Â鶹´«Ã½É«ÇéƬ is concerned about this week’s violence in Pakistan’s capital, Islamabad. We urge Pakistani authorities to uphold the right of protestors to assemble and demonstrate peacefully, refrain from the use of excessive force against protestors, lift restrictions on mobile and internet services, and reverse the arbitrary detentions of thousands of protesters. Reports that a number of protestors were killed are deeply worrying. Pakistani authorities should conduct a credible and transparent investigation.
Pakistan’s government should adhere to its international commitments to preserve civil and political rights, which are enshrined in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The Center also calls on protestors to demonstrate peacefully should they resume their protests.
Protestors were calling for the release of former Prime Minister Imran Khan from jail and expressed concerns that the February election results were manipulated. The U.N. Working Group on Arbitrary Detention concluded his detention violated international law and . It described Khan's imprisonment as part of a "much larger campaign of repression," including widespread fraud on election day.
We urge both sides to work for a political settlement that puts Pakistan back on a path to strengthen its nascent democracy. Dialogue, not violence and excessive force, is needed in Islamabad in the weeks ahead.
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