Disappearance a tool to curb dissent: HRCP

Published
Screengrab of HRCP’s fact-finding report titled “Balochistan’s Struggle for Hope”. — HRCP
Screengrab of HRCP’s fact-finding report titled “Balochistan’s Struggle for Hope”. — HRCP

QUETTA: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan vice chairman has alleged that the state was using enforced disappearances on a large scale to suppress dissent.

Advocate Habib Tahir was addressing a press conference on Thursday on the launch of HRCP’s fact-finding report on rights violations in Balochistan titled “Balochistan’s Struggle for Hope”.

In the report, the commission expressed deep concerns over mounting public frustration in Balochistan on enforced disappearances, economic exclusion, curbs on press freedom and allegations of political manipulation by the establishment.

It also noted with concern the state’s widespread use of enforced disappearances to muzzle dissent.

Published in Dawn, April 21st, 2023

Opinion

Editorial

AJK elections
29 Jul, 2026

AJK elections

CONSIDERING the political unrest that has rocked Azad Jammu and Kashmir in the recent past, free and fair general...
Still vulnerable
29 Jul, 2026

Still vulnerable

THE State Bank’s decision to hold the policy rate at 11.5pc is a prudent response to the heightened risks the...
Guarding the past
29 Jul, 2026

Guarding the past

THE return of 513 smuggled archaeological artefacts from the US is a welcome homecoming for objects that should ...
Lull in fighting
Updated 28 Jul, 2026

Lull in fighting

AFTER two weeks of escalating violence, the US has halted its strikes on Iran, with Tehran also silencing it guns....
Water policy
28 Jul, 2026

Water policy

THE country is caught in a crisis where there too much water at the wrong time and too little when it is most ...
Ending hepatitis
28 Jul, 2026

Ending hepatitis

WORLD Hepatitis Day is being observed under the theme ‘Hepatitis: Let’s break it down’, a call to remove the...