943 women killed in the name of honour during 2011: HRCP
ISLAMABAD: At least 943 women were killed in the name of honour during 2011 in Pakistan, of which 93 were minors, according to a report released here on Thursday by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP).
The report titled “State of Human Rights in 2011″ seven Christian and two Hindu women were among the victims.
701 women committed suicide and 428 tried to end their lives, while 4,500 cases of domestic violence against women were reported during the year.
The provisions of Sexual Harassment Act had not been implemented by many ministries.
Only three hospitals nation-wide had adopted the law.
The report further revealed that 16 journalists were killed in the country in 2011.
The judiciary and the executive remained on a collision course most of the time.”
Extra-judicial killings included 517 killed in drone attacks, 337 in police encounters and 173 people abducted and murdered in Balochistan, besides 2,307 people were killed and 4,341 injured in terrorist raids, including suicide and sectarian attacks during the period.
Similarly 1,715 people were killed in sudden flare-ups of violence in Karachi.
Crime remained rampant while poor investigative methods prevented bringing criminals to justice.
Fresh legislation was not high on government’s priorities in 2011 and some of the reasons, including its battle for survival, were obvious.
The most remarkable feature of the legislative work that could be managed was the enactment of women-friendly laws and the government’s trend-setting practice of supporting private members bills.
The need for domestic legislation required for the implementation of international instruments, including the newly ratified Covenants and the Convention against Torture was left unrealised.
Most of the 29 Acts adopted during the year revived or amended old status, one prominent exception being the 19th Amendment.
The Supreme Court’s bid to clean up the administration of corrupt and irregular practices overshadowed the judicial system’s functioning in 2011.
The cases of disappearance were heard throughout the year but no breakthrough was possible.
Nobody was hanged in 2011 but the government could not formalise the moratorium on execution, the number of people awarded death sentence was lower than in 2010.
An overwhelming majority of the nearly 78,000 people being held in Pakistan’s prisons were under trial.
Ninety two inmates died in prisons across Pakistan in 2011.
About 313 people were sentenced to death by various courts in 2011, including six women.
According to HRCP, 62 new cases of enforced disappearance were verified, 35 of these disappearances occurred in Balochistan and 20 in Sindh.
Dead bodies of 173 victims of enforced disappearance were recovered in Balochistan.
Report further stated that military operations and actions of extremist militants prevented the citizens from venturing into large parts of the country.
Ethnic, sectarian and political violence and crime feuds made parts of Karachi no-go zones for large sections of the population.
Despite official claims of putting in practice rules for regulating the Exit Control List, arbitrary restrictions on travel were reported.
Excessive delays in issuance of passports proved a hindrance for those who wished to go abroad.
At least 600 clerics were barred from various districts during Muharram in a bid to prevent sectarian tensions.
The population of Kurram Agency remained besieged amid regular attacks by militants on the road connecting the region to the rest of the country.
Escalating fuel cost and lack of public transport also made movement difficult and magnified the distances.
Three hundred and eighty nine people were killed and 601 injured in incidents of violence targeted against various Muslim sects in 2011.
More than 100 Hazara Shias were killed in targeted attacks in Balochistan and a large number was reported to be fleeing the province.
At least six Ahmedis were murdered in target killings.
The Hindu community’s concerns over the abduction and subsequent forced conversion of girls and young women were not addressed.
At least eight people were booked under the blasphemy law.
Another three were given capital punishment under that law.
Business Recorder
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