Pakistan

The 2010 UN Development Index ranked Pakistan at 125 out of 169

countries, down from 112 in 2008. Global indices relating to gender,
children’s rights and corruption showed Pakistan near the bottom. Women
and vulnerable groups faced legal discrimination and high levels of abuse and
violence. Weaknesses in the rule of law, along with a dysfunctional criminal
justice system, restricted access to justice for the vast majority of those who
needed it. NGOs continued to make allegations of extra-judicial killings, other
ill treatment and torture by state agencies. Devastating flooding in August
coupled with poor governance resulted in the ineffective delivery of basic
services such as education and healthcare. Freedom of expression and of
religion or belief remained limited, in part because of repressive measures by
the state, but also because of increased religious conservatism within society,
and the activities of violent extremist organisations. The ongoing conflict in
the border regions caused a huge displacement of the resident population,
and associated rights violations.

Internal instability, conflict and humanitarian disaster have taken their toll on
human rights. However, the current administration did make some progress,
notably ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
and the Convention against Torture (although with reservations); reform of the
constitution to decentralise power; and moves towards electoral reform. The
democratically elected government of Asif Zardari passed the halfway mark of
its term in office, a notable landmark in a country where no elected
government has seen out its tenure. A vibrant media and civil society
continued to flourish, albeit within certain parameters, and the judiciary,
although heavily politicised, remained highly independent of the executive.

Pakistan remains one of our highest foreign policy priorities, and 2010 saw
ministerial visits from the Foreign Secretary William Hague, Home Secretary
Theresa May, International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell and
Minister without Portfolio Baroness Warsi. Implementation of Pakistan’s
international human rights commitments is integral to ensuring long-term
prosperity and stability, and is in our national interest.

In 2010 the FCO continued to work closely with other UK government

departments, the government of Pakistan, other governments and NGOs to
address key human rights challenges. In particular, we focused on supporting
the government of Pakistan in ratifying and implementing key international
human rights instruments; tackling the discrimination and abuse faced by
women and minority groups; and enhancing international coordination on
human rights. Our lobbying contributed to the government of Pakistan’s
decision to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and
the Convention against Torture, although we are concerned by the
reservations that it made when doing so. Our support also helped the Ministry
for Women’s Development to make significant progress towards the
criminalisation of domestic violence, along with other legal measures to
remove discrimination against women. We also provided capacity building
and support to civil society groups to support their work in speaking out
against extremism and intolerance, and in support of democracy and reform.

The year 2010 was an extremely challenging one for Pakistan, and 2011 is
likely to follow a similar course. It is estimated that 20 million people were
directly affected by the unprecedented flooding. We are working closely with
Pakistan and international partners to ensure that there is a credible recovery
plan in place.

We will continue to intervene on human rights issues in Pakistan where we

believe we can make a positive difference. For 2011, our focus will be on four
key priorities: to support an end to discrimination and violence against
women; to strengthen freedom of expression, religion and belief; to encourage
stronger implementation of Pakistan’s international commitments; and to build
the capacity of civil society and bodies mandated to challenge the state’s
effectiveness on human rights, such as the Parliamentary Committee for
Human Rights.
Elections
The elections of 2008 were described by the EU as relatively fair and free.
Election observation missions made several recommendations about how the
electoral process could be improved. The Election Commission of Pakistan,
with the support of the international community, continued to push ahead with
its five-year strategy for electoral reform, which began in 2009; this is focused
on policy, administrative and legal reforms. Some real progress was made
during the course of 2010. The list of registered voters continued to be
revised by the National Data Registration Agency in conjunction with the
Election Commission, who also put in place several internal reforms to
improve the way they work. We have been highly supportive of these efforts
and have lobbied the government and parliament on the need for such
reforms. There is senior political support for change in this regard but the
momentum needs to be maintained to ensure freer and fairer elections,
scheduled for 2013.

Access to justice
The justice sector in Pakistan is under-trained, often politicised, corrupt and
under-resourced. The courts currently face a backlog of more than 1 million
cases. Successful convictions are rare. Police investigations are often
seriously flawed, based on allegation rather than evidence, and trials cannot
be described as either fair or free in many cases, being marked by delay and
intimidation. The government has made little progress on a comprehensive
national strategy towards improving the situation, instead focusing on ad hoc
measures such as increasing police salaries in Punjab. This is in part
because the responsibility for formulating and implementing policy rests with
the provincial rather than the federal-level government. The chief justice of
the Supreme Court published a national judicial policy to tackle some of these
issues amongst the judiciary in 2009, which in 2010 achieved a slight
reduction in the huge backlog of cases.

Because the problems are on such a significant scale, we focused on

particular issues or areas where we can make a difference. In 2010, we
worked with local partners to improve the awareness of legislation around
juvenile detainees which led to improved handling of these cases in several
large districts across Pakistan. Project work focused on informing local police
and other officials about forced marriage and child abduction issues to
prevent them from happening, particularly to UK nationals, and to handle
these cases sensitively when they occurred. This work received positive
feedback from those involved. With an estimated 2,000 deaths due to
terrorism in Pakistan in 2010, we also worked with the police and the military
to strengthen their legislative framework to tackle this violence. We delivered
training to the Pakistan military and police that incorporated relevant human
rights components, which was monitored and evaluated within this context.

Rule of law
The rule of law is fundamental to tackling many of the challenges faced by
Pakistan, from the effective protection of human rights to poverty reduction
and good governance. It is at the heart of a stable democracy and strong
civilian institutions. However, the rule of law remains weak. This has led to
widespread allegations of human rights violations and a poor response from
the criminal justice system to the continued terrorist and sectarian violence
which killed thousands of people in 2010.

This issue is a matter of concern for the Pakistani people; 39% felt law and
order was the most serious issue facing the government in a 2010 UK-Gallup
poll. The British Council’s “Next Generation Report” showed 30% felt injustice
was the main reason for violence and terror in Pakistan. The reasons behind
weaknesses in the rule of law in Pakistan are complex, and require significant
senior political will to overcome them.

In addition to terrorist-related atrocities, 2010 saw continued and serious

allegations of disappearances, abductions and extra-judicial killings made
against state security forces and the police by international and national
human rights organisations. In response to a video, purporting to show extra-
judicial killings in Swat, posted on YouTube and aired on BBC News on 2
October, the Chief of Army Staff launched an official enquiry which has yet to
report publicly. We raised our concerns with the military and the government
at the most senior levels. Human rights bodies continued to record deaths in
police custody, which they alleged were the result of torture or other ill
treatment.

Civil society organisations reported enforced disappearances and extra-

judicial killings, including targeted killings, in Balochistan. As a result of civil
society lobbying, in early 2010 the Supreme Court called on the Ministry of
Interior, the military and the intelligence agencies to defend themselves
against allegations of enforced disappearances involving hundreds of specific
individuals. The government, military and intelligence agencies were called
before the Supreme Court and several people were released from illegal
detention. The Ministry of Interior established a cell to examine the remaining
“missing persons” and committed to work with all parts of the security
apparatus to report back on the whereabouts of these individuals. The UK,
alongside EU partners, supported these moves towards greater transparency
and continued to advocate full disclosure of the whereabouts of all those
missing.

Death penalty
Twenty-seven offences carry the death penalty in Pakistan, and the country
has more than 7,000 inmates on death row. There is significant public
support for capital punishment, including for blasphemy offences. However,
in 2010, no one was executed by the state. In October 2009, the prime
minister began a consultation with provincial governments about the
legislation governing the use of the death penalty. This consultation is
ongoing and there is a de facto moratorium on its use. We welcomed this, but
continued to work with civil society, and lobby the government and parliament
– alongside the EU – to reform the relevant legislation with a view to
abolishing the death penalty.

Torture and other ill treatment

The media and civil society made regular allegations of torture in 2010.
Torture is prohibited under the constitution of Pakistan. A large number of
these alleged incidents are reported to have occurred in police or security
agency custody during attempts to extract confessions or force cooperation
with an investigation. Similar abuse has also been widely reported in prisons,
perpetrated by both officers and inmates.

The extent of such abuse is hard to determine given the nature of the problem
and the lack of accurate data, but the number of allegations remained fairly
consistent. In 2010 the Pakistani government ratified the Convention against
Torture and the Ministry of Human Rights is clear that its intention is to
prevent such mistreatment of individuals. However, by the end of 2010
Pakistan had yet to withdraw or amend the reservations it had lodged against
some of the core provisions of this treaty when ratifying it. It had also not
amended the national law to bring it into line with international minimum
standards.

Prisons and detention issues

At the end of 2010 the prison system was operating at 194% capacity, with
more than two-thirds of all detainees in ‘pre-trial’ detention, detained for
months or years before facing trial. Most detainees endured harsh, basic
conditions and limited recourse to legal aid. In 2010 efforts were made by the
government of Pakistan to segregate vulnerable prisoners by reducing the
number of juveniles in detention and placing women in female-only detention
centres. However, a lack of reliable data makes it difficult to assess the
extent to which these efforts have been successful. The president has also
led efforts to improve the conditions for those convicted or awaiting trial for
capital offences. The current government claimed to have released all
“political prisoners” – which numbered in their hundreds during the Musharraf
era – but there is limited objective evidence available to support such
statements. There is no effective national policy towards managing the
increasing numbers of detainees.

In 2010, we worked with senior prison officials in different provinces in

Pakistan to enhance their understanding of international best practice,
exposing them to offender management in the UK, and our ongoing efforts to
improve and reform our own system.
Human rights defenders
Civil society in Pakistan is vibrant and energetic, with thousands of NGOs
involved in advocacy and grass-roots support. However, NGOs can face
threats from violent extremists, bureaucratic hurdles and political pressure.
As a result, the NGO community does exercise a degree of self-censorship.
During 2010, we engaged with the government of Pakistan on behalf of
specific NGOs that have faced particular problems, urging the government to
protect the fundamental rights of all citizens, as laid out in the Pakistani
constitution. Through the EU, we raised our concerns regarding human rights
defenders with the government of Pakistan.

There was slow progress towards setting up a Human Rights Commission for
Pakistan. The federal Ministry of Human Rights has undertaken to pass the
necessary legislation in 2011. A Human Rights Commission for Pakistan will
be a vital pillar to help ensure that the fundamental rights of all Pakistanis are
upheld by working to provide a more secure environment in which NGOs can
operate.

Freedom of expression
In 2010 media freedom continued to improve, with more of the press openly
challenging the government and increasingly the military and security
agencies over matters such as enforced disappearances. The constitutional
reforms included a new article which guaranteed the right of every citizen to
freedom of information. This was partly influenced by a UK-funded project to
promote the value of improved freedom of information in support of better
governance. We worked closely with the Ministry for Information to support its
work to formulate a freedom of information law, through the provision of
information and exposure to the UK system and the challenges we have faced
in implementing such a law.

However, despite these positive developments, Reporters Without Borders

rated Pakistan as 151 out of 178 countries in its “Freedom Index 2010”,
making it one of the most dangerous countries in the world to be a journalist.
There were several high-profile cases last year where journalists were
attacked by unknown assailants. Several journalists were killed in the border
areas in terrorist incidents.

In order to restrict media reporting of issues deemed to be of national security,

the Pakistani government made moves to amend the current legislation
governing the activities of the media by imposing fines and the threat of
imprisonment for any reporting considered to be detrimental. These changes
are still proceeding through parliament. The government also intervened to
block transmission – via the state regulatory authority – of several channels,
including the BBC Urdu radio service. This action was challenged in the
Supreme Court, who ruled in the media’s favour, ending these restrictions.
Effective self-regulation has yet to take root, and much of the media is heavily
politicised and partisan, and liable to interference by powerful corporate
owners. Overall, the media continued to become more open and hold the
government to account, although some outlets remained focused on
conveying the “official” position on many issues. We lobbied strongly at
senior levels against media restrictions.

Freedom of religion and belief

The assassination of the governor of Punjab in early January 2011 because of
his outspoken position in favour of religious tolerance indicated an increasing
culture of intolerance and violence perpetrated against minority groups and
their supporters. The blasphemy legislation continued to be misused to target
both Muslims and non-Muslims, often resulting in prison sentences. In one
high-profile case, Asia Bibi became the first woman to be sentenced to death
for blasphemy. Several people accused of blasphemy died in custody, or
were murdered by unknown individuals when they were granted bail or
acquitted. Attacks against Christians and other religious minorities,
particularly Ahamadis, continued, with suicide bombers in Lahore killing more
than 100 people in May. The case of Shazia Masih, an adolescent girl
employed illegally as a domestic servant who was allegedly tortured and
murdered by her employers, underlined the marginalised position of the
Christian community.

The government’s Ministry of Minorities, along with the president and the
prime minister, have made public their commitment to protect minorities and
their freedom to worship. Some positive measures have been taken such as
reserving quotas in the public sector and parliament for minorities and setting
up complaints procedures for those encountering discrimination or abuse.
However, this is countered by a growing culture of intolerance led by religious
groups who have stepped into the gap left by the government’s inability to
deliver justice or basic services. We continued to support those who wish to
see reform through lobbying and project work. Parliamentary Under-
Secretary of State Alistair Burt has engaged regularly on this issue with
Pakistan’s Minister for Minorities Shahbaz Bhatti. Unfortunately efforts by the
Pakistani government to reduce the abuses associated with the blasphemy
law have been stalled by public opposition to any reform following the
assassination of Governor Taseer, and there is little likelihood of much-
needed reform in the near future.

Women’s rights
International and national NGOs report serious concerns about the extent of
violence against women, with discrimination against women enshrined in law.
The 2010 UN Development Programme Gender Equality Survey showed that
women represented only 21% of the workforce. Human Rights Watch
estimated that 90% of women in Pakistan are affected by some kind of
domestic abuse. Violence against women, including sexual violence,
continued to be reported by the media in 2010. The Federal Shariat Court
issued a highly unwelcome judgment reinstating its right to act as the court of
final appeal on cases of rape, which it had previously given up in response to
significant domestic and international pressure during the previous decade.

We actively supported the work of the Ministry for Women’s Development,

both financially and politically. The ministry drafted, and at the end of 2010
was currently working with parliament to pass, two bills to criminalise
domestic violence and to make it easier to convict those responsible for acid
attacks, or similar crimes against women. However this legislation became
stuck in parliament owing to opposition from the religious conservatives.
There continued to be a strong and outspoken civil society campaigning on
women’s issues. Several high-profile roles in government are filled by
women, including the speaker, who is the first female speaker in South Asia,
and the president of the Supreme Court Bar Association. Women played an
active role in the parliament this year, tabling as much as 80% of the
legislation according to one monitoring body, and actively debating key issues
on the floor of the assembly.

We continued to work to support civil society and those parts of government

which aim to support and protect women. Progress remains slow, and moves
towards greater empowerment for women are challenged by the gradual
growth of a culture of intolerance within Pakistani society, exploited by
extremist groups for their own agendas. However, ministerial and senior-level
intervention, UK-supported activity around international days to mark women’s
rights, and a campaign of action to prevent domestic violence helped to
reinvigorate the public debate and maintain momentum towards reform.
Through public engagement with women parliamentarians and activists, we
also helped to protect and encourage these leaders to challenge abuse and
discrimination and reduce the risk of reprisals.

Children’s rights
The situation for children in Pakistan was not significantly improved in 2010.
Despite the efforts of civil society and the international community, UNICEF
and Save the Children estimate that millions of children still suffer as bonded
labourers, often as a result of their parents’ poverty. Access to primary school
education remained limited, with only 57% of children enrolled. Progress to
further education was also restricted. According to the UN Development
Programme, 2010 statistics showed that only 23% of women and 46% of men
had a secondary education and the education received was often of poor
quality. The floods in August adversely affected children in terms of their
environment, education and health, with the Department for International
Development (DFID) estimating that more than 10,000 schools were
damaged or destroyed. This was exacerbated by terrorist attacks in the
border regions that often focused on schools and female students.

For these reasons, a central part of our development programme is to

improve the quality, access to, and availability of primary schooling in
Pakistan. Improvements have been made at national, provincial and
community levels to the way the education sector functions, but there is still
some way to go before Pakistan can be said to have reached the Millennium
Development Goal for education of ensuring that all children have access to a
full primary school education. We continue to lobby the government at all
levels and to work with civil society to advocate for education reform and
better conditions for children.