| General Information Country
Name:
Islamic Republic of Pakistan
Capital: Islamabad
| President
|
Mr.
Asif Ali Zardari (9 September 2008) |
| Prime
Minister |
Mr.
Yousaf Raza Gillani (24 March 2008) |
| Parliament |
Bicameral
Federal Legislature: Senate (Upper House) and
National Assembly (Lower House) |
| Climate |
mostly
hot and dry |
| System
of government |
parliamentary |
| Population |
163.9
million (UN 2007) |
| Major
languages |
English,
Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pashto, Balochi |
| Life
expectancy |
65
years (men), 66 years (women) |
| Religion
|
Muslim
97% (Sunni 77%, Shi'a 20%), other religious
minorities (Christian and Hindu) 3% |
| Literacy
rate (15 and above) |
49.9%
(Human Development Report, HDR, 2005),
male:63%, female: 36% |
| Population
growth rate |
1.805%
(est.) |
| Natural
resources |
gas
reserves, petroleum, coal, iron ore, copper,
salt, limestone |
Geography
| Region |
South-central
Asia |
| Area
total |
796,095
sq km (307,374 sq. miles), excluding
Pakistani- administered Kashmir (83,716 sq.
km/32,323 sq miles)
- Punjab: 205,344 sq. km
- Sindh: 140,914 sq. km
- Balochistan: 347,190 sq. km
- North West Frontier Province: 74,521 sq.
km
- Federally Administered Tribal
Areas: 27,220 sq. km
- Islamabad (Capital): 906 sq.
km
|
| Irrigated
land |
182,300
sq km (2003) |
| Cultivated
land |
24.44%
- permanent crops: 0.84%
- other: 74.72% (2005)
|
Economy
| Monetary
unit |
1
Pakistani Rupee = 100 Paisa |
| Currency
code |
PKR |
| Exchange
rates |
USD
1 = PKR 76.5 (2008) |
| GDP
per capita |
USD
2370 (HDR 2005) |
| Labor
force |
49.18
million
- agriculture: 42%
- industry: 20%
- services: 38% (est.)
|
| Unemployment
rate |
7.5%
(est.) |
| Population
below poverty line (USD 1) |
17%
(HDR 2005) |
| Inflation
rate (consumer prices) |
7.8%
(est.) |
| Investment |
21.4%
of GDP (est.) |
| Industries
|
textiles
and apparel, food processing,
pharmaceuticals, construction materials,
paper products, fertilizer, shrimp |
| Imports |
$30.33
billion (est.) |
| Exports |
$16.31
billion (est.) |
| Main
exports |
textile
products, rice, cotton, leather goods |
| Fiscal
year |
1
July – 31 June |
|
Judicial System
Supreme Court
The Supreme Court is the highest court of the
land, exercising appellate and advisory
jurisdiction. It is the Court of ultimate
appeal and therefore final arbiter of law and the
Constitution. Its decisions are binding on
all other courts. The court consists of a
Chief Justice and other Judges, appointed by the
President. The court exercises original
jurisdiction in inter-governmental disputes, be
that dispute between federal government and a
provincial or among provincial governments.
The Chief Justice of the Supreme Court is the
Chief Justice of Pakistan.
High Courts
There is a High Court in each province.
Each High Court consists of a Chief Justice and
other Judges. The number of Judges of
Lahore High Court is fixed at fifty, High Court
of Sindh at twenty-eight, Peshawar High Court at
sixteen and Balochistan High Court at nine.
The Chief Justice of all High Courts is appointed
by the President in accordance with the
Consultation with the Chief Justice of Pakistan
and other Judges.
Federal Shariat Court
The Court consists of eight Muslim Judges
including the Chief Justice of Pakistan.
Such Judges are appointed by the President from
amongst the serving or retired Judges of the
Supreme Court or a High Court. Of the eight
Judges, three are required to be Ulema who are
well versed in Islamic Law. The Judges hold
office for a period of three years and the
President may extend such period.
Civil & Criminal Courts
The provincial governments appoint the civil and
criminal judges and their terms and conditions
are regulated under the provincial civil servants
acts/rules. The High Court however,
exercises administrative control over such
courts. The civil courts consist of
District Judge, Additional District Judge and
Judicial Magistrate Class I, II & III.
The quantum of penalty, appeals against criminal
courts lie to Session Judge or High Court.
Revenue Courts
Besides the civil courts, there exist revenue
courts, operating under the West Pakistan Land
Revenue Act 1967. The Revenue Courts may be
classified as the Board of Revenue, the
commissioner, the Collector, the Assistant
Collector of the First Grade and Second
Grade. The provincial government that
exercises administration control over them
appoints such officers. Law prescribes their
powers and functions.
Special Courts
The Constitution authorizes the federal
legislature to establish administrative courts
and tribunals for dealing with federal
subjects. Consequently, several special
courts/tribunals have been created which operate
under the administrative control of the federal
government. Such courts/tribunals include
the Special Banking Court, Special Court Custom,
Taxation and Anti-corruption, Income Tax
(Appellate) Tribunal, Insurance Appellate
Tribunal, etc. The judicial officers
presiding over these courts are appointed on
deputation from the provincial judicial cadre.
Service Tribunals
The government is authorized to set up
administrative courts and tribunals for
exercising jurisdiction in matters, inter-alia,
relating to the terms and conditions of service
of civil servants, under Article 212 of the
Constitution. The members of these
tribunals are appointed by the respective
Government.
|
Human
Rights Issues
Gender-based
Violence
Gender-based violence, or violence against women,
is a major public health and human rights problem
throughout the world, resulting in mental and
physical harm and may even result in death,
sometimes committed by strangers but mostly by
known men.
The use of violence against women is a result of
discrimination and it further perpetuates gender
inequity. It is frequently restored to and
results in physiological, emotional and physical
suffering or death to a woman. Women are
abused in the name of honor, pride and orthodox
customary practices, Prevents or restricts her
participation in everyday activities, family
life, and cultural activities.
Cases of gender-based violence, including
physical violence and sexual abuse stood at 7,870
in 2007, as compared to 7,564 in 2006 (with 3,051
cases of physical abuse and 863 of sexual abuse).
Further categorization shows that out of the
7,870 cases, 1,306 were of murder, 104 of murder
after rape, 487 of rape, 272 of gang-rape, 1,745
of physical abuse, 810 of Karo Kari (honour
killing), 199 of burn cases, 1,321 of kidnapping
for ransom, 182 of human trafficking and 1,041 of
suicide were reported. Moreover, 193 women
were subjected to torture by the police and 210
cases were of the Hudood Ordinance.
According to the provincial break-up, 274 cases
of violence against women were reported in
Balochistan, 563 in the NWFP, 4,987 in Punjab,
and 2,046 in Sindh.
Human Trafficking
The problem of human trade and trafficking is
multidimensional in nature, as it needs to be
addressed on various fronts. The victims of
trafficking are either lured by better job
prospects, or kidnapped. Women and children
are most vulnerable to human trafficking.
In some cases, it is parents, guardians and
husbands sell them to traffickers.
Sometimes girls are sold after fake marriages, or
deceived into illegal cross-border migration.
Bonded Labour
Bonded labour, also called debt bondage or
peshgi, is a form of slavery in which poor
workers, instead of taking wages in exchange for
their work, employee takes advance payment from
an employer at overpriced interest rates, and in
return promise themselves, or one or more members
of their family to work until the loan is paid
off.
Universally recognized as slavery, the debt
bondage of children and adults has been
proscribed in international laws on slavery and
forced labour for many years. Most
recently, child debt bondage has been defined by
the International Labour Organization (ILO) as a
‘worst form of child labour’ and
therefore is to be considered an unconditional
priority for abolition.
The estimated number of bonded laborers is
approximately 1.7 million (mostly in southern
Sindh and southern Punjab).
Blasphemy Laws
The blasphemy laws in Pakistan are found in
several sections of the Pakistan Penal Code,
including Section 295 B and C and 298 A, B and
C. It imposes a variety of penalties for
different forms of blasphemy, including the death
penalty for anyone found to have "by words
or visible representation or by an imputation or
insinuation, directly or indirectly, defiled the
name of the Hazrat Muhammad (PBUH)".
Similarly, anyone blamed as a blasphemer against
the Holy Quran is awarded life imprisonment under
section 295C.
Among majority Muslim countries, Pakistan has
very strict anti-blasphemy laws. In 1982,
President Zia ul-Haq introduced Section 295B to
the Pakistan Penal Code punishing "defiling
the Holy Qur'an" with life
imprisonment. In 1986, Section 295C was
introduced, mandating the death penalty for
"use of derogatory remarks in respect of the
Holy Prophet".
Terrorism
Terrorism in Pakistan has been prevalent since
the 1980s mostly due to the Soviet-Afghan War,
and the subsequent proxy war against the
communists that continued for at least a
decade. Terrorism can be attributed to the
Islamic Republic of Pakistan's status as the
sixth most populous country in the world, with
diverse cultures, languages, traditions and
customs.
The year 2007 witnessed the most number of
suicide bombings as terrorists attacked 57
targets during the year all over the country,
killing over 760 persons, in addition to the
assignation of former prime minister and late PPP
chair Benazir Bhutto, in one such attack in
Rawalpindi on 27December. At least 30
people were killed and over hundred injured in
the incident.
Independence of Judiciary
As former President of Pakistan Gen. Pervez
Musharaf doffed of his uniform and took his
office as civilian President, a very crucial
issue of independence of judiciary stand
off. He then, attempts to suspend the Chief
Justice of Pakistan Iftikhar A. Chaudhry
catalysed what came to be known as the
‘judicial crisis’, the lawyer-led
movement to restore Choudhry, covered by some two
dozen television news channels. The
high-voltage protests and the media coverage
rocked the country and Musharaf’s popularity
plummeted.
Freedom of Expression
Freedom of expression is sometimes used to denote
not only freedom of verbal speech but any act of
seeking, receiving and delivering information or
ideas, regardless of the medium used.
Freedom of speech and freedom of expression is
closely related to the concept of freedom of
conscience and freedom of thought. Violence
towards journalists were widespread in various
forms including enforced disappearances,
intimidation, physical attacks and killing.
Torture
In the first half of 2008, there were 743 cases
of torture, of which 416 incidents took place in
police stations according to the figure of
Madadgaar Helpline, a local NGO. In 2007,
1,723 torture cases was documented. It was
reported that the torture was a means to extract
confession and to extort money from victims.
Since the government has ratified the Convention
on torture in April 2008, it has obligation to
comply with the provision to curb the culture of
torture.
|
Status of
Ratification of Human Rights Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR)
Signature: 17 April 2008
International Covenant on Economic, Social and
Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
Signature: 3 November 2004
Ratification: 17 April 2008
International Convention on the Elimination of
all forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD)
Signature: 19 September 1966
Ratification: 21 September 1966
Concerns from the Committee on the Elimination
of All Forms of Racial Discrimination:
• The
government has not submitted report from 1998 to
2007; the monitoring body issued no concluding
observation.
International Convention on the Elimination of
All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)
Ratification: 12 March, 1996
Concerns of the Committee on the Elimination
of Discrimination Against Women, 2007
(CEDAW/C/PAK/CO/3)
• "The
Committee notes with concern that violence
against women and girls persists, including
domestic violence, rape and crimes committed in
the name of honour.” (para. 22)
• “The
Prevention and Control of Human Trafficking
Ordinance of 2002 does not adequately address the
needs of women and girls who are victims of
trafficking.” (para. 30)
• “The
Committee is concerned about the high illiteracy
rate of women, the low enrolment of girls in
schools and their high dropout rate, especially
in rural areas” (para. 36)
International Convention against Torture (CAT)
Signature: 17 April 2008
International Covenant on the Rights of Child
(CRC)
Signature: 20 September 1990
Ratification: 12 November 1990
Concerns of the Committee on the Rights of
Child, 2003 (CRC/C/15/Add.217):
• “Make
greater efforts to ensure that, in accordance
with article 2, all children within its
jurisdiction enjoy all the rights set out in the
Convention without discrimination, particularly
girl children, children belonging to a religious
or other minority group, children with
disabilities and other vulnerable groups of
children.”(para. 30)
• “deeply
concerned at the numerous reports of torture,
serious ill-treatment and sexual abuse of
children” (para. 40)
• “The
still very high infant, under-5 and maternal
mortality rates, due partly to weak antenatal and
postnatal care and maternal
malnutrition”…“the poor provision
of health care, particularly in rural areas,
owing to lack of necessary support structures
such as education, communication, transport and
other facilities, as well as reports of
corruption within the framework of projects
supported by international organizations”
(para. 52)
• “The
prevalence of child labour is still extremely
high, and that the phenomenon is widely accepted
in society.” (para. 69(a))
|
Sources:
Local sources
Human Development Report 2007/2008, United
Nations Development Programme
Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights,
United Nations |
|
