Quietly and covertly, around a dozen NGOs, all of them based in southern Punjab and according to reports most of them working for human rights have been closed down. There are reports of letters of warning written to others. There is little detail as to why this action has taken place, although reports suggest the orders have been issued directly from the interior ministry. The ministry has failed to make any comment despite promises to national and international media. Certainly if proof exists of covert espionage activity within these organisations, as has been alluded to, action is required. But the keyword is proof, with courts hearing complaints demanding this be produced. Organisations that work to better people’s lives, filling in gaps left by inadequate governance cannot and should not be shut down only on vague allegations. When the office of the well-established South Asian Partnership in Bahawalpur was asked to close its doors involvement in ‘anti-state’ activities was mentioned. A letter alleging this was sent to the head of the group. Another group in the same area, ‘Women in Struggle for Empowerment’, has been informed their activities go against the national ‘strategic/security interest’. But no evidence has been provided. Reports from Layyah say that SAP had recently prepared a report which painted an extremely bleak picture of human rights in the country and intended to put this before the UN which is the reason for the sudden action taken against the group. We need to know the truth.
Certainly, human rights appear to be a somewhat problematic issue with the state. The Ministry of Human Rights reported to the National Assembly committee that it was not receiving the assistance it needed from various government departments including the Ministry of Interior and the provincial governments to complete a report sought under the international camps covenant on civil and political rights. The UN had raised questions about the report submitted by Pakistan in 2015, with the death penalty, counterterrorism measures, disappearances and military courts all among the issues raised. The HR ministry has complained it cannot submit the required answers by the deadline set for February 2017 without cooperation from all departments. This lack of cooperation suggests hostility to human rights could be a factor behind the crackdown on NGOs. Does the state wish to leave no space for dissent, no space for difference in opinion as it moves to impose an eerie uniformity on thought and on action? Some have argued that the actions of these organisations go against Islam. This is also the argument being used by a certain segment of the media and by other groups to justify or defend the disappearances that have been noted in the last month. The pattern being followed diverges from those seen in the past and puts us on an even more perilous road. Human rights groups have pointed out that the crackdown on NGOs working in the country has persisted for some time with Save the Children closed down for some time in 2015 until urgent pressure from Washington led to a reversal of the decision. Other NGOs struggled to obtain the NoCs now required to continue operations in the country or renew licences. The odd convergence of action directed for rights with accusations of work against religion is frightening. We already stand in a kind of twilight zone, where shadows lurk and people vanish into thin air. Are we headed towards a greater darkness in which no one is left to speak out anymore?
