HRCP Chairperson Hina Jilani
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday emphasized that it considered any step by the government to ban the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) “both reckless and disproportionate,” adding it will set a bad precedent.
In a statement, the independence rights body’s chairperson Hina Jilani said any attempt to ban a political party would prevent them from developing naturally in line with the wishes of their electorate. The organization also warned all political stakeholders that if they did not take steps to bring down the political temperatures, they could imperil the country’s fragile democracy and find themselves unable to steer the country safely through the multiple crises it is facing.
Emphasizing that the ongoing political crisis’ greatest casualty was civilian supremacy, it lamented that the government’s “inability—or unwillingness—to safeguard civilian supremacy” or to preserve the dignity of Parliament had proven “tremendously disappointing.” Pointing to the PTI, it acknowledged that its history of “hostile politics and contempt for the rule of law” had also played a role in the May 9 riots. “These were not peaceful protests. The evidence points to acts of arson, rioting, looting, vandalism and trespass onto state and private property,” it said.
Referring to the PTI’s unverified allegations of violence and custodial torture against political workers and PTI supporters, the HRCP said they nonetheless merited independent investigation. “HRCP reminds the authorities that torture or any form of degrading treatment of persons in custody are serious violations of human rights,” it said, adding that the disappearance of two journalists must also be investigated transparently, the findings made public and perpetrators held strictly to account. Referring to the government’s decision to prosecute civilians who attacked military installations and buildings under the Pakistan Army Act, 1952, the HRCP said there were ample provisions in civilian laws to ensure accountability.
“Any government seriously committed to upholding civilian supremacy would strongly consider repealing Article 2(1)(d) of the Act, which allows civilians to be tried in military courts, thereby denying them their constitutional right to a fair trial,” it said, adding that the arbitrary manner in which certain cases are selected to be tried by military courts violated the principle of equality before the law and equal protection of the law.
Noting that the partisanship and disunity of the judiciary raised serious implications for the trichotomy of powers, it regretted that its failure to credibly maintain its independence and impartiality had exacerbated the rule-of-law crisis in the country.
The rights watchdog also stressed that general elections should “under no circumstances” be delayed beyond October 2023. “Such a step by the government would amount to derailing the democratic process and compound the current political instability,” it warned, adding that anything less than free, fair and credible elections would leave room for further “ill-judged and undemocratic political experiments.” Jillani further warned that the organization’s greatest concern was how quickly nonpolitical forces were retaking space that civil society had fought long and hard for. “The democracy that Pakistan’s people want and deserve cannot be built on fluid loyalties and shifting narratives,” she said. “HRCP opposed what it saw as political engineering in the 2018 elections, but it objects just as strongly to the tactics employed in the attempt to reverse-engineer the democratic process,” she added.