Pakistan was founded as a country that would safeguard the rights of the Muslim minority in the Indian subcontinent. Over decades, however, the country has become a country where no minority or sub-nation has any rights.
Recently, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) was denied permission by local civil administration in Bahawalpur “to hold a peaceful demonstration and press conference to express its concerns over the allotment of land to nonresidents in Cholistan—one of the principal grievances conveyed to HRCP during a fact-finding mission to the area in 2022 and a subsequent human rights camp held there in February 2023. Not only does this decision violate local Cholistanis’ right to freedom of peaceful assembly, but it also seeks to undermine people’s demand that land in this area be allotted only to native Cholistanis in accordance with the law.”
The HRCP continues “to receive reports from residents of Cholistan that their applications for allotment of the land they have been settled on for centuries remain pending since 2018.”
Finally, the HRCP made clear that “despite the fact that its planned demonstration and press conference have now been postponed, it will not be deterred and will continue to stand with the residents of Cholistan and make every effort to ensure that their legitimate grievances are heard and resolved.”
