Pakistan has been witnessing an uptick in human rights violations which has also sparked international condemnation. On multiple occasions, human rights bodies have expressed concern over the alarming situation in Pakistan.
Amid this backdrop, US-based Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights (RFKHR) has condemned the growing civic suppression in Pakistan. The organization has urged the Pakistani government to end restrictions on fundamental rights.
Read more: US report calls attention to human rights violations in Pakistan
To clarify, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights is an American 501 nonprofit human rights advocacy organization. It was named after United States Senator Robert F. Kennedy in 1968, a few months after his assassination.
In a statement released on its official website, RFKHR has called the arrests of political leaders, a ban on their speeches, and suspensions of media channels a direct attack on democracy and a warning sign of authoritarianism.
In a statement released on April 18th, Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights has condemned repression of dissent and the deteriorating human rights situation in Pakistan. @RFKHumanRights also urged the US government to make the respect of democratic principles a condition for… pic.twitter.com/EO5B0fmCA2
— PTI USA Official (@PTIOfficialUSA) April 19, 2023
Furthermore, RFKHR also took note of the government’s use of “colonial-era laws, including the Sedition Law” against journalists and political opponents critical of state institutions and the army. PTI leader Shahbaz Gill and journalists Arshad Sharif, Sabir Shakir, and Imran Riaz Khan were mentioned by name in the statement as well.
“While the use of media bans on dissenting political voices in Pakistan is not new, the repeated abuse of the media regulatory powers by Pakistani authorities has a great impact on freedom of expression and freedom of the press, which are cornerstones of any true democratic society,” the statement said.
RFKHR urged the government of Pakistan “to cease its undue restrictions on fundamental rights that have the practical impact of closing civic space in contradiction with the obligations arising from the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights”.
It also requested the US government and other allies of Pakistan to not turn a blind eye to the serious deterioration of human rights and the rule of law in the country.
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