Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demands swift recovery of abducted NGO workers
LAHORE: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned Thursday’s abduction of four volunteers working with an NGO in Karachi, and urged the government to act swiftly to secure their release. In a statement issued on Friday, the commission said,
“The HRCP strongly condemns the abduction from Maripur, Karachi, of four NGO workers and is extremely concerned about their safety, and indeed the safety of all human rights defenders who had always operated in difficult circumstances in Pakistan but who face even tougher challenges across the country.” The four volunteers, along with two women doctors, were part of a mobile dispensary that offered medical services to fishermen in Maripur. The abductors had left the women behind and took away the men.
“In calling for immediate and effective action, the HRCP wants to remind the government of its obligation to create a safe environment for human rights defenders and demands that the abducted men are rescued and the abductors apprehended and prosecuted to demonstrate the government’s commitment to that very obligation,” the statement read.
The HRCP also called upon the media to keep the spotlight on rising threats to human rights defenders, as Pakistan heads towards “elections that are feared to be” violent.
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