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who perished while performing their duties, and hopes that nobody will oblige
the killers by being cowed down by terrorism. Indeed the brutalities inflicted
by the militants should steel the people’s resolve to fight the monster of
extremism till its complete defeat. The latest incident should awaken all those
elements in government and civil society, especially the political parties,that
still have a soft corner for the militants. Their attitude amounts to collusion
with heartless murderers and their failure to take a stand against extremism
will surely push the country towards a catastrophe of unimaginable magnitude.”
September 24: HRCP expressed serious alarm over the recent spike in
incidents of violence and intolerance against vulnerable groups across the
country and said that failure to address intolerance was contributing to the
aggravation. The Commission said: “HRCP is extremely concerned because
of a perceptible increase in instances of violence and intolerance towards
vulnerable groups in recent days. A Shia advertising professional and his young
son have been killed in Karachi; the ever-peaceful Bohris have been targeted in
the port city; Shias coming back from a pilgrimage in Iran have been killed in
Balochistan; and a young Ahmadi shopkeeper has been murdered in Karachi. A
church has also been burned and homes of Christians attacked and looted in
Mardan. It is a matter of unmitigated concern that effective measures to check
unbridled streaks of violence and intolerance remain absent.
October 07: HRCP expressed alarm at growing intolerance and abuse of
belief, continued incidents of enforced disappearance and illegal detention of
citizens in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, proliferation of sectarian
violence and a general breakdown in law and order in the country and called
these overwhelming challenges to the citizens’ right to life and freedom to
practise their religious belief.
A statement issued at the conclusion of the HRCP Council meeting said:
“HRCP is disappointed at the continued enforced disappearances and illegal
detention across the country, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
This endemic malaise has proliferated in conjunction with the plague-like spread
of sectarian violence in Pakistan, which is both widespread and systematic.
HRCP expressed the need for single-minded reform and sustained education
and awareness drives to stem this destructive tide. The use of blasphemy law
to persecute religious minorities should also be highlighted and exposed. HRCP
calls upon the authorities to dismantle all sectarian organisations hobnobbing
with militant elements and ensure effective implementation of the ban on militant
organisations. Unlike the prevailing practice, the investigation and prosecution
of cases of sectarian violence must be given due priority.
HRCP also called upon all political parties, media and civil society
organisations to play their part in ensuring peaceful and free elections,
particularly in Balochistan, and help the Election Commission of Pakistan in
discharging its onerous responsibilities, as the present state of disorder and
lawlessness poses a serious threat and undermines the prospects of peaceful
HRCP stands