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In February, Patras Masih, 18, and Sajid Masih, 24, were charged with blasphemy in Lahore. However, the government did not amend the law and instead encouraged discriminatory prosecutions and other abuses against vulnerable groups. Groups supporting the blasphemy law took to the streets to protest the decision of Aasia’s release, damaged public and private property, and threatened judges of the Supreme Court, government officials, and military leadership with violent reprisals.īlasphemy allegations and related rhetoric from both private actors and officials increased in 2018. In October, Pakistan’s Supreme Court quashed the conviction and ordered the release of 47-year-old Aasia Bibi, a Christian woman from a village in Punjab province who had been on death row for eight years. Most of those facing blasphemy allegations are members of religious minorities.
#Number of days left in 2019 registration#
The government used its “Regulation of INGOs in Pakistan” policy to impede the registration and functioning of international humanitarian and human rights groups.Īt least 17 people remain on death row in Pakistan after being convicted under the draconian blasphemy law, and hundreds await trial. Human Rights Watch received several credible reports of intimidation, harassment, and surveillance of various NGOs by government authorities in 2018. Kadafi Zaman, a Norwegian journalist, was arrested by police in July while covering a political rally and was beaten up. On the same night, Asad Kharal, a broadcast journalist, was assaulted and injured in Lahore. Gul Bukhari, a journalist in Lahore, was abducted in June by unknown assailants and released after a few hours. In several cases, government regulatory agencies blocked cable operators from broadcasting networks that had aired critical programs. Media outlets came under pressure from authorities to avoid reporting on several issues, including criticism of government institutions and the judiciary. Journalists increasingly practiced self-censorship in 2018, after threats and attacks from militant groups.
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Women, religious minorities, and transgender people face violent attacks, discrimination, and government persecution, with authorities failing to provide adequate protection or hold perpetrators accountable.įreedom of Expression and Attacks on Civil SocietyĪ climate of fear continues to impede media coverage of abuses both by government security forces and militant groups. Militants and interest groups also threaten freedom of expression through threats and violence. The government continues to muzzle dissenting voices in nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and media on the pretext of national security. The Taliban and other armed militants killed and injured hundreds of people in a failed effort to disrupt the elections. However, strikes primarily targeting law enforcement officials and religious minorities killed hundreds of people. In the campaign, Khan pledged to make economic development and social justice a priority.Īttacks by Islamist militants resulted in fewer deaths in Pakistan in 2018 than in recent years. It was the second consecutive constitutional transfer of power from one civilian government to another in Pakistan. Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party won the highest number of seats in parliamentary elections in July, and Khan took office as prime minister in August.