Human Rights and Democracy - Official Documents

to terrorism in Pakistan in 2010, we also worked with the police and the military to
strengthen their legislative framework to tackle this violence. We delivered training
to the Pakistan military and police that incorporated relevant human rights
components, which was monitored and evaluated within this context.
Rule of law
The rule of law is fundamental to tackling many of the challenges faced by Pakistan,
from the effective protection of human rights to poverty reduction and good
governance. It is at the heart of a stable democracy and strong civilian institutions.
However, the rule of law remains weak. This has led to widespread allegations of
human rights violations and a poor response from the criminal justice system to the
continued terrorist and sectarian violence which killed thousands of people in 2010.
This issue is a matter of concern for the Pakistani people; 39% felt law and order
was the most serious issue facing the government in a 2010 UK-Gallup poll. The
British Council’s “Next Generation Report” showed 30% felt injustice was the main
reason for violence and terror in Pakistan. The reasons behind weaknesses in the
rule of law in Pakistan are complex, and require significant senior political will to
overcome them.
In addition to terrorist-related atrocities, 2010 saw continued and serious allegations
of disappearances, abductions and extra-judicial killings made against state security
forces and the police by international and national human rights organisations. In
response to a video, purporting to show extra-judicial killings in Swat, posted on
YouTube and aired on BBC News on 2 October, the Chief of Army Staff launched an
official enquiry which has yet to report publicly. We raised our concerns with the
military and the government at the most senior levels. Human rights bodies
continued to record deaths in police custody, which they alleged were the result of
torture or other ill treatment.
Civil society organisations reported enforced disappearances and extra-judicial
killings, including targeted killings, in Balochistan. As a result of civil society
lobbying, in early 2010 the Supreme Court called on the Ministry of Interior, the
military and the intelligence agencies to defend themselves against allegations of
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