UN body concerned over rights violation in Pakistan

The United Nations Human Rights Council has expressed grave concern over the violation of human rights in Pakistan during its Sixth Session in Geneva.

Karachi, Dec 19 : The United Nations Human Rights Council has expressed grave concern over the violation of human rights in Pakistan during its Sixth Session in Geneva.

The Secretary-General of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Iqbal Haider, expressed his deepest concern over the dramatic setback in human rights and the rule of law in Pakistan.

Participating in the debate on behalf of the HRCP and the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) in Geneva, Haider said that during the period of emergency thousands of citizens including the judges, lawyers, journalists, teachers, students, trade union leaders and human rights activists had been victimized."

"Cases of forced disappearances were also pending before the Supreme Court of Pakistan", he added

"The January 8 election was not a step forward in the direction of sustainable democracy. Unfortunately, under the present conditions, it was aimed at sustaining the dictatorship," he claimed.

He urged the Pakistan Government to reinstate Chief Justice Iftikhar Chaudhary and all judges of the Supreme Court and high courts who had refused to take oaths under the Provisional Constitutional Order (PCO).

Haider also used the opportunity to demand the withdrawal of all amendments to the The Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) ordinance and restrictions on the electronic and print media, and on the freedom of expression.

He also called for the immediate withdrawal of all amendments to the Army Act.

He urged the UN Human Rights Council to adopt effective measures for the implementation of the aforesaid recommendations, and to adopt a resolution that firmly condemned the current situation.

ANI