Karachi/Lahore, 19 June. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) condemns the extrajudicial murder of Niaz Hussain Lashari, a 22-year-old labour rights activist in Karachi and a member of Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (Arisar).

Originally from the town of Dakhan in district Shikarpur, Mr Lashari was arrested in Karachi on charges of terrorism, but subsequently released. After attending a hearing at the anti-terrorist court in Hyderabad on 10 January 2019, he was abducted by unidentified persons as he left the court premises. His battered, bullet-riddled body was discovered on 16 June 2020, on a roadside in Gulshan-e-Hadeed, Karachi. His family, who spent many months agitating for his release, say that he was killed because of his nationalist association.

This pattern, now all too familiar, is in flagrant violation of the constitutional right to fair trial and due process. It is another notch—of thousands—in Pakistan’s grievous record of enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. HRCP demands a transparent, independent enquiry into the killing of Mr Lashari. Law enforcement and respect for human rights can and must coexist if both are to serve their purpose—to protect all citizens and residents of the country.

On behalf of Dr Mehdi Hasan

Chairperson