Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders Annual Report 2004 - Pakistan

Attack on women's rights NGOs90

Khwendo Kor (KK), an NGO working for children and women's development in remote areas of the North-West Frontier province (NWFP) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), faced tremendous difficulties in the past few years, such as systematic discrediting propaganda, religious verdicts (fatwas) against its female staff, death threats etc.

On 8 January 2004, KK Karak office was attacked by a bomb blast.

On 14 June 2004, The News reported that a pamphlet had been circulating around Timergara in the previous days, warning NGOs and their female workers to "leave the area within one week otherwise they would be responsible for dire consequences after the deadline". The pamphlet was reportedly signed by the organisation Al-Qaeda Khudkush, which accused these NGOs of "violating the Islamic rules and the traditions of the area".

On 16 June 2004, the NGO's car was attacked on its way back from a regular supervisory visit at a community-based girls school in Noor Musa Khel Narmi Khel in FR Bannu. Both the KK employees, Mrs. Bushra Wazir, and the driver, Mr. Asgher, were wounded.

In July 2004, Mrs. Rukhshanda Naz, director of the Peshawar office of the Aurat Foundation, a nationwide women's organisation that has faced specific difficulties and obstacles in the NWFP, received two anonymous phone calls at her residence, threatening her nephew.

Lack of investigation into the kidnapping of Mr. Baloch91

On 23 March 2003, Mr. Akhtar Baloch, co-ordinator of the Hyderabad office of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HCRP) was kidnapped. He was released several days later. He stated that, during his detention, he was questioned on numerous occasions about the activities of the HCRP and how it was financed. This action could have been designed to intimidate the HRCP, which had criticised the action of the State and denounced human rights violations committed by the Pakistani government. The HRCP requested that the authors of this arbitrary detention, in which the secret services were involved, be prosecuted and brought to trial.

However, at the end of 2004, no investigation had been carried out yet, and the question of taking action against those responsible had not arisen.


[Refworld note: This report as posted on the FIDH website (www.fidh.org) was in pdf format with country chapters run together by region. Footnote numbers have been retained here, so do not necessarily begin at 1.]

90. See FIDH investigation mission report In Mala Fide, freedoms of expression, association and assembly in Pakistan, January 2005, chap. II.1, "Non-governmental organisations", in the framework of the Observatory's mandate.

91. See Annual Report 2003.

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