Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf made clear that he does not respect western human right standards and would not make a priority of upholding them."Pakistan is more important than human rights," Musharraf said recently during a global economic forum in Sweeden. "Human rights serves Pakistan; Pakistan does not serve Human rights."
A video of Musharraf's comments was released by Human Rights Watch. He is answering a question from a HRW representative who is questioning widespread reports of human rights abuses in Pakistan.
Musharraf accuses his questioner of trying to impose a "Western Human rights considerations and standards" on Pakistan and seems to argue his country would be thrown into turmoil if it upheld such standards."[Human rights] functions in accordance with our environment," he said. "Now if somebody, whether he's anybody, is trying to create such anarchy that maybe Pakistan's integrity is at stake maybe our economy ... will collapse. I don't consider any human rights in such situations. We will deal with it, whatever it costs because Pakistan is more important than human rights.
As Pakistan prepares for national elections Feb. 18, Human Rights Watch is accusing Musharraf of tipping the electoral scales in his favor. The group has documented several examples of government aid to Musharraf-supported parliamentary candidates, including:
* In Lahore, the capital of Punjab province, the police have illegally put up banners and posters for the Musharraf-backed Pakistan Muslim League-(Q) (PML-Q) and torn down the electoral symbols of the opposition.
* On December 10, 2007, a television cameraman in Gahno Khose, Sindh province, who filmed police providing illegal assistance to the district mayor, deputy mayor, town police officer, executive district officer and caretaker ministers during an electoral campaign told Human Rights Watch that the mayor’s men snatched his camera and warned him against broadcasting the report. Police then threatened to lodge criminal cases against him. “I was afraid and informed my organization. They told me to keep quiet and took on the responsibility of talking to the concerned people,” he said. “They didn’t lodge [a criminal case] against me, but I am receiving further threats.”
* On December 26, 2007, police in Gujrat city, Punjab, prevented opposition Pakistan Muslim League-(N) (PML-N) candidates from preparing for a reception for their leader Nawaz Sharif, citing oral “orders from above.” Municipal administration staff overnight removed PML-N banners around the city. Police prevented the PML-N’s Gujrat youth wing from announcing Sharif’s arrival, confiscated their loudspeakers and detained six activists for several hours. Chaudhry Mohammad Faraz, the PML-N general secretary in Gujrat, told Human Rights Watch, “Police blocked all roads leading to the venue to stop people from welcoming Nawaz Sharif, from Jalalpur Jattan, Fatehpur, Shadiwal, Kunja and Bhimber. People had to come on foot, one by one.”
* On the night of December 20, 2007, unknown persons fired upon the PML-N office set up in the residence of Muhammad Afzal at Mohallah Kaloo Pura, Gujrat, after an anonymous telephone call telling Afzal to close the office down. Police did not collect evidence or register a complaint.
* In Thatta district, Sindh province, police have been obstructing the opposition Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) by not giving security clearance to its candidates to hold public meetings. The PPP’s Sassui Palijo, the only directly elected opposition party member in Thatta district, told Human Rights Watch that the administration has been interfering in their campaigns since the previous local bodies’ elections. “Now they are doing it again. They remove flags, banners after our party workers put them up. … We tell the election commission everything and show them evidence every three days. But they have done nothing to help us at all so far.” Palijo said that a PPP worker, Nawaz Ali Shah Qudusani, had to “go underground” after he went ahead with a rally that the local mayor had warned him against holding; police raided his house and arrested three people.
