topic: | Freedom of Expression |
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located: | Pakistan |
editor: | Kaswar Klasra |
Earlier this year in January, Human Rights Watch (HRW) revealed a bleak picture of human rights in Pakistan, asserting that the Pakistani government continues to do little to hold law enforcement agencies accountable for torture and other serious abuses of power.
For example, on 16 February, personnel of Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency stormed into the house of Mohsin Baig, an internationally-acclaimed journalist and government critic. Clueless of the identity of the armed intruders, Baig confused them with dacoit bandits and resisted their forced entry into his house, finally overpowering them with the help of his servants. Hours later Baig came to know about the registration of a case against him on behalf of a powerful federal minister of then-Prime Minister Imran Khan’s cabinet.
The veteran journalist himself appeared before the law enforcement agencies and asked them to probe the allegations against him. It is interesting to note that the case was registered against Mohsin Baig in Lahore city at 9 AM on 16 February, 2022, while the team of Federal Investigation Agency had reached Baig's house in Islamabad on the same day at 8 AM. Later in the day, the court declared the raid at Baig's house was "illegal." After a month and a half, the court dismissed the case against Baig and ordered a probe into the misuse of power by the Federal Investigation Agency.
Mohsin Baig’s case is a clear example of the state of human rights in Pakistan, where journalists - who are considered powerful citizens - often fall victim to the state’s brutality when they dare to criticise government policies. History has revealed that governments in Pakistan have been silencing journalists and human rights activists by registering fake cases against them or using force.
Similarly, on 29 June, six unidentified people intercepted a well-known Pakistani columnist in Lahore, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s populous province Punjab. Known for his anti-government columns and analyses on local television, Ayaz Amir believes he was attacked by pro-government entities, although he did not name any individual or institution behind the attack on him.
Pakistan is descending into the worst kind of fascism as violence and fake allegations are used against journalists, opposition politicians, citizens and minorities.
According to an estimate by Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP), a local human rights organisation reporting on cases of enforced disappearances in Balochistan, more than 6,000 people have gone missing over three decades. Either they have been killed or are languishing somewhere unknown. As per the findings of VBMP, as many as 1,400 dead Balochs have been found since 2009.
“Women, religious minorities, and transgender people in Pakistan continue to face violence, discrimination, and persecution, with authorities failing to provide adequate protection or hold perpetrators to account, according to a US-based rights group,” the HRW report stated, adding that attacks by Islamist militants, notably the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which target law enforcement officials and religious minorities, have killed dozens of people in Pakistan.
Photo by Jeshika Sinojia