Islamabad, 26 April 2024 (TDI): Pakistan categorically rejects the recently released 2023 Country Report on Human Rights Practices issued by the US State Department.
The contents of the report are unfair, based on inaccurate information, and are completely divorced from the ground reality.
The US State Department’s annual exercises of preparing such unsolicited reports lack objectivity and remain inherently flawed in their methodology.
These reports use a domestic social lens to judge human rights in other countries in a politically motivated manner.
This year’s report is once again conspicuous by its lack of objectivity and politicization of the international human rights agenda.
It said the report lacks objectivity and politicizes the international human rights agenda, clearly demonstrating double standards.
The report’s neglect of significant human rights crises in Gaza and Indian Occupied Jammu & Kashmir is deeply troubling.
It undermines efforts to address urgent human rights violations in these regions.
Only a politically motivated report can ignore the alarming situation in Gaza, the weaponization of humanitarian assistance and the massacre of over 33,000 civilians.
Silence of the United States on the continuing genocide in Gaza runs counter to the stated objectives behind the so-called country reports on human rights.
Dedicated Commitment
Pakistan remains committed to strengthening its own human rights framework and engaging constructively to promote the international human rights agenda, in accordance with its constitutional framework and democratic ethos.
The country upholds fairness and objectivity in international human rights discourse as part of this commitment.
If the US must engage in this exercise, then we expect the US State Department to at least exercise due diligence.
When conducting assessment of complex issues, demonstrate objectivity, impartiality and responsibility in finalizing such reports.
Also read: Pakistan urges UN action on India’s human rights violations in Kashmir
The US should demonstrate moral courage by speaking truthfully about all situations and actively supporting international efforts to end atrocities in urgent human rights hotspots.
This includes playing a constructive role in bringing an end to gross human rights violations.
The report also claimed that successive Pakistani governments tacitly approved enforced disappearances.
