Human Rights Organizations On Pakistan Current Situation
Commonwealth Organization
Commonwealth Ministerial Action Group issues statement on Pakistan on 12 November 2007 in an extraordinary session to consider the situation in the Republic of Pakistan. Condemning the declaration of emergency and setting out a number of measures that Pakistan must implement before 22 November 2007 or be suspended from the Commonwealth. Read full
UN human rights - Pakistan must restore democratic rule, UN human rights experts urge We are deeply alarmed at the imposition of the state of emergency in Pakistan and condemn the suspension of fundamental freedoms, including the right not to be deprived of one’s liberty, freedom of movement, peaceful assembly and freedom of expression,” said the group in a statement which followed expressions of concern expressed also by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and other UN officials. Further Condemning “the excessive use of force by the police, the brutal repression and the massive arrests that have occurred during demonstrations organized by lawyers to protest against the suspension of the Constitution,” the statement also raised concern about the pervasive restrictions placed on the media, particularly the suspension of broadcasts of all international and national privately owned channels, as well as the serious assaults inflicted upon journalists by members of the police and security forces. Read More
Asian Human Rights Commission - Press Releases The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) urges upon the government of Pakistan to disclose the names of judges, lawyers, journalists, human rights activists and political workers that are continuing to be detained under the emergency rule.
The names of the detainees and the places where they have been detained, which are minimum requirements in the UN’s Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, have not been readily available to detainee’s families. Of the 3,500 lawyers reported to have been arrested and detained only around 500 judges and lawyers were identified. "Without the names of detainees and place of detention, they would be at the mercy of the security forces taking them into custody. They could torture, kill, make them disappear and nobody would know," said Baseer Naveed, senior researcher for South Asia desk.
Human Rights Commission Pakistan - URGES WORLD TO INTERVENE IN PAKISTAN AFFAIRS
The country was passing through another dark phase. Asma Jahangir said dictators had panicked and were taking desperate measures due to the civil society and lawyers protest. Asmaa jahangir further said that she and her companions had faced persecution at the hands of various governments but nothing could make them abandon their mission which they started for the collective good of the society. The dictator is afraid of the country’s intelligentsia more than anything and that was why he was trying to stop them from serving people. She added that the struggle against the proclamation of emergency- in jails and on roads-would continue. Asma said it was not easy for the government to keep holding great public figures such as I.A.Rehman ,Iqbal Haider, Shataj Qizalbash, Saleema Hashmi and many others. She further added that activist were also aware that their every move would have a great impact on the government and it could not keep holding them for a long time Read Full
Amnesty International News
Police arrested the journalists as they protested against a ban on Geo TV and other media restrictions. After protesting outside the Karachi Press Club, the journalists proceeded to the Office of the Governor of Sindh Province in an attempt to meet with officials. Police halted the march and baton-charged the group. Those arrested include more than five women journalists.Read More
