ISLAMABAD — The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has urged the government to revive the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR), which has been dysfunctional since its chairperson’s term expired one year ago.

In a press release issued recently, HRCP said that neither the chairperson/members of the NCHR were given extensions nor replacements were named to this statutory body, which is mandated to play a key role in ensuring that Pakistan upholds human rights commitments.

The HRCP called for the revival of the NCHR, the activation of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child, and the dissolution of the National Commission for Minorities established recently through an executive order to replace it with the independent National Council for Minorities’ Rights as envisioned in the 2014 Supreme Court (Jillani) judgment.

The press release comes in the wake of human rights accusations relating to the disappearance of Sana Siyahpad Baloch, an M. Phil student, killing of senior journalist Zulfiqar Ali Mandrani in Sindh, the mystery related to the whereabouts of Muhammad Idris Khattak, an independent researcher, and the persecution of Dulat Jan Mathal, an editor and publisher from Gilgit-Baltistan. — Agencies