Geneva, Oct 3: Pakistan is turning into a “rogue state” due to widespread enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and torture, a human rights expert warned at the 60th Session of the UN Human Rights Council.
Chongshi Yeah Joseph, Executive Director of the Centre for Human Rights and Peace, urged the United Nations to intervene, stressing that silence would equate to failure. “All this detention with the consent of the state means that the state is becoming a rogue state,” Joseph said, describing enforced disappearances as a war crime.
The remarks were made during an event titled “Enforced Disappearances in Pakistan: Amplifying Voices, Demanding Justice, Calling for Global Action”, convened by the Centre for Human Rights and Peace Advocacy. Activists from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) highlighted cases of abduction, killings, and torture, calling for urgent UN action to protect human rights.
Pashtun activist Fazal-ur-Rehman reported more than 6,500 confirmed cases of enforced disappearances among Pashtuns, while other ethnic groups including Sindhis and Balochis have also faced similar abuses. Exiled activist Nasir Aziz Khan said, “Pakistan is using brutal force against civilians and peaceful protesters… More than 10 people lost their lives since September 29, and hundreds are in jail and tortured.”
The activists called on Pakistan to comply with the UN Charter, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, and the Convention on Enforced Disappearances, urging the international community to take steps including recommendations, advisories, or sanctions.
Joseph emphasised, “It is the responsibility of the UN to come in, advise, recommend and even sanction its member states for continuing to violate their human rights.”
