On Human Rights Day, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Tuesday expressed concerns over a rapid deterioration in people’s right to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly in the country.

The HRCP reminded the state that it must urgently realise the fundamental rights enshrined in Pakistan’s Constitution.

In a statement, the human rights watchdog demanded the protection of rights, particularly those that have come under immense pressure in the last year, including the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, the need for economic and climate justice.

It denounced “raids on homes, preventive detention and the use of disproportionate and even illegal force” against protesters in the country.

“Tacit censorship has given way to more direct measures, particularly in the digital sphere, with increasingly stringent regulations and bans on social media platforms,” the statement read.

The watchdog observed that “short-term disappearance of journalists and activists has further stifled any space for investigation and advocacy, much less dissent”.

The HRCP reminded the government that jobs and livelihoods, particularly among vulnerable workers and peasants, remain under strain.

The watchdog demanded the state to “prioritise people’s right to decent work and understand that beyond fair wages and collective bargaining, this right intersects with the right to connectivity for gig workers, land rights for landless peasants and small farmers, and clean air for all urban and daily-wage workers”.

“On Human Rights Day, it is also the most vulnerable and excluded to whom we need to give visibility — women, children, religious minorities, transgender persons, the elderly, refugees and internally displaced persons, and persons living with disabilities — whose fundamental rights must be protected at all costs,” it concluded.