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| Pakistan's independent Human Rights Commission says people are increasingly excluded from the country's decision making process.
Activists releasing their annual reports said despite modest achievements, there had been little progress in human rights last year. They say the government's lack of democracy and transparency is at the heart of the problem. Pakistan, they say, is becoming less, not more, democratic. This, in turn, is undermining human rights. Whether it is the rule of law or social welfare the Commission said, the system is not working. "There's a complete secrecy of government. People are not a part of it. The militarisation of every part of Pakistan and it is rapidly increasing," says Asma Jahangir, the Commission's chairperson. "The population is kept away from not only decision making, but there is a kind of a curtain around how decisions are made." Growing despair The Commission said despite much wanted press freedom, more journalists had been detained or told not to publish or had simply disappeared. And it said the weak were becoming more vulnerable. For instance, there were new laws to curb violence against women but no significant decline in that violence. There was also growing despair because of poverty and lack of opportunity. As a result, more people were killing themselves or turning to crime. |
Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4680796.stm
no democracy, military rule, undermining human rights, terrorists activities, crime, voilence
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