EU raises serious concerns over human rights situation in Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: The European Union says that despite some institutional and legal measures taken by the government of Pakistan in 2016, wide-ranging and serious human rights concerns persist in the country, and that they are exacerbated by a weak criminal justice system, religious extremism and militancy.
“Security challenges have continued to slow progress on access to justice and the rule of law,” says the EU annual report on ‘human rights and democracy in the world in 2016’ approved by the EU Council on Monday.
“The rule of law remains uncertain on much of the country’s territory, and access to justice remains limited. Pakistan continued to execute a high number of convicts during 2016, however far fewer than in the previous year,” the report says.
In Pakistan, there are persistently huge differences in the situation of upper and lower class citizens, and of women living in cities or the countryside. Pakistan remained one of the most difficult places to be a child due to lack of education, child marriages and child labour. Religious minorities still live in fear of persecution and violence. Discrimination and violence against women continued to be widespread.
