The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday urged authorities to halt actions impeding its ability to conduct human rights defense work, stressing it is essential if the country wishes to develop into a state that upholds the rights of all its citizens.
In a statement, HRCP Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt expressed deep concern over what he described as the “steadily shrinking space” for the defense of human rights in the country. “In the past few months, HRCP has faced a series of arbitrary, illegal and unjustified actions that have impeded the organization’s ability to carry out its mandate,” he wrote. Noting the HRCP strived to ensure the rights of all persons in accordance with the Constitution and the country’s international commitments and obligations, he outlined several instances of state harassment over the past year.
According to Butt, persons claiming to represent the security apparatus had prevented the HRCP from staging several indoor meetings, including a high-level consultation in Islamabad on regions facing militancy and terrorism and their impact on human rights, and a roundtable in Gilgit on local communities’ right to natural resources. “Ironically, both the relevant legislators and government departments had confirmed their participation on both occasions,” he said.
Additionally, he alleged, HRCP members and staff had faced harassment and intimidation. “For the first time in HRCP’s decades-long history, its chairperson was taken in for questioning by the police in Karachi,” he said.
“We have reason to believe that other actions are not merely coincidental,” he wrote, referring to a 2024 attempt to seal the HRCP’s office in Lahore and remove its electricity meter. He also cited a bank’s refusal to release HRCP funds over an alleged State Bank of Pakistan directive that the central bank had categorically denied in writing before court.
“We urge the authorities to respect the fundamental freedoms of association, assembly and expression, and to ensure that human rights defenders can operate without fear of reprisal or undue interference,” he said. He stressed that civil society organizations such as the HRCP were vital for Pakistan if it wished to develop into a state that upholds the rights of all its citizens ensure their wellbeing.
“More broadly, human rights work helps create a more tolerant and inclusive society—something that Pakistan is in dire need of at present,” he added.