ISLAMABAD, JAN. 15. The New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) in its latest report on Pakistan has said that ever since President Pervez Musharraf seized office in a bloodless coup five years ago, Pakistan's military has acted with increasing impunity to enforce its writ over the State and to protect its grip on Pakistan's `economic resources,' especially land.
According to the HRW, the other pressing human rights concerns in the country include a rise in sectarian violence; legal discrimination against and mistreatment of women and religious minorities; arbitrary detention of political opponents; harassment and intimidation of the media; and lack of due process in the conduct of the "war on terror" in collaboration with the United States.
A major military offensive against alleged Taliban and Al-Qaeda forces in the South Waziristan area bordering Afghanistan resulted in massive displacement of civilians and scores of deaths, it said.
Substantiating the charge about military consolidating its grip on economic resources, the HRW said in Okara district of the military's traditional stronghold of Punjab, paramilitary forces acting in conjunction with the army killed and tortured farmers who refused to cede their land rights to the army.
Honour killings
It said violence against women and girls, including domestic violence, rape, "honour killings," acid attacks, and trafficking, are rampant in Pakistan. The existing legal code discriminates against women and girls and creates major obstacles to seeking redress in cases of violence. Survivors of violence encounter unresponsiveness and hostility at each level of the criminal justice system, from police who fail to register or investigate cases of gender-based violence to judges with little training or commitment to women's equal rights.
The report said under Pakistan's existing Hudood Ordinance, proof of rape generally requires the confession of the accused or the testimony of four adult Muslim men who witnessed the assault. If a woman cannot prove her rape allegation she runs a very high risk of being charged with fornication or adultery, the criminal penalty for which is either a long prison sentence and public whipping, or, though rare, death by stoning. The testimony of women carries half the weight of a man's testimony under this ordinance.
The Government is yet to repeal or reform the Hudood Ordinance, despite repeated calls for its repeal by the Government-run National Commission on the Status of Women, as well as women's rights and human rights groups. Informed estimates suggest that over 200,000 cases under the Hudood laws are under process at various levels in Pakistan's legal system, it claimed.
The HRW quoted Interior Ministry saying that there have been more than 4,000 honour killings in the last six years. Non-governmental groups recorded more than 1,300 honour killings in 2003.
Sectarian violence up
On religious freedom it said sectarian violence increased significantly in Pakistan in 2004. While estimates suggest that at least 4,000 people, largely from the minority Shia Muslim sect, have died as a result of sectarian violence since 1980, the last five years have witnessed a steep rise in incidents of sectarian violence.
The HRW said conduct of the "war on terror" in Pakistan led to serious violations of human rights. Suspects arrested and held on terrorism charges frequently were detained without charge and subject to trials without proper judicial process.
According to government sources, at least 63 foreign and local combatants were killed in the operation, it said. In addition, as the "spring offensive" got under way, army and paramilitary troops reportedly evicted between 25,000 and 35,000 civilians from the area in and around the village of Kalusha on March 16, 2004. Reports indicate that the Pakistan Government made no arrangements for those evicted and scores of dwellings were destroyed in the subsequent fighting.
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