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Looking inwards
Editorial | Published May 6, 2026 | Updated 2 days ago 0
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REGULAR appraisals by human rights groups and activists should not be
treated by the authorities as attempts to smear the country’s name. Instead,
these valuable observations are crucial to improving the situation of
fundamental rights in Pakistan. As expected, the HRCP’s new report, the State
of Human Rights in 2025, does not paint a reassuring picture of human rights
in the country and indicates that there is much room for improvement. The
government would do well to note the areas emphasised in the document. For
example, the report says that last year, the country faced “severe contraction
of civic space, the erosion of judicial independence, and deepening insecurity”.
Among the leading areas of concern was the shrinking space for freedom of
expression, with the report noting that the changes made to the Prevention of
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Electronic Crimes Act made the law an instrument to curb dissent. Journalists’
Indus Cloud Limited, Indus DC REIT and
bodies have also highlighted the misuse of such laws, which have a chilling UBL form strategic partnership to
accelerate Pakistan’s digital
effect across the media spectrum, and result in self-censorship. The report is infrastructure and cloud adoption
This collaboration marks a significant step toward
also critical of changes made to the Anti-Terrorism Act at the centre and in strengthening the country’s digital backbone and
locally hosted cloud services for enterprises and
Balochistan, as they allow for lengthening the period of detention without public sector organisations.
charge. However, there were some bright spots as well last year. The report
notes that the passage of the National Commission for Minorities Act is a
welcome move for non-Muslim citizens, while the passage of child marriage
restraint laws in Islamabad and Balochistan are also positive developments.
Over the last year or so, Pakistan has greatly improved its external image, playing
peacemaker in some of the toughest disputes in the world, such as the Iran-US conflict.
These are indeed welcome developments, but the state must also reflect on how to improve
the rights situation internally. If Pakistan is to become a welfare state for all, it must work
on strengthening legal and administrative measures so that the weakest and poorest of its
citizens are protected from exploitation. The state must be the guardian of the people’s
rights, and not look the other way — or worse, be complicit in the abuse of rights. There is
much work to be done, but the rulers should take the first step by acknowledging that there
are issues that need their attention. The struggle for democratic freedoms must continue,
with civil society, political parties and activists all playing their part.
Published in Dawn, May 6th, 2026
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