ISLAMABAD: Concluding its national conference on human rights and democratic participation in Islamabad, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has said that this is ‘an opportune time to re-energise the human rights discourse, given that intense political polarisation has overshadowed the human rights enterprise at all levels.’The conference examined crucial questions relating to freedom of expression, assembly and association, federalism, freedom of religion and belief, and rule of law and constitutionalism. Uzma Noorani, HRCP’s co-chair, said that it was a critical time for human rights in Pakistan and that HRCP sought to uphold the ethos of its co-founder, Asma Jahangir. Speakers included senior journalists Ghazi Salahuddin, Zahid Hussain and Shahzada Zulfiqar, broadcast journalists Munizae Jahangir and Asma Shirazi, and digital rights activist Farieha Aziz. The second panel examined why enabling freedom of assembly and association is perceived as threatening. The fourth panel looked at how the ‘spectre of extremism’ poses a threat to human rights and democratic participation.

Source: Pakistan Today April 10, 2019 15:45 UTC