Govt failed to prevent attacks on Pakistan minorities: Amnesty

The Pakistan government failed to prevent discrimination and attacks against religious minorities and gender-based violence as hundreds of people went missing in the country apparently after being held by the intelligence services or the army, Amnesty claimed today.

Pakistan government failed to prevent and prosecute discrimination, harassment and violence against religious minorities and "increasingly, moderate Sunni Muslims, Ahmadis, Shias and Christians were attacked and killed in apparent sectarian violence," the London-based rights organisation claimed as it released Amnesty International Report 2011 -'The State of the World's Human Rights.'

Gender-based violence including rape, forced marriages, "honour killings", acid attacks and other forms of domestic violence in Pakistan, was committed with "impunity as police were reluctant to register and investigate complaints, the Amnesty noted.

The report said hundreds of people went missing in the country apparently after being held by the intelligence services or the army. The majority of cases were in Balochistan.

Hundreds of habeas corpus petitions remained pending in provincial High Courts but the intelligence services refused to respond to court directions. Families of the disappeared were threatened for speaking out about their missing loved ones.

According to Amnesty, 19 media workers were killed, making Pakistan the most dangerous country for media workers in 2010.

Quoting the women's helpline Madadgaar, the Amnesty Report, released by its Secretary General Salil Shetty, said 1,195 women had been murdered as of late November.

"Of these, 98 had been raped before they were killed. Madadgaar figures showed a total of 321 women raped, and 194 gang-raped," it said.

"Sectarian groups reportedly linked to the Taliban attacked Shias, Ahmadis and Sufis with impunity. Blasphemy laws continued to be misused against Ahmadis and Christians, as well as Shia muslims and Sunnis," the report said.

On December 22, the Federal Shariat court ruled to reverse several provisions of the 2006 Women's Protection Act.

The verdict sought to reinstate certain provisions of the 1979 Hudood Ordinance which were "extremely discriminatory against women," it said.