Press release] Government becoming increasingly opaque Islamabad, 24 October. Speaking at the seminar on ‘Reclaiming Civic Spaces in Pakistan’ organised by the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) today, Honorary Spokesperson I. A. Rehman has said that the government is becoming opaque rather than being transparent in its decision making and governance. On the

HRCP condemns campus surveillance Islamabad/Quetta, 16 October. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is concerned over allegations that elements associated with the administration at Balochistan University use campus surveillance videos – including those filmed by ‘secret’ cameras – to harass and blackmail students. HRCP’s recent fact-finding mission to Quetta found an alarming level

Government must protect rights of visually impaired workers Lahore, 15 October. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) supports the ongoing protest by visually impaired persons at Charing Cross in Lahore. The protestors, comprising provincial government employees, say they have been working on a daily wage basis for the last five years, which barely

Recover journalist Mudassar Naru Islamabad, 11 October. The case of the disappearance of Mudassar Mahmood Naru, writer, poet and journalist, has caused great concern, not only to his family but civil society and the literary community at large. Three literary bodies have passed resolutions concerning his case. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) endorses

Joint press release Pakistan: Poor and marginalised suffer disproportionately from capital punishment [Report] Paris-Lahore, 8 October 2019. In a new report issued today, FIDH and its member organisation, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), detail the systemic bias faced by the poor and marginalised with regards to the death penalty in Pakistan. The

Role of Parliament must not diminish Lahore, 6 October. The Council of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has issued the following statement on concluding its biannual meeting: ‘We are seriously concerned by the government’s recent attempts to undermine the political opposition. There are alarming signs that the role of Parliament is receding:

60 days of living hell in Kashmir Islamabad, 5 October. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) strongly condemns the failure of the Indian government to lift the lockdown on some ten million Kashmiris, who continue to face gross human rights violations at the hands of the state. It has now been two months

Balochistan: Neglected still Islamabad, 2 October. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has released a detailed report after a fact-finding mission to Balochistan. Titled Balochistan: Neglected Still, the report states that Balochistan continues to be shortchanged politically. Incidents of enforced disappearance continue: in most cases, victims’ families say they are afraid of communicating their

Return Ahmad Mustafa Kanju to his family: HRCP Lahore, 25 September. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is extremely concerned at the continued disappearance of Ahmad Mustafa Kanju, spokesperson for the Seraiki National Party. According to his family, Mr Kanju was abducted from his home in Rahim Yar Khan in early January 2019,

HRCP slams KP government’s ordinance ‘in aid of civil power’ Islamabad, 18 September. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is appalled to learn that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has promulgated an ordinance that extends certain powers of the armed forces that were applicable to erstwhile FATA and PATA under the 2011 regulations ‘in aid of civil