February 20, 2008	Wednesday	Safar 12, 1429

LAHORE, Feb 19: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has praised the people for “overcoming obstacles despite pre-poll rigging and giving a clear verdict in the favour of democratic governance”.

HRCP Chairwoman Asma Jahangir said the election result did not reflect the will of people in Balochistan because they had been told by their leaders to stay away from the entire process.

She said this situation would pose a challenge to the parliament as well as the future provincial government.

Ms Jahangir said people had placed a monumental responsibility on the winning political parties to ensure that democratic transition takes place. There were also expectations from the new parliament to restore the deposed judiciary, improve law and order and resolve the economic crisis.

The new government would also be expected to find ways of combating terrorism without putting the lives of non-combatants in danger. Police and actions based on consensus would be required to achieve the objective because unilateral and rash decisions of the past had not only failed to curb the rise of Talibanisation, but also added to people’s miseries. A large number of people had been killed, forced to leave homes and exposed to violence.

The HRCP chief asked the civil society to continue playing its role and thanked foreign observers for monitoring the election in Pakistan despite fears of violence.