Islamabad
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is appalled to learn that the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has promulgated an ordinance that extends certain powers of the armed forces that were applicable to erstwhile FATA and PATA under the 2011 regulations ‘in aid of civil power’ to the entire province.
The HRCP is gravely concerned that serious violations of human rights may be given legal cover under this ordinance. The merger of former FATA and KP was intended to provide FATA’s residents with the basic rights and access to justice they had been denied for decades. Ironically, the ordinance may now compromise the rights of citizens across the entire province.—INP