Lahore [Pakistan], the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), in a statement issued on Wednesday, urged Pakistan to implement anti-torture legislation.
According to the statement, the CDHR demanded that the Pakistani administration develop mechanisms that help report and address cases of custodial torture, ensuring that ample financial, human and technical resources are allocated for the same.
The HRCP, referring to Pakistan's Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act of November 2022, commented that the implementation of this law has remained stalled, calling it "a shocking failure in the State's responsibility towards its citizens that must be rectified.
In the additional statement, the Human Rights Commission stated that these unreasonable delays give courage to the perpetrators to continue inflicting torture with complete impunity. The HRCP statement states: "This law must be made functional with its rules and mechanisms instituted immediately."
Furthermore, efforts must be made to stop political and social norms that support or encourage custodial torture by law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, the general public must be made aware of the right of citizens to be free from torture.
The same HRCP statement also mentioned that such provisions can only be effective if they are supported by a criminal justice system with integrity and an explicit commitment to ending custodial torture at all levels.
Earlier, several Pakistani activists had also called for the implementation of the same bill, but human rights groups had pointed out several loopholes in the law. Joseph Jansen, president of the human rights group "Voice for Justice", had said that existing blasphemy laws do not guarantee a fair trial and religious freedom, and the accuser enjoyed impunity despite presenting false evidence and testimony, according to a report published by Dawn. newspaper of that time.
Despite this, no laws were changed and no measures were introduced to prevent the misuse of blasphemy laws, except for procedural changes. Jansen noted that Pakistan's blasphemy laws were incompatible with international human rights standards.
"A prosecutor who makes accusations of blasphemy against any person is required to prove malicious intent, but this stipulation is missing from the legislation and is not taken into account during blasphemy trials," Dawn quoted Jansen as saying in that report.
Another activist, Ashiknaz Khokhar, based in the country, said digital media and social platforms in Pakistan had become a source for making false accusations of blasphemy and attacking religious minorities. According to the human rights activist, innocent people accused of blasphemy were sentenced to years in prison.
According to the statement, the CDHR demanded that the Pakistani administration develop mechanisms that help report and address cases of custodial torture, ensuring that ample financial, human and technical resources are allocated for the same.
The HRCP, referring to Pakistan's Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act of November 2022, commented that the implementation of this law has remained stalled, calling it "a shocking failure in the State's responsibility towards its citizens that must be rectified.
In the additional statement, the Human Rights Commission stated that these unreasonable delays give courage to the perpetrators to continue inflicting torture with complete impunity. The HRCP statement states: "This law must be made functional with its rules and mechanisms instituted immediately."
Furthermore, efforts must be made to stop political and social norms that support or encourage custodial torture by law enforcement agencies. Furthermore, the general public must be made aware of the right of citizens to be free from torture.
The same HRCP statement also mentioned that such provisions can only be effective if they are supported by a criminal justice system with integrity and an explicit commitment to ending custodial torture at all levels.
Earlier, several Pakistani activists had also called for the implementation of the same bill, but human rights groups had pointed out several loopholes in the law. Joseph Jansen, president of the human rights group "Voice for Justice", had said that existing blasphemy laws do not guarantee a fair trial and religious freedom, and the accuser enjoyed impunity despite presenting false evidence and testimony, according to a report published by Dawn. newspaper of that time.
Despite this, no laws were changed and no measures were introduced to prevent the misuse of blasphemy laws, except for procedural changes. Jansen noted that Pakistan's blasphemy laws were incompatible with international human rights standards.
"A prosecutor who makes accusations of blasphemy against any person is required to prove malicious intent, but this stipulation is missing from the legislation and is not taken into account during blasphemy trials," Dawn quoted Jansen as saying in that report.
Another activist, Ashiknaz Khokhar, based in the country, said digital media and social platforms in Pakistan had become a source for making false accusations of blasphemy and attacking religious minorities. According to the human rights activist, innocent people accused of blasphemy were sentenced to years in prison.
