Human rights worsened in Pakistan in 2007

Human rights in Pakistan worsened in 2007 despite President Pervez Musharraf’s repeated pledges to foster democracy in the key US ally, a State Department report said on Tuesday. “Despite President Musharraf’s stated commitment to democratic transition, Pakistan’s human rights situation deteriorated during much of 2007,” the department’s annual report on human rights said. Musharraf imposed a state of emergency on his country in November and sacked some 60 judges, just days before the Supreme Court was to rule on the legality of his new presidential term, won while he was still army chief. “Under emergency provisions, authorities also arrested approximately 6,000 opposition political party workers, human rights advocates, lawyers, and judges,” the report said. By the end of 2007 “there still were 11 suspended judges and three lawyers under house arrest,” it added, also highlighting restrictions on the media. But the report, which included a separate 60-page section on Pakistan, did say that on the positive side Musharraf had resigned as the chief of army staff in November and went on to lift the state of emergency the following month. The two opposition parties have agreed to form a coalition and restore the judges who could threaten Musharraf’s grip on power, with Musharraf reportedly having no plans to quit.