Rights body condemns detention of 'Aurat March' leaders in Pakistan

Islamabad, May 6 The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday has condemned the detention of Aurat March organisers and volunteers outside the Karachi Press Club, where they had gathered to hold a press conference.

The rights body stated that preventing people from holding press conference showcases an "increasingly repressive approach to governance", where dissent is considered a threat instead of a democratic necessity, leading Pakistani news network Geo News reported.

The HRCP's statement comes after police on Tuesday briefly arrested several Aurat March leaders, including activist and artist artist Sheema Kermani, outside the Karachi Press Club.

"HRCP strongly condemns the arrest of several organisers and volunteers of Aurat March from outside the Karachi Press Club, where they were scheduled to address a press conference. This incident is not isolated overreach but rather part of a broader and deeply troubling pattern: the systematic denial of public space to citizens seeking to articulate their rights," HRCP posted on X.

"The rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression are constitutionally guaranteed. Preventing citizens, particularly women and marginalised groups, from even convening a press conference reflects an increasingly repressive approach to governance, where dissent is treated as a threat rather than a democratic necessity," it added.

The organisers of the press conference said that the detained people included Kermani, transgender activist Shehzadi Rai, Muniza, and others. South Superintendent of Police (SSP) Manzoor Ali stated that several women leaders were taken to a police station before being released shortly after. After the incident, police deployment around the Karachi Press Club was increased. Aurat March organisers stated that the leaders had gathered for a press conference when the police detained them, Geo News reported.

On May 2, media bodies and civil society organisations voiced concerns over increasing curbs on press freedom and growing risks to journalists in Pakistan.

In a joint statement released to mark the World Press Freedom Day, the Joint Action Committee — comprising the Pakistan Broadcasters Association (PBA), the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS), the Council of Pakistan Newspaper Editors (CPNE), the Association of Electronic Media Editors and News Directors (AMEND), and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) termed the past year challenging for journalism, with growing restrictions around the world, the daily Dawn reported.

It stated that the state of freedom of expression has not been satisfactory in Pakistan. According to the statement, journalists in Pakistan face harassment, arrests, violence and increasing pressure from state institutions, while media outlets face editorial interference, demonstrating how outlets are being controlled at various levels and tactics being used, like government advertisements to get editorial control, limiting the right to information through censorship, and taking dissenting voices off air.

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