• Students hold placards as they shout slogans to condemn a U.S. drone attack, in the North Waziristan tribal region, during a protest in Peshawar March 19, 2011.
    © 2011 Reuters
    Pakistan: Rights Suffer Under Army Power Grab
    Pakistan’s fledgling democratic government, under increasing pressure from the military, appeased extremist groups, ignored army abuses, and failed to hold those responsible for serious abuses accountable in 2011.
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  • Human Rights in Pakistan
    Pakistan’s human rights situation deteriorated significantly in 2011 as the military, which operates with impunity, seized near-total control of foreign and security policy as the civilian government looked on helplessly. Religious minorities faced unprecedented insecurity and persecution. Freedom of belief and expression came under severe threat as the government failed to provide protection to those threatened by extremists or hold them accountable. Security deteriorated as militant and sectarian groups carried out suicide bombings and targeted killings across the country. A dramatic increase in killings across the southwestern province of Balochistan was recorded as were at least 800 politically motivated killings in the southern city of Karachi.

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Pakistan

  • Pakistan: Rights Suffer Under Army Power Grab
    Jan 23, 2012
    Pakistan’s fledgling democratic government, under increasing pressure from the military, appeased extremist groups, ignored army abuses, and failed to hold those responsible for serious abuses accountable in 2011.
  • Pakistan: "Greater rights' abuses will ensue unless Pakistan's elected institutions assert themselves"
    Dec 30, 2011
    Ali Dayan Hasan, Pakistan Director for Human Rights Watch, spoke to Friday Times reporter Raza Rumi about Pakistan’s elected institutions.
  • US: End CIA Drone Attacks
    Dec 19, 2011
    The US government should transfer Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) command of aerial drone strikes to the armed forces and clarify its legal rationale for targeted killings, Human Rights Watch said today in a letter to President Barack Obama and in a questions and answers document. A dramatic increase in the use of CIA drone strikes underscores the need for the US to demonstrate that the CIA adheres to international legal requirements for accountability, Human Rights Watch said.
  • Q & A: US Targeted Killings and International Law
    Dec 19, 2011
    This Q&A focuses on legal and policy issues related to targeted killings, primarily attacks using unmanned aerial vehicles, known as drones, conducted by the US Armed Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Human Rights Watch raised many of the issues addressed here in a December 2010 letter to President Obama.
  • Letter to President Obama: Targeted Killings by the US Government
    Dec 16, 2011
    The Obama administration has taken few steps to provide greater transparency and accountability in conducting targeted killings, intensifying concerns both in the US and abroad about the lawfulness of these attacks.
  • Pakistan: Protect Shia Muslims
    Dec 3, 2011

    The Pakistani government should urgently act to protect Shia Muslims in Pakistan from sectarian attack during the Muslim holy month of Moharram.

  • Letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
    Oct 12, 2011
    The Arms Division and the Asia Division sent a letter to the Pakistani Prime Minister regarding the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
  • Pakistan: Prevent Targeted Killings of Shia Muslims
    Oct 4, 2011

    The Pakistani government should take all necessary steps to ensure the security of Shia Muslims in Pakistan’s Balochistan province.

  • China: Account for Forcibly Returned Uighurs
    Sep 2, 2011
    China should account for Chinese citizens of Uighur ethnicity who were forcibly returned from three Asian countries on August 6 and August 8, 2011.
  • Letter to Chinese Ministers Yang Jiechi and Meng Jianzhu
    Sep 2, 2011
    We write on behalf of Human Rights Watch regarding the status and well-being of Chinese citizens of Uighur ethnicity who were forcibly returned from three different countries on August 6 and August 8, 2011.
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