Daily Times

ISLAMABAD: In response to a letter by Human Rights Watch (HRW) director to Prime Minister Imran Khan, Human Rights Minister Dr Shireen Mazari said Pakistan was well aware of its obligations and was committed to ensure and protect human rights of its citizens in pursuance of the Constitution of Pakistan and international commitments; not by any external pressure.

The minister asserted in a reply to HRW that “since you mentioned that you monitor human rights violations in over 90 countries, I hope that you would also raise your voice against a massive human rights violations, carried out in Indian-Held Kashmir, Palestine and in some European States against Muslims citizens”.

A draft of the letter to HRW Asia Director Brad Adams is, “Reference your letter to our prime minister. Let me make it clear that the PM and the government are committed to ensuring the human rights guaranteed to all Pakistani citizens under the Constitution. In this context, we are well aware of the need to effectively enforce the laws regarding the enforcement of human rights of all our citizens as well as the need to bring our national laws in alignment with our international legal commitments through the international treaties we have ratified. Our government is committed to ensuring the fulfilment of all our international legal obligations.

We will do all this because we believe in fulfilling our constitutional obligations and we certainly do not need to be informed or reminded of our human rights agenda. My Ministry is already moving forward with a holistic action plan. We know the prevailing shortcomings in ensuring human rights of all our citizens and are working towards overcoming them.

Since you claim you monitor human rights violations in over 90 countries, I hope that would include the massive human rights violations being carried out as a matter of state policy by India in IHK and by Israel in Palestine. I may have missed your monitoring reports on these so would appreciate if you could refresh my memory.

Additionally, I hope your organisation, HRW, will take up the issue of the violation of human rights by some European states against their Muslim citizens in the form of curtailing their right to practice their religion freely and in the form of abuse of Islam and Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him), in direct contravention of the European Convention for the Protection of Human Rights & Fundamental Freedoms. Since HRW claims to monitor human rights across the world, I would like to be informed on how you are ensuring the rights of Muslim citizens to have their mosques and be able to dress and practice their religion freely and without ridicule in European states.

We will always welcome positive suggestions and inputs which can help further our government’s human rights agenda as we have many challenges confronting us; but a non-governmental organisation’s institutional credibility will rest on its commitment to ensuring human rights across the globe not just in selective states.”

Published in Daily Times, August 29^th 2018.