Islamabad, July 21: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Tuesday called on the Pakistani government to strengthen the country’s legal framework against torture and custodial abuse, warning that abuses remain “endemic” in the country’s criminal justice system, inflicted in lockups, prisons, and interrogation rooms.
The HRCP urged authorities to amend Pakistan’s Torture and Custodial Death (Prevention and Punishment) Act 2022 to recognise psychological torture as a distinct crime.
It appealed to authorities to reform investigative frameworks in Pakistan to ensure their independence from other institutions, including law enforcement agencies.
“Evidence from survivors and even official data indicate that torture is endemic in Pakistan’s criminal justice system, inflicted daily in lockups, prisons, and interrogation rooms. For those who survive the practice, physical wounds may heal; psychological ones often do not. Survivors carry post-traumatic stress and a profound loss of dignity. Families of the disappeared or dead carry grief without justice,” the HRCP stated. (IANS)
