In a message on the occasion of International Human Rights Day which fell yesterday (December 10), Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed Pakistan’s resolve to uphold the dignity, equality and freedom of all citizens as the nation joined the global community in marking the annual observance. Referring to this year’s theme, ‘Our Everyday Needs’, the prime minister rightly noted that human rights are not abstract ideals but practical necessities such as access to food, clean water and the safety of life. Few would disagree with these sentiments. Fewer still would argue with the prime minister’s appeal to all segments of society to play an active role in promoting tolerance, justice and human dignity. The protection of human rights is a shared responsibility.
But therein lies the problem. Pakistan has heard these affirmations, appeals and pledges year after year, from every prime minister and every government, with little to show on the ground. This is not cynicism but fact. Regardless of which political party is in power, the lived reality of human rights in Pakistan has either stagnated or worsened year after year. Take the most glaring example: enforced disappearances. This issue has persisted for decades. Families continue to protest, names continue to be added to lists of the missing and state responses remain a familiar mix of denial, obfuscation and securitised rhetoric. What cannot be justified is the continued absence of due process, papered over by invoking security concerns. Equally concerning are minority rights. While a landmark bill for the protection of minorities was recently passed, it sits uneasily alongside the reality of how quickly and viciously political consensus can form against vulnerable communities. On Wednesday, Chief Justice of Pakistan Justice Yahya Afridi described the protection of human rights as a national obligation – anchored in Pakistan’s constitutional vision, strengthened by cultural values and essential for building a peaceful, democratic and prosperous country. Again, few would quarrel with this assertion. Yet, it sits uncomfortably with developments within the judicial system itself. The looming possibility of severe sentences for activist-lawyer Imaan Mazari and her spouse Hadi Ali Chatha has alarmed many within the legal fraternity. Legal experts have pointed out that the evidence presented would have been laughable, were it not for the very real threat of imprisonment. If lawyers who consistently defend the marginalised and vulnerable are punished for speaking up, then lofty declarations about constitutional values ring hollow.
Pakistan has seen only fleeting moments when there appeared to be genuine momentum on human rights. The return of Benazir Bhutto and Nawaz Sharif during General Musharraf’s dictatorship raised hopes of democratic restoration and accountability. Those hopes were partially realised, only to be rolled back a decade later with the imposition of a hybrid system. During Imran Khan’s tenure, human rights abuses continued even as opposition parties under the PDM banner spoke eloquently about them. When the PML-N and PPP eventually formed a government, expectations of improvement were swiftly dashed. Today, any form of optimism is in short supply. Human rights are on the defensive globally, with the world having witnessed, in real time, two years of genocide in Palestine broadcast across television screens and social media feeds – with little meaningful accountability. That global erosion should not, however, become an excuse for domestic indifference. International Human Rights Day should be more than a calendar ritual accompanied by recycled statements. If human rights truly are about ‘our everyday needs’, then they must be reflected in everyday governance: in courts that protect speech rather than criminalise it, in laws that are enforced without prejudice, in security policies that respect due process and in political conduct that resists the easy temptation of scapegoating minorities.
thenews.pk