Military still ‘calling the shots’ in political and judicial process, report reveals
Pakistan’s powerful military has actively worked to undermine efforts by the elected government
to improve human rights in the country, according to a new report. It also tried to destabilise the elected government, and force out President Asif Ali Zardari.
In a damning critique of the military establishment, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said the armed forces
had opposed efforts to end its intervention in the political and judicial process. It had also resisted attempts to locate some of the scores of people who were “disappeared” in the restive province of Baluchistan during the years of General Pervez Musharraf’s rule. “The Pakistani military continues to subvert the political and judicial systems in Pakistan,” said Ali Dayan Hasan of HRW.
“After eight years of disastrous military rule and in spite of the election of a civilian government, the army appears determined to continue calling the shots in order to ensure that it can continue to perpetrate abuses with impunity,” he said.
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(Submitted by Abdul Hamid Bashani Khan)