In its 2023 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, the United States shed light on significant human rights challenges in Pakistan, highlighting the government’s limited efforts to address these abuses and its failure to hold officials accountable for human rights violations.
According to the report released by the US State Department on Tuesday, Pakistan faces numerous human rights challenges, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, harsh prison conditions, arbitrary detention, and restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom.
The report shed light on concerns about the lack of accountability and justice in Pakistan, with the government rarely taking credible steps to identify and punish officials responsible for human rights abuses.
“Pakistan faces a range of significant human rights challenges, including unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, harsh prison conditions, arbitrary detention, and restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom,” the report stated.
Highlighting the issue of arbitrary and unlawful killings, the report noted that human rights organisations had raised concerns about government agents’ continued policy of “kill and dump” in Balochistan, where dissidents were allegedly subjected to abduction, torture, and extrajudicial killings.
The report also highlighted a significant increase in attacks against police and security forces, with at least 386 reported deaths of police and military personnel in terrorist attacks and counter terror operations during the first three quarters of 2023.
Moreover, Pakistan continues to face ongoing concerns about enforced disappearances, with human rights organisations reporting the arbitrary arrest and disappearance of activists and nationalists, particularly from Pashtun, Sindhi, and Baloch communities.
According to the report, activists claimed that hundreds of individuals, including Sindhi and Baloch nationalists, had disappeared without cause or warrant, with relatives alleging that children were detained to pressure their parents.
“Pakistan has been significantly witnessing cases of arbitrary detention,” the report stated, noting that police reportedly detained individuals to extort bribes for their release or detained relatives of wanted individuals to compel suspects to surrender.
Additionally, the report highlighted challenges to freedom of speech in Pakistan, with journalists facing high levels of violence or threats of violence from State and non-State actors. Blasphemy and anti-Ahmadi laws were cited as restricting publication on sensitive topics, with journalists reporting harassment and intimidation by government officials.
The report stressed the importance of promoting respect for human rights and defending fundamental freedoms, calling for greater accountability and transparency in addressing human rights abuses in Pakistan.
