In 2024, democracy in Pakistan suffered setbacks on many fronts. Among these setbacks was the state’s denial — through heavy-handed and violent means — to the right to peaceful assembly by citizens protesting against various forms of rights violation.
The pattern for intolerance of dissent was set even before the new year began. In December 2023, hundreds of protesters from Balochistan, led by activist Mahrang Baloch, marched to Islamabad to demand the recovery of their forcibly disappeared family members. Ranging from elderly women in their eighties to toddlers, the protesters started their sit-in outside the Press Club in Islamabad on December 22, and continued till the end of January 2024. In the freezing cold of Islamabad, the protesters faced not only arbitrary arrests and detention but the denial of humanitarian assistance such as blankets and access to toilets. In the face of twin hostilities — from the administration and the weather — the protesters were left with no option but to return to Balochistan.
In July, violence was once again inflicted upon the Baloch in Gwadar during the Baloch Raji Machi, where hundreds of people had gathered to demand their civil, political, and economic rights, as well as an end to enforced disappearances. On July 28, at least three protesters were killed by security personnel, and many others were injured. Earlier, roads and the internet were blocked to prevent participation in the protest, and convoys were fired upon.
In the same month, a “peace march” in Bannu, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, held to protest the rise in Taliban attacks in the province, faced violence from law enforcement personnel. Authorities allegedly opened fire on the protesters, resulting in two deaths.
In May, three young men were allegedly killed by the paramilitary Rangers in Pakistan-administered Kashmir during a protest march demanding subsidized flour and electricity. The Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee, the group behind the protest, stated that the protesters were peaceful, but the government chose to deploy the Rangers, who ultimately used force against them.
Gilgit-Baltistan also saw massive protests in January against the dramatic increase in wheat prices, inflation, poor internet, and human rights violations in the region.
Meanwhile, Pakistan conducted a controversial general election in February 2024, which was marred by allegations of rigging and violence. Terrorist attacks during election campaigns have become a norm in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa over the past few years, and the 2024 election was no exception. Anti-Taliban politicians and parties had to run their campaigns amidst a wave of fear and intimidation, as terrorist attacks in the province increased in 2024.
On February 1, Rehan Zeb Khan, an independent candidate affiliated with the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), was shot dead in a targeted attack; when gunmen opened fire on his car in a market in the Bajaur district. Three other people were injured, and the Islamic State (IS) claimed responsibility for the attack. In January, Malik Kaleem Ullah, an independent candidate for the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Assembly, was shot dead in Waziristan, along with three others, while going door-to-door.
Two days after the election, former MNA and National Democratic Movement (NDM) chief Mohsin Dawar was shot and injured by security forces during a protest against alleged rigging in his constituency in Waziristan. Four of his supporters were killed. The incident served as a reminder of the impunity enjoyed by security forces in the province. The fact that a former lawmaker could be shot simply for protesting against rigging indicates that no citizen is safe from the disproportionate use of force by law enforcement agencies in tribal areas.
Increasingly, as more and more sections of the citizenry become frustrated by the state’s indifference or outright hostility to their demands for rights, the backlash they face is becoming harsher. The rulers’ perception of all protests as subversion has effectively transformed Pakistan into a security state.
Apart from other ethnic groups raising voices for their rights, the state also views the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) with suspicion. One of its founders, former MNA Ali Wazir, continues to be shunted from prison to prison, on dubious charges.
In October, when the PTM planned its Grand National Jirga (dialogue) in Khyber, the state responded by vandalizing the venue, killing four supporters and imposing a ban on the PTM. The purpose of the jirga was to discuss issues related to the Pashtuns and solutions for peace in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Instead of responding positively to peace initiatives, in a deeply troubled region, the state tried its best to prevent this event. While the government later agreed to rescind the ban, the crackdown on the group continues, with one of its senior members, Haji Abdul Samar, having been arbitrarily arrested and handed over to the Counter Terrorism Department earlier this week.
There wasn’t a single month in 2024 when Pakistan did not witness protests by political parties or members of civil society. And there was probably not a single protest (except perhaps those organized by the extremist group Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan) that did not experience a crackdown.
In October, when civil society organizations planned the Sindh Rawadari (tolerance) March in Karachi to promote interfaith harmony and protest the extrajudicial killing of blasphemy accused Dr. Shahnawaz Khunbar, their right to assemble was restricted by the imposition of Section 144. When the organizations decided to proceed despite the restriction, many rights activists were beaten and dragged into police vehicles.
There wasn’t a single month in 2024 when Pakistan did not witness protests by political parties or civil society. And there was probably not a single protest that did not experience a crackdown.
Protests in Islamabad face perhaps the biggest hurdles. The government’s SOPs include shutting down businesses and schools, as well as cutting off mobile networks and the internet. Containers are placed at all entry and exit points to deter participation. Historically, these measures have led to greater violence and clashes between demonstrators and law enforcement. However, no lessons are learned. This was evident during the PTI demonstration in the capital in November, when violent clashes resulted in the deaths of 12 protesters and several law enforcement officers.
As the year ends, the country sees sustained protests in the restive town of Parachinar, Kurram, with no prospects of peace. What possibly started as a land dispute quickly turned into a bloody sectarian conflict, claiming more than 130 lives. The government’s response of blocking roads in the severe winter months has resulted in a grave humanitarian crisis, with food and medical shortages resulting in the death of over a hundred children.
While the military spokesperson recently held the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa government responsible for ensuring law and order, he overlooked the military’s role in promoting sectarianism in the region. Meanwhile, roads in Karachi have been blocked for a week by protesters in sympathy with those suffering in Parachinar. Similar protests against the violence in Parachinar have been staged in Lahore and Islamabad as well.
So how does 2025 look in the context of the right to peaceful assembly? Not very bright, judging by the controversial Peaceful Assembly and Public Order Act passed by the National Assembly in September. This proposed law places severe restrictions on demonstrations and public gatherings in Islamabad Capital Territory.
One can only hope that the provinces don’t follow the federal government’s footsteps and violate people’s fundamental right to peaceful assembly.
The protests and crackdowns mentioned above were largely absent from the mainstream media’s coverage, which has a history of overlooking unrest in peripheral regions. Self-censorship and state-enforced restrictions compel the media to turn a blind eye while human rights and civil liberties are increasingly violated in smaller provinces. Instead of giving coverage to the grievances of protesting activists, many voices in the mainstream media amplified state propaganda against them and attributed the protests to a “foreign hand.” Pakistan’s media must stop becoming complicit in the crackdown aimed at silencing dissenting voices in the country.
In 2025, Pakistan’s civil society must not allow these injustices in the peripheries to go unnoticed and should actively demand accountability and an end to the culture of impunity.
Zohra Yusuf is a council member of HRCP and the Consulting Editor of Dissent Today.
Ailia Zehra is a journalist and the Founding Editor of Dissent Today.
