Freedoms Of Expression Under Threat In Pakistan: HRW
In its World Report, Human Rights Watch says 2023 saw a return of violent terrorism, persecution for religious beliefs, intimidation and harassment of refugees and a poor situation for women and girls
The year 2023 saw the political and economic crises in Pakistan deepen together with rising threats and attacks on the media, religious persecution of minorities, increased terrorism, and undignified treatment of refugees, while violence against women and girls posed a serious problem.
This was stated in a report on the state of human rights in Pakistan during 2023 issued by the global rights body Human Rights Watch (HRW) earlier in the week.
The World Report 2024 by the HRW reviewed the situation in Pakistan during 2023.
Of the political and economic crises in Pakistan during the year, the report said that the coalition government led by the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) and prime minister Shehbaz Sharif followed a similar playbook as its predecessors to clamp down on the media, non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and political opponents.
Attacks on media and free press
The report said that government threats and attacks on the media created a “climate of fear” among journalists and civil society groups, with many resorting to self-censorship. The biggest example was the months-long arrest of television anchor and journalist Imran Riaz Khan, who was arrested as he attempted to take a flight out of the country.
“Imran Riaz Khan returned home on September 25; he has not been presented in court at any time since his arrest,” it said.
Separately, police arrested Fayad Zafar, a reporter for the Pashto-language news service Voice of America Deewa (VOA Deewa), after a magistrate issued an order accusing Zafar of spreading “fake, offensive and hateful content to defame and incite the public” against the government and law enforcement agencies.
The report further noted that politicians who found themselves in the opposition too did not spare the media.
“In the violence following the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, members of his political party, Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf (PTI), attacked the offices of public broadcaster Radio Pakistan and the state-owned news agency Associated Press of Pakistan in Peshawar,” it said.
The report said the government used vague and overly broad laws against critics.
“The authorities used draconian counterterrorism and sedition laws to intimidate peaceful critics,” it said. HRW said that in March, the Lahore High Court declared the sedition law unconstitutional, but the government filed an appeal in the Supreme Court against the decision, with the appeal still pending.
In the interim, the government used the law to arrest in Islamabad and charge lawyer Imaan Mazari-Hazir and politician from South Waziristan Ali Wazir.
Religious freedoms under threat
The report said that in 2023, violence was perpetrated against religious minorities on charges of blasphemy with the blasphemy laws of the country in vogue.
Members of the Ahmadiyya religious minority continued to be a major target for prosecutions under blasphemy laws and specific anti-Ahmadi laws.
The report said that on July 25, a mob vandalised an Ahmadiyya place of worship in Karachi. On August 18, a mob attacked a factory owned by an Ahmadi in Lahore, accusing him of blasphemy. Instead of prosecuting the attackers, the authorities charged eight members of the Ahmadi community with blasphemy.
Source: Friday Times
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