A new report by the US Department of State has said that the human rights situation in Pakistan continues to be bleak and has not shown any improvement in the last year. It also added that the government has failed to take credible action against officials involved in the abuses.
The report is 100 pages long and is divided into seven sections around human and labour rights. It was developed by the State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.
“The government rarely took credible steps to identify and punish officials who may have committed human rights abuses,” the report said.
Among the issues discussed in the report are arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, restrictions on freedom of expression, sexual violence and transnational repression.
“Violence, abuse, and social and religious intolerance by militant organizations and other nonstate actors, both local and foreign, contributed to a culture of lawlessness,” the report said.
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“Terrorist violence and human rights abuses by nonstate actors contributed to human rights problems, with terrorist violence increasing during the year. Terrorist and cross-border militant attacks against civilians, soldiers, and police caused hundreds of casualties,” it added.
The report also noted that Pakistan’s law enforcement agencies and military are carrying out ‘significant campaigns’ against militant and terrorist groups.
The State Department report is divided into seven sections including: Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Respect for Civil Liberties, Freedom to Participate in the Political Process, Corruption in Government, Governmental Posture Towards International and Nongovernmental Monitoring and Investigation of Alleged Abuses of Human Rights, Discrimination and Societal Abuses and worker rights.
