December 10 — On International Human Rights Day, global watchdogs renewed warnings over Pakistan’s rapidly deteriorating human-rights record, accusing the state of systemic repression, targeted violence, and widespread impunity across multiple regions and communities.
Despite being a signatory to seven of the nine core UN human-rights conventions, Pakistan continues to violate fundamental protections, according to human-rights groups.
Pashtun Community: Disappearances and Criminalization of Dissent
Pashtun civilians remain among the hardest hit by Pakistan’s security policies. More than 7,600 enforced disappearances since 2001 and up to 20,000 unresolved cases continue to fuel outrage among families searching for missing relatives.
The government’s October 2024 decision to proscribe the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) under anti-terror laws marked a new phase of repression. PTM leaders Ali Wazir and Manzoor Pashteen have repeatedly faced arrest, while military operations and drone strikes in tribal districts have resulted in civilian casualties.
The abduction of seven PTM delegates in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa further deepened concerns of state overreach.
Balochistan: ‘Kill and Dump’ Allegations Persist
In Balochistan, activists describe a climate of fear shaped by enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and mass detentions. The “kill and dump” policy—long denied by Islamabad—remains a central allegation of Baloch rights groups.
Crackdowns on the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) intensified throughout 2024–25, with protests violently dispersed and prominent women activists, including Dr. Mahrang Baloch, reportedly targeted.
Mass Deportations of Afghan Refugees
Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan has triggered one of the largest forced-return operations in recent history.
Between April and June 2025 alone, over 844,000 Afghans were expelled, with women and girls making up 70 percent of those forced across the border.
Government figures claim more than 14 million deportations since 2023, a number rights organisations call both unverifiable and alarming.
Humanitarian groups have documented extortion, arbitrary arrests, home demolitions, and deportations even of registered refugees.
Transgender Pakistanis Face Deadly Violence
At least 50 transgender Pakistanis were murdered in 2024, many cases dismissed as so-called “honor” crimes.
Following the Federal Shariat Court’s 2023 ruling overturning self-identification rights, protections under the once-praised 2018 Transgender Persons Act have largely eroded, paving the way for escalated violence and discrimination.
Women and Children: Entrenched Impunity
Pakistan continues to rank at the bottom of global gender-equality indices—148 out of 148 countries in the 2025 Global Gender Gap Report.
Honor killings exceed 1,000 cases annually, while 26 million children remain out of school, with widespread child labour, trafficking, and forced marriage.
During the 2024 general election, clerics in Kohistan issued a fatwa banning women candidates from canvassing, a move condemned internationally.
Religious Minorities Targeted Under Harsh Laws
Pakistan’s blasphemy laws, which carry penalties up to death, remain a potent tool of persecution. The year 2024 saw 344 new blasphemy cases, 29% of which targeted minorities.
The Ahmadiyya community faced worsening repression, including 34 attacks on their sites and the detention of 36 members ahead of the 2024 Eid festival.
Christians and Hindus reported continued mob lynchings, church attacks, and forced conversions, particularly of minor girls.
Shia and Hazara Muslims also remain vulnerable to sectarian attacks by armed groups.
Political Crackdown and Curbs on Civil Liberties
Since 2022, Pakistan has detained more than 13,000 members of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), with over a thousand still awaiting trial for participating in protests.
Eighty-five civilians were tried in military courts, raising serious fair-trial concerns.
In 2024 alone, 162 journalists were attacked—seven fatally—while abductions and torture of reporters covering political and military affairs were frequently reported.
New laws, including the Punjab Defamation Act 2024 and expanded surveillance systems such as WMS 2.0 and LIMS, have sharply restricted free expression.
Pakistan-Occupied Kashmir: Protests Met With Force
In Pakistan-administered Kashmir, security forces violently suppressed Awami Action Committee demonstrations in 2024 and 2025. Protesters reported arbitrary arrests, disappearances, and deep frustration over economic exploitation, particularly hydropower revenues.
Media outlets require approval from the Kashmir Council, and even foreign books face government censorship.
Transnational Repression
Rights groups have accused Pakistan of intimidating, abducting, and targeting dissidents abroad, citing cases such as Arshad Sharif, Roshan Khattak, and activists in Europe and the Gulf.
Exiled critics—including Adil Raja, Shahzad Akbar, Ahmad Noorani, and others—have reported threats, harassment, or attacks.
A Human-Rights Crisis With No Sign of Easing
As Pakistan marks another Human Rights Day, advocacy groups warn that Islamabad’s continued denial of abuses, combined with the military’s expanding role in governance, risks cementing a long-term authoritarian trajectory.
Without meaningful reforms and international pressure, analysts fear that the country’s most vulnerable communities will continue to bear the brunt of unchecked state power.
