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Pak rights panel dubbed eyewash

A cabinet committee, set up to study the human rights situation in Pakistan, has been dubbed an eyewash intended to lift the sagging international image of the Nawaz Sharief government.

Indeed a major objective of the exercise is the betterment of the Pakistan government's image in the international media, perceived as increasingly hostile towards the Sharief regime.

''We have a strong commitment to preserving, promoting and protecting human rights, especially the rights of women and children,'' said Prime Minister Sharief at the cabinet meeting during which the committee was formed last weekend.

The realisation by the government that all is not well is a welcome sign, but many critics believe that the whole exercise is meant for the consumption of the world community.

''Sharief's claim in the cabinet meeting about his government's commitment to preserving human rights is belied by his policies and actions,'' commented senator Iqbal Haider, lawyer and a leader of the opposition Pakistan People's Party.

Haider said the defeat in the senate of a resolution condemning killings and violence against women is a clear reflection of the government's insincerity in bettering the human rights situation.

During his 30-month rule, Sharief has gained a reputation for authoritarianism and intolerance to criticism seen in the closure of 2,500 civil society organisations and arrests of a number of journalists.

A crackdown on non-government organisations following their opposition to the official Shariat bill, meant to give tremendous powers to the prime minister, evoked international condemnation.

In fact, the issue figured at the recent government meetings with the Pakistan Development Forum (previously Aid-To-Pakistan Consortium), which called upon the government to better its human rights record.

The new initiative at the highest government level is being perceived as an effort to create media hype to counter the 'propaganda' in the international media against the Sharief government's rights record.

''Although the formation of the committee is an encouraging step, situation will only improve once the government admits where it is wrong and then makes meaningful administrative and legislative changes to ensure that the rights of the people, especially women and children, are protected,'' said Shakil Shaikh, a well-known journalist.

Officials at the foreign and law ministries said that the committee has been asked to finalise its recommendations before the session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission in Geneva begins in the first week of September.

The foreign ministry has proposed the formation of a national coordination committee on human rights as an apex body to monitor and review the promotion and protection of human rights in the country.

''The NCCHR will frame policy to counter and defend complaints against Pakistan, order enquiry into complaints of human rights violations, and follow up on the implementation of various decisions taken by the government relating to human rights issues,'' reads the document prepared by the foreign ministry.

The foreign ministry has also proposed the setting up of an independent national commission on human rights to be headed by a retired Supreme Court judge on the pattern of such bodies already established by India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and other countries.

Another important suggestion pertains to the creation of a full- fledged ministry to deal with the human rights issues, currently being handled by the ministry of law.

The foreign ministry also proposes the formation of a special cell to be headed by a woman and housed by the federal ombudsman's office, to exclusively look into complaints concerning women.

However, critics feel that the steps are cosmetic and that real changes should be made on the ground.

UNI

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