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Donors asked to insist on human rights protection

WASHINGTON: Following the beating up of Kashmiri civilians by the police, Human Rights Watch has called on international donors to insist on human rights protection in Azad Kashmir.

The group said Pakistani police used canes and rifle butts to break up a march on November 11 by approximately 200 earthquake survivors protesting eviction from their makeshift camp in Muzaffarabad. Though the police denied attempting to forcibly evict the earthquake survivors, witnesses said police arrived early last Friday at the Jalalabad Garden camp and told the quake victims to leave by sunset. Several protestors, including children, were injured as a result of police efforts to break up the demonstration. The authorities subsequently backtracked and only a few refugees have moved from the camp, which is still functional.

“The challenges of responding to the earthquake do not give the Pakistani police licence to attack quake victims,” said Brad Adams, Asia director at the Watch. “Homeless people understandably are worried if they are asked to move without assurances that they will have the scarce necessities of life at a new location.” The group said that the government has discouraged negative media coverage of Pakistan’s response to the earthquake. President Pervez Musharraf expressed his displeasure at excessive criticism at a press conference in October.

Human Rights Watch noted that on Monday, the state-run electronic media regulatory authority PEMRA stopped three local partners of the BBC from broadcasting two daily 30-minute “earthquake specials” produced by the BBC’s Urdu service. PEMRA officials, accompanied by dozens of armed policemen, seized equipment from one of the local partner’s Karachi offices and ordered two satellite television partners to stop running news content from the BBC. Pakistan’s information minister declined to comment on the incident when approached by the BBC.

Adams said, “Now is the time for more information about the relief effort, not less. Donors should make it clear to the Pakistani government that attempts to muzzle reporting on relief efforts are unacceptable.” The group called on the international community to ensure that there is greater civilian oversight of relief, rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.

“So far, there has been little sign of any civilian oversight of aid inflows. Aid should be handled through a process that involves the Pakistan-administered Kashmir government, political parties in Pakistan-administered Kashmir as well as local, national and international non-governmental organisations, and civil society groups, particularly those working in the field,” according to the Watch. It called for independent auditing of relief funds and materials to ensure transparency and accountability. Contracts for reconstruction should be handled through proper procurement procedures that allow bidding by private agencies, and not just military entities. khalid hasan

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