Islamabad restricts citizens’ right to change govt: US report
By Anwar Iqbal
WASHINGTON, March 6: Restrictions on citizens’ right to change their government is the first on a list of human rights violations in Pakistan cited in a State Department report released on Tuesday.
The other violations include extrajudicial killings, torture and rape — in that order. “We are recommitting ourselves to help new democracies deliver on their people’s aspirations for a better life,” said US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice while releasing the mandatory report that her department sends to the US Congress every year.
“And we are recommitting ourselves to call every government to account that still treats the basic rights of its citizens as options rather than … the non-negotiable demands of human dignity,” she added.
The report includes a detailed assessment of human rights practices in countries allied with the United States as well as those not in the US camp. An unfavourable report could cause the lawmakers to block US financial assistance to the country seen as a major violator of human rights.
The report on Pakistan notes that during 2006 “the country experienced an increase in disappearances of provincial activists and political opponents, especially in provinces experiencing internal turmoil and insurgencies.” The report also mentions the Aug 26 incident in Balochistan which resulted in the death of Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Bugti, 35 of his followers and 16 military officers and soldiers.
The State Department highlights media reports saying that Nawab Bugti and his followers were killed when the Pakistan Air Force bombed his hideout. The media reported that 16 soldiers died in the ensuing battle. The government stated that the officers were trying to reach Mr Bugti to speak to him when an unexplained explosion caused the cave to collapse.
In a brief description of the current situation in Balochistan, the report notes that at least 119 civilians and 57 members of the security forces have died as a result of the ongoing insurgency. The government claims that approximately 125 Balochistan Liberation Army militants were killed.
The State Department quotes Amnesty International and Human Rights Commission of Pakistan as saying that local people in Balochistan demanded a greater share of the revenue generated by their province’s natural resources. They resented the slow pace of economic development and persons who settled there from other provinces.
“A number of Baloch groups sought more rights for the province and campaigned peacefully, while others resorted to violence,” the report notes.
The State Department also mentions reports of politically motivated killings perpetrated by political factions. “Poor prison conditions, arbitrary arrest and lengthy pre-trial detention remained problems, as did a lack of judicial independence,” the report adds.
“Harassment, intimidation and arrests of journalists increased during the year. The government limited freedoms of association, religion and movement and imprisoned political leaders.”
The State Department points out that corruption was widespread in the government and the police forces and the government made little attempt to combat the problem.
