Deterioration in press freedom in 2020

Karachi, 23 June. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)’s annual report on the state of human rights in 2020 shows that, by the end of last year, Sindh presented the highest number of Covid-19 infections and deaths in the country, with a death toll of 3,560. While the passage of the Sindh Covid-19 Emergency Relief Ordinance 2020 was a welcome development, providing some relief to workers, students and tenants, these measures were marred by weak implementation, with labour organisations complaining of widespread retrenchments, especially in the private sector.

Press freedom and working conditions in the media remained cause for alarm in 2020. Hundreds of media workers lost their jobs, were forced to resign, or faced salary cuts. In several cases, law enforcement or security agencies arbitrarily abducted or detained journalists or arrested them on charges of sedition—often preceded by allegations that the targeted journalists were critical of the state.

HRCP notes that, while the four-year term of local governments in Sindh expired on 30 August, the provincial government had not announced a new date for the next local elections as of end-2020. The report also indicates that 121 prisoners were awarded death sentences in the province in 2020. In a promising sign, no executions were, however, carried out.

Law enforcement remained unstable, with prolonged wrangling between the federal and provincial government over the appointment of a new police chief, creating uncertainty in the police department. The abduction of the Sindh inspector general of police in October by security agencies raised serious concerns over undue political pressure imposed on the police to arrest an opposition leader.

There was an alarming uptick in enforced disappearances in the province. According to one estimate, a total of 127 persons went missing in Sindh during 2020, of which 112 resurfaced while 15 were still missing at the end of the year. A prominent case was that of political activist Sarang Joyo, who was allegedly subjected to torture during his disappearance.

Children’s access to education remained poor, with Sindh education minister Saeed Ghani stating that around 3.5 million children in the province remained out of school. Honour killings continued unabated: HRCP recorded 197 honour crimes in 2020 for Sindh alone, involving 79 male and 136 female victims. At least six cases of forced conversion involving Hindu girls were also reported in the province.

On behalf of Hina Jilani
Chairperson