Violations of human rights in Pakistan: 75% of cases remain unpunished

Violations of human rights in Pakistan: 75% of cases remain unpunished
by Fareed Khan
In three years 11 thousand complaints, of which 8 thousand are still pending. Provincial governments unable to prosecute the guilty. Record of violations in the province of Sindh, where out of 6 thousand cases only 783 have obtained justice. Pakistani Minister for Human Rights admits financial difficulties and lack of funds.


Islamabad (AsiaNews) - In the last three years there have been more than 11 thousand cases of human rights violations in Pakistan, 8 thousand of which are still pending and waiting for justice. These were the facts presented by Syed Mumtaz Alam Gilan - Minister for Human Rights – to the National Assembly, the Pakistani parliament, during a question and answer session.
The minister admitted the "disastrous" results of provincial governments in "bringing those guilty to justice” and responding to a question from a member of the Pakistan Muslim League-Quaid (PML-Q) the major opposition party, he explained that “the situation appears worst in Sindh (province in south-east), where out of some 6 thousand cases of human rights violations, only 783 offenders were punished”.
In the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP), where the army hand Taliban have been waging war against each other, out of 2 thousand violations only 730 cases have been resolved. Punjab recorded 2131 complaints, in which 814 led to the initiation of legal action. In Balochistan, finally, courts have resolved 305 cases compared with 823 complaints of human rights violations.
Gilani has stated that legal actions have been undertaken directly by the courts and not on the initiative of the Ministry, which has serious financial difficulties and depends on aid from national and international non-governmental organisations to survive. The Minister added that he has put forward a draft law to create a national commission on human rights. It has already received the go-ahead from the executive, and now awaits the verdict of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Human Rights, to become effective.