Promise of mainstreaming former FATA unfulfilled in 2020 Peshawar, 22 June. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)’s annual report on the state of human rights in 2020 details the devastating impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), which recorded 58,702 cases and 1,649 deaths. This was aggravated by low testing levels—less

Sindh’s response to Covid promising, but rights record worrying in 2020 Hyderabad, 21 June. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s (HRCP) annual report on the state of human rights in 2020 indicates that, by the end of last year, Sindh presented the highest number of Covid-19 infections and deaths in the country, with a

‘An end to fear and censorship’: HRCP launches policy brief on press freedom Islamabad, 1 June. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is gravely concerned over the growing climate of fear, violence and censorship that currently underpins freedom of expression and opinion in the country. The attack on reporter Asad Ali Toor by

PFUJ, HRCP, PBC term proposed media ordinance an attempt to impose ‘media martial law’ Islamabad, 28 May. The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) and Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) have outrightly rejected the proposed Pakistan Media Development Authority (PMDA) Ordinance 2021 that the federal government intends to

HRCP calls on international community to end Israeli impunity Lahore, 18 May. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) reiterates that the Israeli state’s continued brutal assault on the people of Gaza is in flagrant violation of international law and universal human rights standards. In the last week alone, over 200 civilians—including at least

HRCP condemns carnage in Kabul Lahore, 10 May. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) strongly condemns the brutal terrorist attack on a girls’ school in Kabul on Saturday, which cost over 60 lives—most of them, young students. The incident is a grim reminder of the carnage wrought during the APS attack in Peshawar, Pakistan,

Economic woes and curbs on dissent marred 2020 HRCP launches report on state of human rights Lahore, 3 May. The release of State of Human Rights in 2020, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)’s flagship annual report, needs to jolt both the state and government out of their complacency that a neoliberal, hidebound regime

I. A. Rehman: A titan of human rights Lahore, 12 April. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is devastated by the loss of its honorary spokesperson and former secretary-general I. A. Rehman, who passed away in Lahore. Mr Rehman served as HRCP’s director from 1990 to 2008, before being elected its secretary-general in

RUDP: Boon for business, bane for farmers? Lahore, 7 April. In a fact-finding report released earlier, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed serious concerns as to the environmental as well as human rights implications of the much-vaunted Ravi Riverfront Urban Development Project (RUDP). Based on consultations with civil society, including environmental

Kamran Arif: So much more than a rights sloganeer Lahore, 3 April. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) mourns the untimely passing of Kamran Arif, vice-chair of HRCP Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, on 2 April 2021. A senior lawyer and internationally respected human rights defender, Mr Arif was associated with HRCP for almost 30 years,