobilising around.

Hina Jilani
Chairperson

The post Uncertainty around elections must end immediately appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Soon after polling began on 8 February, people realized that an internet and cellular services shutdown had occurred across the country; it remained in place until the following morning. This affected not only the polling process, but also how it was reported by the media. With last-minute changes in voters’ polling stations in many cases, people found it difficult to obtain the necessary information from the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP)’s helpline. Some chose not to vote. The polling staff’s work was hampered, especially when trying to upload poll results. Observers found it difficult to share their reports in time.

The post A Tainted Election Pakistan at the polls appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

It would not be incorrect to say that unelected forces in Pakistan consider the electoral sys- tem as a mere tool to fulfill the claims of procedural democracy, which effectively does little to change the balance of power in favour of elected people.

The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has remained committed to the ideals of constitutionalism, democratic governance and the rule of law for decades. Electoral reforms to bring about free and fair elections are hence crucial in fulfilling these ideals. While ac- knowledging that elections everywhere are in need of constant reform, HRCP feels it impera- tive to address serious gaps in Pakistan’s electoral system, not only with regards to the obvious credibility crisis but also pertaining to how the principle of equal citizenship is com- promised in so many ways. It begins with the disenfranchisement of marginalised groups through the non-issuance of national identity cards, leading to an even wider gender gap for women and transgender persons, and continuing with the effective non-representation of minorities in all the electoral schemes devised for them so far. The whole system is further rigged in favour of the elite who, when elected, seem interested in amassing more wealth than in addressing the problems of their constituents.

Certain legalities related to the caretaker governments, independent candidates joining po- litical parties soon after being elected in their independent capacity, discriminatory constitu- tional clauses like Articles 62 and 63, and other provisions have also seriously affected the fairness of elections.

Add to these certain technological developments, such as internet voting for overseas Pak- istanis and the use of electronic voting machines, that have served more as controversies for political gains than subjects of serious research made available to the general public.

Like everywhere else, electoral reforms in Pakistan are a work in progress. At this crucial juncture in our political history, HRCP would like to initiate a dialogue on reforms through a comprehensive discussion paper, which is by no means the final word on the matter but an invitation to chart a path forward. We have been fortunate to be assisted in this task by one of the most credible researchers on the subject, senior political analyst Tahir Mehdi. It is our hope that this paper is carefully considered by all stakeholders in the spirit that it has been prepared, and leads to decisions to achieve free and fair elections that upholds the ideal of equal citizenship as enshrined in the Constitution.

The post Making Elections Credible appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

– Assess the implications of the political status of GB for the local population.

– Determine the extent and impact of curbs on freedom of movement, expression, association, and assembly in the area.

– Establish facts concerning the misuse of anti-terrorism laws—especially under Schedule IV of the Anti-Terrorism Act 1997—against human rights defenders and political activists.

– Assess people’s access to digital rights in GB.

– Examine the factors responsible for the reported rise in sectarian tension. – Identify why the number of blasphemy cases registered in GB had surged in recent months.

– Investigate the forced acquisition of community-owned lands by the state for various purposes—including projects under the purview of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC)—and assess the impact of this acquisition on local populations facing displacement.

– Investigate the impact of climate change in GB, with a focus on climate justice.

The team visited the towns and districts of Skardu, Gilgit, Shigar, Sost, Aliabad, Gulmit, and Ghizer, holding focus group discussions, consultations and key informant interviews in each location. The mission concluded with a press conference held in Gilgit on 8 June 2022. During its five-day visit, the mission met representatives of political parties, civil society organisations, women’s rights activists, the legal fraternity, religious groups, the trader 2 community, labour leaders, student leaders, victims of natural disasters and armed conflict, and government functionaries. This report draws primarily on respondents’ oral testimonies and key informants’ analysis of the human rights situation.

Given the complexity and diversity of the issues affecting the area, HRCP made every effort to hold extensive deliberations to document stakeholders’ perspectives, the challenges they faced, and the solutions they presented. HRCP is grateful to all those respondents who took the time to speak to the team (including many who travelled from other parts of the area to meet the mission) or helped obtain information on the human rights situation in GB.

The post Gilgit-Baltistan: The long wait for a constitutional identity appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Where the state should be focusing on efforts to uphold the rule of law, reduce violence against women, children and transgender persons, protect the rights of workers and peasants, and fulfil people’s right to health and education, it has instead prioritized its own authority at the expense of democratic norms and people’s fundamental rights. HRCP calls on all political parties to reach a consensus on civilian autonomy and guarding federalism.

The government must focus on strengthening trade unions and seriously consider instituting a living wage, especially for vulnerable workers. HRCP also believes that the provision of healthcare and education is the duty of the state. Student unions must be restored and special attention paid to the plight of incarcerated fisherfolk, stateless persons and rising suicides triggered by poverty, particularly in Thar. The contentious provincial labour codes must be revisited in consultation with trade unions.

HRCP believes that the climate emergency is now an existential crisis for the country. The most pressing issues are the lethal levels of air pollution in Punjab, posing serious risks to health, and the immediate threat of water scarcity, especially in lower riparian Sindh, where the construction of canals on the Indus under the Green Pakistan Initiative has raised objections from small farmers and peasants.

We strongly oppose the Gilgit-Baltistan Land Reforms Bill 2024, which seeks to centralize control over private, communal and ancestral land in the guise of ‘reforms’ for development. This appropriation of land by powerful vested interests will further marginalize people and stoke unrest. The state must give Gilgit-Baltistan its due constitutional rights as demanded by its residents.

HRCP deplores the increasing use of short-term enforced disappearances, including against the political opposition, and calls once again for the head of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances to be removed for sheer incompetence.

The conduct of the state has been marked by violence with impunity and a tendency to succumb to far-right ideologies. This was evident from the extrajudicial killings of two people accused of blasphemy in Umerkot and Quetta, from continued attacks on Ahmadiyya graveyards and sites of worship with police complicity at the instigation of the TLP, and hundreds of mostly young people accused of online blasphemy languishing in Punjab jails amid allegations of the FIA’s involvement in their torture. The alarmingly high number of extrajudicial killings, especially in Sindh, must be investigated and perpetrators held to account.

HRCP notes with concern the fact that its chairperson was detained for questioning by the police and four FIRs filed against its members in connection with their human rights work.

The sharp rise in militancy in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including increasingly regular attacks on construction workers, miners and polio workers, is rapidly moving towards a point of no return. HRCP calls on Baloch and Baloch-Pashtun leaders to sit together and devise an independent solution to the crisis in the province. Pashtun leaders in Kurram must do the same to resolve the months-long conflict in the district.

HRCP wishes to draw special attention to the detention of human rights defender Idris Khattak, who has now spent five years in custody following a military trial on fabricated charges. He must be released immediately and unconditionally.

Asad Iqbal Butt
Chairperson

The post HRCP general body calls for consensus on civilian autonomy, climate justice and land rights appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

This situation underscores just how integral environmental rights are to the realisation of fundamental human rights, such as the rights to life, health, food, water and sanitation. Without a safe, clean, healthy and sustainable environment, people (particularly vulnerable groups) cannot live at a level commensurate with the minimum standards of human dignity. This is why a new social contract must be envisioned, one rooted in climate justice—the concept that climate change is an ethical, legal and political issue rather than solely environmental.3 The disproportionately adverse effects of climate change on the fundamental rights of the most vulnerable communities in Pakistan must be acknowledged and the state’s responsibility to these communities fulfilled by building a more resilient system of governance that puts climate science first.

This study examines the impact of the floods from three perspectives: the right to health, the right to shelter and the right to livelihood. It also analyses the policies and (in)action that have led to Pakistan bearing the brunt of the impact of climate change despite contributing less to global emissions than other countries.4 It draws on expert analysis from a high-profile roundtable held by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) in December 2022. The study is complemented by case studies of flood-affected persons and relief workers from different parts of Pakistan who were interviewed by six teams of human rights workers and journalists during a series of fact-finding missions conducted in September 2022.

While Pakistan has every right to demand climate reparations, it must also look within and articulate a strategy to ensure that its most vulnerable groups receive climate justice, and to secure all people’s rights to shelter, health and livelihood amid the climate crisis. Both state and society must recognise that the climate crisis is not a comfortably distant prospect—it is happening here and it is happening now.

The post A Clarion Call for Climate Justice appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Farmers, whose lands the government has begun to take over, are up in arms against forcible evictions and various state pressure tactics, while activists continue to voice their concerns about the project’s environmental cost.

With numerous civil society organisations and rights activists stirring into action, HRCP constituted a fact-finding mission to scrutinise the various impacts of the project, most notably violations of human rights, and to present possible mitigation measures to assist landowners as well as other civil society partners. In this regard, a consultation was organised on 26 January 2021, mostly with subject experts, urban planners, environmentalists, lawyers and HRCP members, including chairperson Hina Jilani. HRCP members also attended various protests and meetings to collect data for this report.

A mission comprising Raja Ashraf (HRCP Punjab vice-chair) and Fatima Faisal Khan and Salman Sikandar (staff members) visited several affected villages on 4 March 2021 and interacted with residents to determine first-hand the human cost of the project and see facts as they exist on ground.

This report is based on material collected during these field visits as well as consultations and interviews with numerous stakeholders—including protesting farmers and environmental experts—held from January to March 2021. It concludes with a set of findings emanating from the mission’s work, along with recommendations for civil society partners on the way forward.

The post The Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

Where the state should be focusing on efforts to uphold the rule of law, reduce violence against women, children and transgender persons, protect the rights of workers and peasants, and fulfil people’s right to health and education, it has instead prioritized its own authority at the expense of democratic norms and people’s fundamental rights. HRCP calls on all political parties to reach a consensus on civilian autonomy and guarding federalism.

The government must focus on strengthening trade unions and seriously consider instituting a living wage, especially for vulnerable workers. HRCP also believes that the provision of healthcare and education is the duty of the state. Student unions must be restored and special attention paid to the plight of incarcerated fisherfolk, stateless persons and rising suicides triggered by poverty, particularly in Thar. The contentious provincial labour codes must be revisited in consultation with trade unions.

HRCP believes that the climate emergency is now an existential crisis for the country. The most pressing issues are the lethal levels of air pollution in Punjab, posing serious risks to health, and the immediate threat of water scarcity, especially in lower riparian Sindh, where the construction of canals on the Indus under the Green Pakistan Initiative has raised objections from small farmers and peasants.

We strongly oppose the Gilgit-Baltistan Land Reforms Bill 2024, which seeks to centralize control over private, communal and ancestral land in the guise of ‘reforms’ for development. This appropriation of land by powerful vested interests will further marginalize people and stoke unrest. The state must give Gilgit-Baltistan its due constitutional rights as demanded by its residents.

HRCP deplores the increasing use of short-term enforced disappearances, including against the political opposition, and calls once again for the head of the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances to be removed for sheer incompetence.

The conduct of the state has been marked by violence with impunity and a tendency to succumb to far-right ideologies. This was evident from the extrajudicial killings of two people accused of blasphemy in Umerkot and Quetta, from continued attacks on Ahmadiyya graveyards and sites of worship with police complicity at the instigation of the TLP, and hundreds of mostly young people accused of online blasphemy languishing in Punjab jails amid allegations of the FIA’s involvement in their torture. The alarmingly high number of extrajudicial killings, especially in Sindh, must be investigated and perpetrators held to account.

HRCP notes with concern the fact that its chairperson was detained for questioning by the police and four FIRs filed against its members in connection with their human rights work.

The sharp rise in militancy in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including increasingly regular attacks on construction workers, miners and polio workers, is rapidly moving towards a point of no return. HRCP calls on Baloch and Baloch-Pashtun leaders to sit together and devise an independent solution to the crisis in the province. Pashtun leaders in Kurram must do the same to resolve the months-long conflict in the district.

HRCP wishes to draw special attention to the detention of human rights defender Idris Khattak, who has now spent five years in custody following a military trial on fabricated charges. He must be released immediately and unconditionally.

Asad Iqbal Butt
Chairperson

The post HRCP general body calls for consensus on civilian autonomy, climate justice and land rights appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.

The first decade of the twenty-first century featured multiple forms of contentious politics: (i) the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the judiciary which culminated in a broad political movement against Pervez Musharraf’s military dictatorship; (ii) the nation-wide campaigns against privatisation of public utilities (Pakistan Telecommunication Corporation Limited); (iii) the region- and city-specific peasant and labour mobilisations for agrarian land rights and improved wages; (iv) the struggles of public-sector employees for better service structures, and (v) the ethno-nationalist uprisings in peripheral regions away from central Punjab districts.

By and large, these social movements took place in isolation, without a broadbased network among activists and mobilisers which could synthesise the various particularistic struggles or social movements into a unified mass movement. Yet in the last ten years, and more particularly since the last five years, there is a conscious effort to link various social movements. This new effort features mobilisations by a new generation of tech-savvy, college-educated, and globally oriented activists. In linking struggles of peripheral actors and spaces to those in the centre, the demands or grievances raised in these mobilisations have encompassed a range of issues concerning, on the one hand, global capitalism and Pakistan’s peripheral position in it (the anti-austerity aspect), and the country’s neo-colonial political system (the anti-authoritarian aspect), on the other.

To assess this contentious politics manifested in the form of social movements and its relationship to the democratisation process, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan conducted a series of focus group discussions (FGDs) with activists and organisers of various ongoing struggles and with public intellectuals closely observing them. In all, there were eight FGDs (held between October and November 2021), seven of which were held online which allowed participation across Pakistan. The broad themes were the students’ solidarity movement, the women’s rights movement, enforced disappearances, victims of urban development, Pashtun Tahafuz Movement, public sector workers’ collectives and role of social media in social movements. This report is a synthesis of major issues that emerged in these FGDs. The following sections discuss: (i) the political-economic and cultural context for the various social movements; (ii) women’s activism; (iii) students’ politics; (iv) anti-war and antiauthoritarian activism; (v) right to the city struggles; and (vi) anti-austerity activism of public-sector workforce. Subsequently, the report concludes with key lessons offered for rights activism.

The post Mapping Social Movements in Pakistan appeared first on Human Rights Commission of Pakistan.