Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/pc/text/humanrts/pakistan.txu

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TITLE:  PAKISTAN HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995



Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press,
and citizens are generally free to discuss public issues.
However, the Constitution stipulates the death penalty for
anyone who damages the Constitution by any act, including the
publication of statements against the spirit of the
Constitution.  The Constitution prohibits the ridicule of
Islam, the armed forces, or the judiciary.  Moreover, the Penal
Code mandates the death sentence for anyone convicted of
blaspheming the Prophet Muhammad (see Section 2.c.).
Journalists censor themselves on such subjects.

A Print, Press, and Publications Ordinance requires the
registration of printing presses and newspapers and allows the
Government to confiscate newspapers or magazines deemed
objectionable.  Foreign books must pass government censors
before being reprinted, although the importation of books is
freely allowed.  Government censors occasionally ban
publications, usually for objectionable religious content, but
for other reasons as well.  In 1994 the Government banned a
book entitled "The Political Role of Intelligence Agencies in
Pakistan" because it contained a critical view of intelligence
agencies.

A government-owned press trust controls two newspapers--an
English-language and an Urdu daily.  The Ministry of
Information controls one of the two main wire services; the
other is privately owned.  The numerous privately owned
newspapers have a circulation that far exceeds that of the
government-owned newspapers.  The government newspapers and
wire services are circumspect in their coverage of the news and
generally follow the government line.

Nevertheless, the press has enjoyed an increasing level of
freedom since 1989.  Privately owned newspapers freely discuss
public policy and criticize the Government.  They report
remarks made by opposition politicians and their editorials
reflect a spectrum of views.

The Government attempts to influence editorial policy at
privately owned newspapers by its power to allocate duty-free
newsprint and its placement of government advertising--an
important source of newspaper revenue.  In the first half of
1994, the Ministry of Information stopped placing advertising
for several months with two leading Urdu dailies, Khabrain and
Nawa-e-Waqt, claiming they had engaged in irresponsible
journalism.  There were also widespread reports that
journalists took bribes from government or opposition political
parties.

Various political parties and the police harassed journalists
and newspaper companies.  The police arrested Farooq Aqdas,
senior political correspondent of an Urdu daily, Jang, during
the summer and detained him for several hours on charges filed
against him a year and a half earlier by another journalist.
On December 4, unidentified gunmen assassinated Muhammad
Salahuddin, the editor of the weekly Takbeer in Karachi.
Salahuddin was known for his criticism of the MQM and PPP and
he had been the victim of previous attacks on his home and
office in 1990 and 1991.  On December 6, unidentified
assailants shot dead the General Manager of an Urdu daily,
Parcham, in his Karachi office.

The Government owns and operates all radio stations, and all
but one semiprivate television station.  It strictly controls
their news broadcasts.  However, the Shalimar Television
Network (STN), a semiprivate television station, provides
programs including Cable News Network (CNN) and British
Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) programs, with considerable
independence from government oversight.  The Government censors
segments of CNN and BBC considered socially offensive.  The
Ministry of Information monitors the advertisements on STN,
editing or removing those deemed objectionable.

Conservative religious and political groups have been active in
promoting their own code of social morality.  The Shari'a Law
has bolstered such efforts by placing greater pressure on
individuals to conform to Islamic sensibilities.  In 1994 there
were occasional reports of campaigns to remove obscene
materials from video stores, but book and video stores
generally operated without hindrance.

Literary and creative works remain generally free of
censorship.  Obscene literature, a category broadly defined by
the Government, is subject to seizure.  Dramas and
documentaries on previously taboo subjects, including
corruption, social privilege, narcotics, violence against
women, and female inequality, are now broadcast on television.

The Government and universities generally respect academic
freedom.  However, the atmosphere of violence and intolerance
fostered by student organizations, typically tied to political
parties, is a threat to academic freedom.  On some campuses,
well-armed groups of students of varying political persuasions
clash with and intimidate other students, instructors, and
administrators on matters of language, syllabus, examination
policies, doctrine, and dress.

Human rights groups remain concerned about the implementation
of a 1992 Supreme Court ruling that prohibits student political
organizations on campuses.  While they acknowledge the ruling
led to a reduction of campus violence, they question the
legality of school officials expelling students they find
guilty of membership in a political organization.

     b.   Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Government generally permits peaceful assembly.  District
magistrates occasionally exercised their power under the
Criminal Procedures Code to ban meetings of more than four
people when demonstrations seemed likely to result in
violence.  This provision was invoked frequently in June during
the Islamic month of Muharram, when tensions between Sunni and
Shi'a Muslims traditionally peak.  Many observers attributed
the relatively peaceful month of Muharram to these measures.
The Government usually did not interfere with large political
rallies, although in an attempt to prevent a strike, it
arrested over 1,000 opposition members in October.

Opposition leader Nawaz Sharif and a large number of supporters
traveled unhindered across the country in September, holding
large rallies critical of the Government.  However, the
authorities sometimes prevented leaders of politico-religious
parties to travel to certain areas if they believed their
presence would increase sectarian tensions.

The Constitution provides for freedom of association subject to
restrictions by government ordinance and law.  There have been
no recent cases of banned groups or parties.

     c.   Freedom of Religion

Pakistan is an Islamic republic in which 97 percent of the
people are Muslim.  The Constitution requires that laws must be
consistent with Islam.  The Government permits Muslims to
convert to other faiths but prohibits proselytizing among
Muslims.

Minority groups fear that the Shari'a Law and its goal of
"Islamizing" government and society may further restrict the
freedom to practice their religion.  Many reportedly live in
terror because the religious legislation has encouraged an
atmosphere of religious intolerance which has led to acts of
violence directed at Ahmadis, Christians, Hindus, Zikris, and
others.  Several incidents in 1994 heightened the sense of
insecurity and fear among the religious minorities.

In April men riding a motorcycle shot and killed Manzoor Masih,
a Christian, as he departed a courthouse in Lahore where he was
being tried for blasphemy.  The authorities had arrested Masih
and two other Christians, including a 13-year-old boy, in 1993
for allegedly writing blasphemous remarks about the Prophet
Muhammad on a wall--even though two of the three were
illiterate.  Two other persons with Manzoor were injured in the
attack.  The police arrested three suspects, among them the
complainants who brought the blasphemy case against Masih.  At
year's end, the suspects were free on bail.  While government
officials condemned the incident, Christian leaders and human
rights groups maintain that the Government reacted weakly and
has done little to discourage extremists or offer increased
protection to religious minorities.  In at least two other
instances, the inhabitants of two villages of Christians,
including Masih's village, were forced to move after receiving
threats from Muslim extremists.

A 1974 constitutional amendment declared Ahmadis to be a
non-Muslim minority because they do not accept Muhammad as the
last prophet of Islam.  However, Ahmadis regard themselves as
Muslims and observe many Islamic practices.  In 1984 the
Government inserted Section 298(c) into the Penal Code which
prohibited an Ahmadi from calling himself a Muslim and banned
Ahmadis from using Islamic terminology.  The punishment is up
to 3 years' imprisonment and a fine.  Since 1984, the
Government has used Section 298(c) to harass Ahmadis.

In 1993 the Supreme Court ruled against the Ahmadis in a case
on the constitutionality of Section 298(c).  The Court upheld
that section of the law, rejecting the argument that it
violated the right of freedom of speech and religion.  The
judge writing for the majority found that Islamic phrases are
in essence a copyrighted trademark of the Islamic religion.  He
reasoned that the use of Islamic phrases by Ahmadis was
equivalent to copyright infringement and violated the Trademark
Act of 1940.  The majority also found that the use of certain
Islamic phrases by Ahmadis was equivalent to blasphemy.

The judgment has emboldened anti-Ahmadi groups and resulted in
more court cases against Ahmadis.  In 1994 the Government
promised that it would defend Section 298(c) from an appeal on
other grounds.  In the first 9 months of 1994, 17 cases under
Section 298(c) were filed against Ahmadis resulting in 1
conviction.  Rashood Ahmad of Sangahr was sentenced to 2 years
in prison and fined $166 for displaying a verse from the Koran
on his wall.

In January the authorities arrested five journalists, including
the septuagenarian editor of Al Fazal, the Ahmadi daily, under
Section 298(c).  The arrests were made because of general
complaints that the writers in Al Fazal had propagated their
faith and passed themselves off as Muslims, thus injuring the
feelings of Muslims.  The five were released on bail on March
7.  At year's end, their case was pending in the courts.

In another incident, the Rawalpindi Development Authority
demolished an Ahmadi center in Rawalpindi on September 15.  The
Government claimed that the land was illegally converted to a
place of worship--despite the fact that the land had been used
for worship for 40 years.  On the building plans submitted to
the city, the Ahmadi community did not describe the building on
the land as a mosque, because that would have violated Section
298(c).  In other incidents, several prominent Ahmadis,
including a university professor, were killed during the year
in what some regard as sectarian murders.  Investigations of
the cases are continuing.

The Government classifies Ahmadis as "non-Muslims" on their
passports.  This has led the authorities in Saudi Arabia to
prevent Ahmadis from performing the religious pilgrimage to
Mecca.  In 1992 the Government ordered national identity cards
to convey the bearer's religion, but so far the Government has
not submitted implementing legislation.

In 1986 the Government inserted Section 295(c) into the Penal
Code which stipulates the death penalty for blaspheming the
Prophet Muhammad.  This provision has been used by litigants
against Ahmadis, Christians, and even Muslims.  In 1992 the
Senate unanimously adopted a bill to amend the Blasphemy Law so
that the death penalty is mandatory upon conviction.

According to Ahmadi sources, 5 blasphemy cases, involving 15
persons, were registered against Ahmadis in the first 9 months
of 1994.  Since 1986 over 100 blasphemy cases have been
registered against Ahmadis with no convictions.  In the same
period, at least nine blasphemy cases have been brought against
Christians and seven against Muslims.

Two persons were convicted of blasphemy and sentenced to
death:  Mohammad Arshad Javaid of Bahawalpur, a 37-year-old
Muslim who is reportedly mentally unsound and remains in
prison, and Gul Masih, a Christian of Sargodha.  However, Gul
Masih was acquitted of blasphemy by the Lahore High Court on
November 27 and released from prison.

The Blasphemy Law has also been used to justify extrajudicial
killings.  In Gujranwala, Punjab, a mob lynched a Muslim in
April in front of the police station after falsely accusing him
of burning a copy of the Koran.  In May a judge sentenced a
Muslim accused of killing a Christian school teacher to 14
years in prison.  Nevertheless, some observers criticized the
ruling because the judge took into account the defendant's
claim that he committed the offense because the teacher had
blasphemed the Prophet Muhammad.  The judge reportedly stated
that blaspheming the Prophet would be conducive to a total loss
of control by every Muslim.

When such religious cases are brought to court, extremists
often pack the courtroom and make public threats against an
acquittal.  As a result, judges and magistrates often continue
trials indefinitely, and the accused is burdened with further
legal costs and repeated court appearances.

A Sunni Muslim group, the Anjuman Sipah-i-Sahaba,
unsuccessfully sought to introduce legislation in 1994 that
would have declared the Zikri sect in Balochistan as a
non-Muslim sect.  There were also continued reports in the year
of attacks by extremists on Hindus.

The security of religious minorities was a major issue of
discussion in the Government and the press in 1994.  The
Government promised to introduce measures to reduce the abusive
litigation under the blasphemy laws, but defended the laws
themselves.  At year's end, the Government had not taken any
remedial action.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

Most citizens enjoy freedom of movement within the country and
to travel abroad, but the Government occasionally prohibits
movement of persons within Pakistan through "externment orders"
when it believes their presence will lead to a threat to public
order.  Travel to Israel is legally prohibited.  Government
employees must obtain "no objection certificates" before
traveling abroad.  Students are also required to have these
certificates from their institutions.  Pakistanis have and
regularly exercise the right to emigrate.  Exit control lists
are used to prevent the departure of wanted criminals.

The resumption of civil war in Afghanistan in early 1994
created a new wave of refugees.  In response to this new
influx, the Government closed its borders with Afghanistan and
officially admitted only those Afghans who were properly
documented or in need of humanitarian assistance.  Despite
these restrictions over 66,000 new refugees arrived in the
first 9 months of 1994.

Approximately 1.4 million Afghan refugees remain in Pakistan.
They have limited access to legal protection and depend on the
ability of the leaders of their groups to resolve disputes
among themselves and with Pakistani society.  Women and girls
have obtained better education and health care as group leaders
gradually secured such services.  Many refugees have found
employment but are not covered by the labor laws.

Traffickers in women bought or lured hundreds of women from
Bangladesh with promises of a better life.  They transported
the women across India and placed them with families as
domestic servants or as prostitutes in brothels.  The
authorities detained some of the women for prostitution under
the Hadood Ordinances.  Few are able or willing to return to
Bangladesh.  Many are released into the custody of their
exploiters, who set them to work as prostitutes again.  Efforts
to repatriate Bangladeshis in 1994 were mostly unsuccessful.

The "repatriation" of Biharis continued to be a contentious
issue.  The Biharis are Urdu-speaking people from the Indian
state of Bihar who went to East Pakistan, now Bangladesh, at
the time of partition in 1947.  Since 1971, after Bangladesh
gained its independence, approximately 250,000 Biharis have
been in refugee camps in Bangladesh.  The repatriation of these
people is tied to Pakistan's various ethnic problems.  While
the Mohajir community, made up of Pakistanis who emigrated from
India during partition, supports the repatriation, the Sindhi
community opposes the move.  In 1993 the Government flew 342
Biharis to Pakistan and placed them in temporary housing in
central Punjab.  No further repatriation has occurred.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens have the right and the ability to change their
government peacefully.  With certain exceptions, citizens aged
21 and over have the right to vote.  However, several million
bonded laborers and nomads may not vote because the National
Election Commission has ruled that they do not "ordinarily
reside in an electoral area, nor do they own/possess a dwelling
or immovable property in that area."  Political parties have
been allowed to operate freely since the lifting of martial law
in 1985 and 1986.  In 1988 the Supreme Court struck down a law
banning unregistered political parties from participating in
elections.

The Senate is elected by the members of the four provincial
assemblies.  Senators serve for 6 years.  The President is
indirectly elected by an electoral college consisting of the
members of the national and provincial assemblies and the
Senate.  The President serves for 5 years.  Members of the
national and provincial assemblies serve 5 years, unless the
President dissolves the Assembly.  The Senate may not be
dissolved by the President.  The President has the
constitutional authority to dismiss the Government arbitrarily,
but a 1993 Supreme Court ruling significantly limited that
ability.

The Constitution requires that the President and Prime Minister
be Muslims.  Members of minority religious groups may not vote
in Muslim constituencies.  They cast their ballots for
candidates running for special at-large seats reserved for them
in the national and provincial assemblies.  Most Ahmadis,
disputing their designation as non-Muslims, have refused to
vote for such representatives.  Christians and Hindus note that
this system marginalizes religious minorities, by allowing the
Muslim candidates to ignore them as a voting block.  As a
result, areas where minorities predominate receive
significantly less government development and assistance funds.

Local governments and the provincial and national assemblies
are directly elected.  However, local government bodies were
dissolved in 1993 as the result of a political compromise
between the ruling party and the opposition.  New elections
have not been held.  In the meantime, provincial and federal
officials are responsible for governance.

The more than 2 million Pushtun people living in the Federally
Administered Tribal Areas do not vote for their National
Assembly representatives and have no representation in the
assembly of the Northwest Frontier province.  In keeping with
local traditions, FATA's National Assembly members are elected
by tribal leaders, or maliks, who are appointed in the
Governor's name by the central Government's political agents.
Many people living in this area have expressed dissatisfaction
at having no vote.  However, the majority of Pushtun people
live outside the FATA and, while retaining their tribal
identity, are fully integrated into politics and society.

Because of a longstanding territorial dispute with India, the
political status of the Northern Areas--Hunza, Gilgit, and
Baltistan--is not resolved.  As a result, more than 1 million
inhabitants of the Northern Areas are not covered under any
constitution and have no representation in the federal
legislature.  The area is administered by an appointed civil
servant.  While there is an elected Northern Areas Council,
this body serves in an advisory capacity to the Federal
Government and has no legislative authority.  In 1994 in
response to concerns of lack of representation, the Federal
Cabinet decided that residents of the Northern Areas would vote
in elections for representatives to serve on an expanded
Council.  However, the expanded Council does not have the
authority to change laws or raise and spend revenue.

In 1993 the High Court of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) ruled
that the Northern Areas should be incorporated into the
semiautonomous state of Azad Jammu and Kashmir and its
inhabitants given a right to be represented in the AJK
legislative assembly.  In August the High Court ruled that the
Federal Government has authority over the Northern Areas until
final status of Jammu and Kashmir is resolved.

Although women participate in government, they are
underrepresented in political life at all levels.  Only 4 women
hold seats in the 217-member National Assembly.  However, for
the first time, the Government appointed at least five women to
the previously all-male high court benches.  While women
participate in large numbers in elections, some women are
dissuaded from voting in elections by family, and religious and
social customs in rural areas.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

There are several domestic human rights organizations, and new
human rights and legal aid groups continue to form and are
generally free to operate without government restriction.
Senior members of the Bhutto government, including the former
Minister of Law and Justice, have been active members of
respected human rights organizations and participate in human
rights organization functions.

Religious extremists distributed material that accused several
human rights activists of blasphemy and called for them to be
killed.  Various international human rights organizations have
been permitted to visit Pakistan and travel freely.

In 1994 the Government formed a human rights unit in the
Ministry of Interior as a sort of ombudsman for human rights.
The unit brought attention to the problem of spouse abuse by
arranging visits by the Prime Minister to hospitalized abuse
victims.  A human rights committee was also established in the
National Assembly; a similar committee was formed in the Senate
in 1993.  These committees have taken little action to date.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

     Women

There are significant barriers to the advancement of women,
beginning at birth.  In general, female children are less
valued and cared for than male children.  According to a United
Nations study, girls receive less nourishment, health care, and
education than their brothers.  According to the Government,
only 23.5 percent of the females over 10 years old are
literate, compared with 48.9 percent for males.  Only 12
percent of women use family planning methods.  As a result, the
fertility rate is six children per woman.  In rural areas,
women in small farm families generally work alongside men in
the fields.  However, they remain subordinate to men and suffer
discrimination in education, employment, and legal rights.

Human rights monitors and women's groups fear that the Shari'a
Law would have a harmful effect on the rights of women and
minorities.  However, the Law states that women's and minority
rights protected under the Constitution would not be affected.
The Law's impact on these groups has been limited because the
Government has not passed enabling legislation.  Nonetheless,
the Law reinforces popular attitudes and perceptions, and
contributes to an atmosphere in which discriminatory treatment
of women and non-Muslims is more readily accepted.

Some Islamic leaders continue to stress a conservative
interpretation of Islamic injunctions to justify discrimination
against women.  Many citizens interpret the Koran's injunctions
on modesty to mean that women should remain either at home or
veiled.  It remains accepted practice to assign women
subordinate roles in the civil, political, and managerial
hierarchies.

Both civil and religious laws protect women's rights in cases
of divorce, but, as in the case of inheritance laws, many women
are unaware of them, and often the laws are not observed.  In
such cases women generally do not receive--or are pressed to
surrender--their due share of the inheritance.  In rural areas,
the practice of a woman "marrying the Koran" is still widely
accepted if her family cannot arrange a suitable marriage or
wants to keep the family wealth intact.  A woman married to the
Koran is forbidden to have any contact with males over 14 years
of age, including her immediate family members.

In 1992 the Supreme Court invalidated the requirement that a
husband must give written notice of a divorce to a local union
council.  The husband's statement, with or without witnesses,
is the defining legal step.  The woman, lacking written proof
of divorce, remains legally and socially vulnerable.  Human
rights organizations expressed concern that a woman could be
charged with adultery if her former spouse were to deny having
divorced her.

Although a small number of women study and teach in
universities, postgraduate employment opportunities remain
largely limited to teaching, medical services, and the law.
Nevertheless, an increasing number of women are entering the
commercial and public sectors.  Karachi lawyers estimate that
the number of female judges in civil courts there has increased
to about 30 percent of the total.  There are reports that women
who apply to professional colleges face discrimination.  Women
may now participate in international athletic competition,
although few do.

There is no reliable information on the extent of domestic
violence, primarily because it is viewed as a private matter
and many women do not acknowledge that it is a serious
problem.  A survey of burn victims at two hospitals in
Rawalpindi and Islamabad conducted by the Progressive Women's
Association from March to October reported 35 cases of burned
women, only 4 of whom survived.  So far the Government has
taken legal action against the perpetrators in seven cases and
obtained two convictions.

While abusive spouses may be charged for assault, cases are
rarely filed.  Police usually return battered wives to their
abusive husbands.  A notable exception occurred in 1994 when a
man convicted of mutilating his wife was sentenced to 30 years
in prison and required to pay $4,000 in compensation.  That
case had received extensive media coverage and the attention of
the Prime Minister.

Rape is a widespread problem, although there was a slight
decline in the reported incidence of rape during 1994 compared
to 1993.  There were about 800 cases of rape reported in the
press during the year.  It is estimated that less than
one-third of all rapes are reported to the police.  Marital
rape is not a crime.  The rape of another man's wife is a
common method for revenge in rural and tribal areas.

The HRCP reports that there were 92 cases of public humiliation
of women during 1994, including stripping in public, dragging
them by the hair through the streets, throwing acid in their
face, or public sexual harassment.  There is little evidence of
efforts by police to stop such activities.

In 1994 the press continued to draw attention to the problem of
so-called dowry deaths in which married women may be killed by
relatives in a dowry dispute.  Most of the victims are burned
to death, allegedly in kitchen stove accidents.  It is
difficult to differentiate criminal conduct from stove
accidents which are common because of the use of unsafe wood or
gas stoves and because women wear garments of highly flammable
material.

There are an increasing number of reports of women killed or
mutilated by male relatives who suspect them of adultery.  Few
such cases are investigated seriously.  An article in the
magazine Newsline alleged that hundreds of men and women from
Balochistan and rural areas of Sindh and Punjab provinces are
killed annually for illicit sexual relations.  While the
tradition of such killing applies equally to offending men and
women, women are more likely to be killed than men.