KARACHI:Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that the use of NAB by the incumbent PTI government for taking revenge from Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) is a attack on basic human rights of the citizen.
In his message on the eve of the International Human Rights Day , the PPP Chairman, who also is Chairman of the National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Human Rights, said that human rights violations were increasing in Pakistan since the installation of the federal government. The PTI government has overseen a campaign of repression of fundamental rights, from freedom of the press, to freedom of association.
Chairman Pakistan Peoples Party Bilawal Bhutto Bhutto Zardari has stressed the importance of the state honouring its contract to its citizens and upholding the human rights of every citizen regardless of gender, creed, caste or ethnicity. He went on to say that any dereliction of this duty by the state would be a deviation from the founding principles of Pakistan and would be tantamount to a betrayal of the ethos of Pakistan.
He went on to say that the Punjab governments recent actions of filing FIRs against student leaders and the father of Shaheed Mashal Khan for sedition were a damning indictment of the Federal Governments claims of being Riasat-e-Madina. “Freedom of expression, freedom of religion and belief, women and children’s rights and protection of vulnerable segments has to be ensured for a peaceful and progressive society,” he added.
The Chairman of the PPP also stated that the economic policies being followed by the government were infringing on the dignity and right to live of the less privileged and were contributing to the further marginalisation and erasure of the poor.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said that Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto and Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto led a struggle for the protection of the nation’s democratic and human rights, and they laid down their lives for this cause. The war between the protectors and violators of human rights is still raging and he vowed to carry the mantle and honour the legacy of his grandfather and mother, he added.
PPP Chairman vowed that his Party’s commitment to safeguard the human rights remains unshaken despite undergoing huge suffering and sacrifice. He added that the PTI Governments disregard for due process and its use of NAB as a tool of political victimisation was also an assault on the fundamental rights of Pakistani citizens and that the PTI Government is sorely mistaken if it believes that the victimisation of the leadership of the Pakistan Peoples Party would make it step back from its commitment to the rights of the people.
As a torch-bearer of human rights movement in Pakistan, he said, the PPP will continue to fight vigorously despite facing hurdles and hounding.
Bilawal Bhutto Zardari termed the incidents of intimidation of media, enforced disappearances and political victimization as violations of basic human rights.
He also urged the world community to take notice of the grave violations of human rights in Indian-held Kashmir, where the Indian armed forces have caged the entire population for over four months.
