The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan siad that it ‘strongly objected’ to the tactics being employed to reverse-engineer the democratic process in the country.

“HRCP opposed what it saw as political engineering in the 2018 elections, but it objects just as strongly to the tactics employed in the attempt to reverse-engineer the democratic process,” HRCP Chairperson Hina Jilani said in a press conference in Islamabad.

The statement read out by Jilani also said that delaying elections beyond October 2023 would amount to derailing democracy and would aonly worsen the current political crisis.

“Anything less than free, fair and credible elections in an environment that allows the exercise of all fundamental freedoms, will leave the country open to further ill-judged and undemocratic political ‘experiments’,” the statement said.

HRCP also said that the greatest ‘casualty’ in the ongoing political crisis is civilain supremacy and Pakistan’s ‘fragile’ democracy could be in danger.

“The government’s inability—or unwillingness—to safeguard civilian supremacy or to preserve the dignity of Parliament has proven tremendously disappointing.”

The statement also said that the ‘unity and nonpartisanship’ of the judiciary had been compromised and has led to a worsening of the crisis of rule and law in the country.

The statement also said that while the claims being made by the PTi about custodial torture of its workers have not been verified, it is important to clear up facts through an independent and transparent investigation.

HRCP said that the PTI’s ‘contempt’ for the rule of law had played a role in creating the events of May 9 and the people behind them must be held accountable, but the matter of civilains being tried under military courts was concerning. It also raised objections on the seemingly arbitrary manner in which cases were being sent to the military courts.