Islamabad — Pakistan’s human rights situation deteriorated sharply in 2025, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) warned in its annual State of Human Rights in 2025 report. The commission said civic freedoms were increasingly curtailed, judicial independence came under intensifying pressure, and the overall security environment worsened.
Unveiled in Islamabad, the report documents institutional erosion and a rise in authoritarian tendencies, citing tighter limits on dissent, expanded state powers, and legal constraints on free expression that have weakened democratic norms. Present at the launch were senior HRCP figures including Chairperson Asad Iqbal Butt, former chairperson Hina Jilani, co-chair Munizae Jahangir, vice-chair Nasreen Azhar, and Secretary General Harris Khalique.
Butt described the findings as deeply alarming and said the document amounted to more of a ‘charge sheet’ than a routine assessment. He reported 273 alleged enforced disappearances during the year; 13 of those individuals were later found in state custody, while the whereabouts of many others remain unknown. Butt urged that suspects be produced before courts rather than held unlawfully.
Khalique said the report assembles extensive, verifiable evidence of constitutional violations and systemic abuses, pointing to a broader breakdown of institutional safeguards. A principal concern highlighted in the report is an intensified clampdown on freedom of expression, which it says has progressively limited the ability to question authority and demand accountability, undermining the rule of law and democratic resilience. (ANI)
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