Human Rights Violations In Pakistan

EDM number 1182 in 1995-96, proposed by Robert Parry on 16/07/1996.

That this House notes with the utmost concern the publication of yet another disturbing report from Amnesty International concerning the human rights situation in Pakistan, following the visit of a delegation to that country; notes its documentated instances of torture, rape and deaths in police custody which are occuring throughout Pakistan; believes that this deplorable state of affairs is a direct result of the continued domination of the Pakistani state and society by a corrupt feudal oligarchy which is also the immediate cause of such pervasive social evils as child and bonded labour, the persecution of religious minorities and political opponents and barbaric physical punishments; believes that this can be overcome only through the development of a modern civil society; therefore, calls for the lifting of all restrictions on democratic political activity, particularly for the restoration of all legitimate rights to the country's third largest political party, the Mohajir Quomi Movement led by Altaf Hussain; specifically demands the release of all its elected representatives, party workers, and all other political prisoners, and an end to torture, disappearances and state terrorist killings, the victims of which not only included political activists but also Mr Altaf Hussain's family and other innocent members of the Mohajir community; and believes that only by means of democracy and national reconciliation can Pakistan be saved from an impending catastrophe.

This motion has been signed by a total of 26 MPs, 4 of these signatures have been withdrawn.