LIKE any country in the world, Pakistan is host to multifaceted and complex human rights issues. The country’s marginalised groups, women, minorities, and children frequently face systemic rights violations that are rooted in entrenched power structures.

Perpetrators enjoy impunity, with little rehabilitative support offered to victims. It is thus of little surprise that Pakistan’s performance on international indexes is faltering. Pakistan ranked 164 out of 193 countries under the latest Human Development Index, placing it firmly in the “low human development” category in terms of education, health and income levels.

The situation on the ground is worrying, especially when one considers the Government of Pakistan’s international commitments under the seven core United Nations human rights treaties it has ratified. These treaties are more than just paper. They create concrete obligations for the government to respect and fulfil key civil, political, economic, social and cultural rights of all those in its territory. On Oct 17, 2024, the Government of Pakistan’s performance pertaining to civil and political rights, as enshrined under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights........

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