The State Department report also accounted allegations of rights violations in Balochistan, saying that disappearances ‘remained a problem’ with the mutilated bodies of 355 missing people found between June 2010 and December 2011.
Source/Credit: The Nation | Pakistan
By The Nation | May 25, 2012
WASHINGTON - The United States said Thursday that the ‘most serious human rights problems’ in Pakistan were extrajudicial killings, torture, and disappearances committed by security forces as well as by militant groups, while voicing concern over the situation in Balochistan.
In an annual report on human rights, the State Department, which paints a grim picture of the situation in Pakistan, said, “Corruption was widespread within the government and the police forces, and the government made few attempts to combat the problem.” It said that violent actions by the government agencies and extremists groups affected thousands of citizens in nearly all areas of the country.
“Lack of government accountability remained a pervasive problem. Abuses often went unpunished, fostering a culture of impunity,” the report said.
Releasing the report, Assistant Secretary of State for Human Rights Mike Posner also highlighted the growing violations of religious freedom, including through controversial anti-blasphemy laws, as well as violence in Balochistan.
“We’re very concerned about the violence in Balochistan. We’re concerned about the effects of those who’ve challenged some of the laws, like the blasphemy law,” said Posner, the assistant secretary of state for human rights.
The report raised the case of Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman sentenced to death in November 2010 for alleged blasphemy. Assassins last year killed Salmaan Taseer, the Punjab governor and Shahbaz Bhatti, the minister for minority affairs, who both defended Bibi and sought reforms.
In her own remarks on the report, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton did not name Pakistan but voiced concern over the treatment of religious minorities including the Ahmadi community.
The State Department report also accounted allegations of rights violations in Balochistan, saying that disappearances ‘remained a problem’ with the mutilated bodies of 355 missing people found between June 2010 and December 2011.
The State Department report also said that prison conditions were ‘extremely poor’ in Pakistan, with accounts of torture, sexual abuse, overcrowding, inadequate food and medical care, and discrimination against minority inmates.
The report said, “Harassment of journalists, some censorship, and self-censorship continued. There were some restrictions on freedom of assembly and some limits on freedom of movement. The number of religious freedom violations and discrimination against religious minorities increased, including some violations sanctioned by law. Corruption was widespread within the government and the police forces, and the government made few attempts to combat the problem. Rape, domestic violence, sexual harassment, ‘honour’ crimes, abuse, and discrimination against women remained serious problems. Child abuse and commercial sexual exploitation of children persisted. “Widespread human trafficking - including forced and bonded labour - was a serious problem. Societal discrimination against national, ethnic, and racial minorities continued, as did discrimination based on caste, sexual orientation, gender identity, and HIV status. Lack of respect for worker rights continued.
“Lack of government accountability remained a pervasive problem. Abuses often went unpunished, fostering a culture of impunity.
“Violence, abuse, and social and religious intolerance by militant organisations, and other nongovernmental actors contributed to a culture of lawlessness in some parts of the country, particularly Balochistan, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA).
AFP adds: A Senate panel voted to cut aid to Pakistan by a symbolic $33 million on Thursday, $1 million for each year of jail time handed to a Pakistani doctor convicted of treason for helping the United States track down Osama bin Laden.
The Senate Appropriations Committee approved the amendment to the $52 billion US foreign aid budget in a 30 to zero vote in a sign of growing outrage over Pakistan’s conviction of Shakeel Afridi.
“He is not a spy I can tell you,” said Dianne Feinstein, the Democratic chairwoman of the Senate Intelligence Committee. “He should be praised and rewarded.”
“If this is how Pakistan is going to treat a friend and hero. I don’t know about these funds,” Feinstein said.
The mammoth appropriations bill, which includes a total of $1 billion in assistance for Pakistan, will go now to the Senate floor after passing out of committee on Thursday.
It also includes a provision calling for a 58 percent cut in aid for Pakistan if Islamabad does not reopen supply routes frozen since US air strikes that killed 24 Pakistani soldiers in November.
The United States has given Pakistan more than $18 billion in assistance since the September 11, 2001 attacks, but US officials have persistent concerns that some elements of the establishment have maintained support for extremists.
Read original post here: ‘Corruption rampant in Pak govt’
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