Military urged not to interfere in politics
From Iftikhar Ali

NEW YORK - In a tough new report released Monday, the United States called on the Pakistani military to refrain from interference in domestic politics and to open the way for the establishment of fully functioning democracy in the country.
Although the State Department report, “Supporting Human Rights and Democracy”, said that Pakistans human rights “remained poor”, it gave full marks to President Pervez Musharraf-led government for “some improvements in several areas”, including opening the landscape for political debate.

“Opposition parties and civil society are beginning to criticize the Government and its policies, however, some political opposition leaders remained in prison or in exile abroad,” the report said.

“The United States believes that the success of Pakistan’s democratisation efforts is critical to the strength of our long-term relationship and will positively contribute to its effective participation in the Global War on terrorism,” the 293-page document, a follow-up to the annual country reviews released a month ago, said.

The report issued by Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice Monday, said constitutional Amendments passed by the Pakistan Government have strengthened the powers of the President at the expense of the National Assembly.

“The military remains heavily engaged in politics, and President Musharraf’s decision to continue as Chief of Army Staff has spurred political debate. Political parties are generally weak, undemocratic institutions centred on personalities instead of policies.” The judiciary is corrupt, inefficient and malleable to political pressure. Politically motivated prosecutions of opposition figures continue... Leaders of three major parties remained outside the country, and the leader of one opposition party in Parliament remained in prison appealing a conviction for sedition, the report said.

“The United States continued to encourage the Pakistani military to play an appropriate role in the emerging democratic set-up and to refrain from interference in domestic politics”, the report said.

“The government has committed that new local elections will be scheduled for 2005 and national elections to be held no later than 2007 will be free and fair,” the report said. “The United States will continue to encourage the government to adhere to this commitment and will provide needed support.”

However, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights And Labour Michael Kozak acknowledged that Pakistan was “a really difficult case,” and chose his words carefully when asked if the F-16 deal was dependent on additional moves to bolster democracy there.

“I wouldn’t make that linkage right here, right now, but, yes, in a more general sense, that any country that expects to have good relations with us needs to pay attention to their human rights,” he told a news briefing in Washington.
Ms. Rice hammered home the drive for global freedom in presenting the report. The document vowed to make respect for human rights a test of its bilateral relations across the world. “In all that lies ahead, our nation will continue to clarify for other nations the moral choice between oppression and freedom,” Rice told reporters.

“We will make it clear that, ultimately, success in our relations depends on the treatment of their own people.” The report issued Monday illustrated the difficulties facing President George W Bush’s administration as it tries to square its pro-democracy drive with political realities across the world.

INDIA
Pakistan’s neighbour — India — was also criticised for its human rights record. Despite being a “vibrant democracy” with strong constitutional protections, the report said, India’s human rights enforcement record has been “poor” and needed improvement, the State Department said. It took note of the extra-judicial killings, custodial deaths, excessive use of force by security forces, torture, poor prison conditions, and extended pretrial detention. “Combating insurgencies in Jammu and Kashmir led to arbitrary arrests and disappearances”, the report said.

PAKISTANI MEDIA
Dealing with Pakistan, the report said: Despite its increasing freedom, the media lacks journalistic standards and continues to practice self-censorship in some areas. Security forces have committed numerous human rights abuses, including extra-judicial killings and torture. Societal discrimination and violence against women and religious minorities persist...

The Government has passed new legislation to address honor killings and to prevent abuse of laws against blasphemy, adultery, and fornication. Human rights groups remained concerned that perpetrators of honor crimes, in a limited number of cases, could still be pardoned by the victim or heirs. Strategies to combat child labour and trafficking in persons have been accelerated in cooperation with international donors and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs).

On the human rights front, the United States continued to work with the Pakistani Government, civil society institutions, and international organizations to combat religious discrimination and violence, trafficking in persons, child labor and legalized discrimination against women. For example, when opposition leader Javed Hashmi was sentenced in April for sedition, the United States expressed concern with the closed nature of proceedings against him, and urged that the case be handled in a fair and transparent manner. In May, when the Government did not allow member of the opposition Shahbaz Sharif and brother of deposed former Prime Minister to enter Pakistan, the United States encouraged the Government to resolve the matter in a transparent manner, within the context of Pakistan’s legal system. The United States also urged the Government to release or charge journalists held in incommunicado detention.

The United States, through USAID is actively engaged in a multi-year strategy to strengthen Pakistani democratic institutions. Through its legislative strengthening program, the United States provides training to national and provincial parliamentarians that strengthens their secretariats and research capacity; helps to develop a functioning committee system; and promotes regular dialogue between constituents and civil society organizations.

During the year, the United States concluded a multi-year assistance program to civil society organizations. Under this programme, USAID provided assistance to train leading civil society organizations in effective advocacy tools and to organize dialogues with the Government on key policy issues...
The United States continues to advocate for the elimination of discrimination against women and children...

The United States has continued efforts to combat religious discrimination in Pakistan. The U.S. Embassy has pressed the Government to reform discriminatory legislation such as the so-called anti-Ahmadi laws and has encouraged its efforts to prevent abuse of the blasphemy laws. United States officials have spoken out against sectarian violence within the country’s Muslim community and urged the Government to continue its efforts to dismantle organizations responsible for such violence. The U.S. Embassy maintains close ties with the Christian, Ahmadi, Shi’a, and Hindu communities and raised cases of discrimination and violence against such groups with the Government. In addition, the Embassy has actively engaged with the country’s religious leadership, advocating tolerance and promoting President Musharraf’s vision of enlightened moderation. The United States continued cooperative efforts with the Government as part of the Global War on Terrorism to apprehend terrorist suspects and curtail the activities of terrorist groups. Pakistani law enforcement implicated such groups in sectarian and extremist violence against religious minorities by arresting a few of these perpetrators.

As part of its education programme, USAID assisted the Government in its reform efforts and in school construction. The Federal Minister of Education, Javed Ashraf Qazi, vigorously promotes the philosophy of enlightened moderation.

During the year, the United States established a programme to assist the Pakistani Government in combating trafficking in persons. This programme utilizes a three-pronged approach emphasizing prevention, prosecution and protection of victims. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is concluding a U.S.-funded study on the nature and extent of the trafficking problem in Pakistan and has conducted a series of awareness-raising activities in collaboration with the Interior Ministry and local and provincial officials.