Interview with leading human rights activist

With recent developments on the political scene in Pakistan creating panic among ordinary people about where their country's future lies, following the passing of the Shari'ah in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP), leading human rights experts say the federal government needs to gain a tighter grip over provincial decisions which could have damaging effects on the country in the long run. In an interview with IRIN from the Punjabi city of Lahore, I.A. Rehman, the director of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan and a seasoned journalist, said there had been some changes in human rights under President Pervez Musharraf, but that recent political developments could have destabilising effects. QUESTION: Where is Pakistan today in terms of human rights? ANSWER: The situation of human rights has only changed in the sense that people today are far more conscious of their rights, and efforts to assert those rights has led to a state of acute confrontation, because those who deny those rights are being challenged. There is considerable rhetorical support for human rights at the state level. But since the policies and power structure does not function in harmony there are contradictions. Q: Has the situation of human rights changed much under the leadership of Musharraf? A: I don't see it improving. I don't see any institutional arrangements for the protection of human rights. Secondly, human-rights violations are not being addressed on the level they should be. The causes are still there and they are not being tackled. Q: What are the most pressing human-rights issues in Pakistan today? A: The main human-rights issue in Pakistan is, of course, the right of the people to govern their own affairs in a democratic way. If the people are not free to decide how they should be governed, how can we say they are given rights? Although elections were held and people went out to vote, what we are now seeing is that parliament is not united. The threat of instability in the government is increasing, and this is dangerous for our country and our people. We just need to look at what is happening in the NWFP to see this prevailing political instability. Q: Following the recent passing of the bill for Shari'ah law in the NWFP, we saw the president taking action by sacking two bureaucrats and threatening to take other measures. Is this just lip service? After all, we knew that the bill was going to be passed ahead of time. A: Gen Musharraf does realise the threat to the state from the clerics. But the problem is far worse now, because they are asserting their power, and this is not a law-and-order problem; it is a social problem. If they [the government] think that it can be stopped by sacking two politicians or arresting a few people, it won't happen, because for every person you address, there are many more responsible and waiting in the wings. Q: Do you think the historic number of women elected in parliament will be able to make much change for millions of vulnerable women in this country? A: This has been welcomed, but we have to see how much space they are given and how many barriers and how much male chauvinism they face. They are tokens to a certain extent. Just because we have a large number of women in politics doesn't mean that they will be given any responsibility. So these women are not representative of the masses, and I fear that they will just be forced to take the back seats in politics. They will also be scared of making too much change in this traditionally male-dominated society. Q: There is a constitutional crisis in the country. What do you make of this? A: The constitutional crisis is the creation of the establishment in their mad rush to secure power. From all sides, they promulgated all sorts of unnecessary, unconstitutional and doubtful measures. So this is a mess created by the establishment's inexperienced advisers, and could have been avoided. When you give space to these religious elements, you shouldn't be surprised when you get a reaction like [the one] we have seen in the NWFP. Q: As a well-seasoned journalist, what is your assessment of press freedom today in Pakistan? A: There is certainly much more freedom and much more is being reported. [However,] there are still restrictions placed on journalists informally, and they are still bound by some rules and regulations. But I would say that people are not afraid to report on controversial issues as much as they were before. Regarding these new cable channels: they, too, are not free to report on whatever they want to cover. They have to toe the line and be very careful on what they say, or risk being shut down or taken off the air. They receive instructions from the intelligence services on what to broadcast. We would like to see more freedom for the press so they can have better credibility. Q: What about the status of religious minorities? Has much changed for them? A: There is a lull on religious minorities at the moment. It is good that the system has accepted them to a certain level, but there is still a big question mark hanging over the Ahmadi sect [which has been declared non-Muslim]. As a far as the relaxation in quotas and legislation in services goes, nothing has changed. So there is still a long way to go for these people, and the sectarian war continues. Q: With the military historically dominating the country's politics, how optimistic are you about the future of democracy in the country? A: I'm not optimistic in the short run. We still have many social and economic problems. There has to be optimism, but the political wrangling that is going on at the moment doesn't give us much hope for the people of this country.