Annual Report 2015-16

National Commission for Human Rights

nchr.gov.pk /nchrpakistan /NCHR_Pakistan CONTENTS

. ACRONYMS

AGPR Accountant General Pakistan Revenues APNS All Pakistan Newspapers Society CAT Committee against Torture CEDAW Committee on the Elimination of against Women CERD Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination CESCR Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights CMW Committee on Migrant Workers CRC Committee on the Rights of the Child CRPC Criminal Procedure Code CWA Community Welfare Attaché FIR First Information Report GOP GSP+ Generalised Scheme of Preferences HEC Higher Education Commission HEIs Higher Education Institutions HRC Human Rights Committee ICC International Coordinating Committee of National Human Rights Institutions ICESCR International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights IHRC IHRC International Human Rights Commission JIT Joint Investigation Team MOIB Ministry of Information and Broadcasting MOFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs MOP&HRD Ministry of Overseas and Human Resources Development MOU Memorandum of Understanding NCHR National Commission for Human Rights

2 NHRIs, National Human Rights Institutions NIM National Institute of Management NIRM National Institutions and Regional Mechanisms NSA National Services Academy NSPP National School of Public Policy OHCHR Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights PBA Pakistan Broadcasting Association PC Privatization Commission TAF The Asia Foundation TOT Training of Trainers UBL United Bank Limited UDHR Universal Declaration of Human Rights UPR Universal Periodic Review WAT War against Terror

3 LETTER FROM CHAIRMAN

We are members of the brotherhood of in which all are equal in rights, dignity and self-respect. Consequently, we have a special and a very deep sense of unity. But make no mistake, Pakistan is not a theocracy or anything like it. Islam demands from us the tolerance of other creeds and we welcome in closest association with us all those who, of whatsoever creed, are themselves willing and ready to play their part as true and loyal citizens of Pakistan.

- Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, 1948 Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, the Father of the Nation, was an ardent protector and promoter of human rights. He envisioned an inclusive and impartial government that defends religious freedoms, rule of law, and dignity for all. It was after having observed the treatment of in India, that he proposed the creation of a nation where people of every race and creed were welcomed and treated with due respect. It came as no surprise, then, that after he was elected president of the Constituent Assembly of Pakistan in 1947 he formed and headed a committee on “ of the citizens of Pakistan and on matters relating to Minorities” the very next day, and in his speech he articulated his vision for the future of human rights in the country:

You are free; you are free to go to your temples, you are free to go to your or to any other place or worship in this State of Pakistan. You may belong to any religion or caste or creed -- that has nothing to do with the business of the State.

- Quaid-e-Azam, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, 1947

Let us look back to his speeches from 1919-1948 in order to fully understand and reflect his vision in our work today. What is surprising, though, is that, for a country whose founder was so adamant on defending human rights, Pakistan’s National Human Rights Institution (NHRI), the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) is the youngest in the region. Yet, it is important to note that the NCH