{"id":9845,"date":"2025-05-08T10:03:09","date_gmt":"2025-05-08T10:03:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/?p=9845"},"modified":"2025-05-08T10:07:45","modified_gmt":"2025-05-08T10:07:45","slug":"call-for-peace-and-protection-of-rights-amid-rising-tensions","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hrcp-web.org\/hrcpweb\/call-for-peace-and-protection-of-rights-amid-rising-tensions\/","title":{"rendered":"Call for peace and protection of rights amid rising tensions"},"content":{"rendered":"

Press release<\/p>\n

Call for peace and protection of rights amid rising tensions<\/strong><\/p>\n

Lahore, 8 May 2025<\/em>. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP)\u2019s governing council, on concluding its biannual meeting yesterday, urgently appeals to the governments of Pakistan and India to de-escalate tensions. It believes that the reported casualties\u2014including those of women and children\u2014due to Indian air strikes, are a grave violation of international human rights law and may constitute crimes against humanity.<\/p>\n

HRCP urges all actors to commit to dialogue and peaceful coexistence. It unequivocally condemns all forms of violent extremism and the weaponization of religion on both sides of the border. Armed conflict between the two nuclear states threatens not only regional stability but also endangers the fundamental rights of more than a billion people. This climate of conflict also enables both states to suppress criticism and intensify securitization, thereby weakening democratic norms and accountability. In such times, truth becomes the first casualty. HRCP cautions the public against toxic media narratives and calls on the media to maintain journalistic integrity.<\/p>\n

Domestically, HRCP remains concerned about the impunity surrounding the Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances, which should be replaced by a credible body that holds perpetrators accountable. Attacks on the Ahmadiyya community and their places of worship, often led by far-right political groups, must be condemned unequivocally, and the community allowed to observe its religious rites. HRCP also condemns the recent attack on the National Commission for Human Rights by far-right groups for its principled stand on the misuse of the blasphemy laws, and is concerned about the long incarceration of many persons on such charges.<\/p>\n

HRCP urges the Supreme Court to expedite hearings on petitions related to the 2018 Transgender Persons (Protection of Rights) Act and the use of internment centres. It also calls for measures to address inter-provincial political tensions, restore student unions, uphold the rights of Afghan refugees, and protect indigenous communities from land grabbing.<\/p>\n

The visible flouting of the law by security and law enforcement agencies must end. HRCP continues to receive reports of custodial torture, extrajudicial killings, and arbitrary detentions. It also believes that former parliamentarian Ali Wazir and human rights defender Idris Khattak are wrongfully incarcerated and should be released. HRCP demands that leaders of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, which operates within a rights-based framework, be released and an urgent political dialogue initiated between the state, political parties and civil society in Balochistan.<\/p>\n

HRCP welcomes the Senate subcommittee\u2019s approval of a bill to establish a statutory National Commission for Minorities and urges the Parliament to follow suit. Finally, it reiterates the call for comprehensive land reforms that prioritize the rights of small farmers, for consensus-building among all provinces to ensure a just and democratic future, and for the state to prioritize investing in people’s right to health and education.<\/p>\n

Asad Iqbal Butt
\nChairperson<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>