Pakistan's Human Rights Commission says the military government has failed to deliver on its promise to curb religious extremism, reduce violence against women and scrap discriminatory laws against religious minorities. 

The commission's annual report says the September 11th attacks in the United States, and the war on terrorism in neighboring Afghanistan, have underlined the threat of religious extremism. But it says the government response has been superficial at best. 

Pakistan has banned five extremist Islamic militant groups and sealed Pakistan's border with Afghanistan. But the report says those initiatives are aimed at appeasing the West rather than serving the interests of the people. 

The report notes that minority religious communities continue to be targeted by violence, saying there has been a surge in violence motivated by religion. The report has also criticized a ban on political meetings and rallies, saying democracy and democratic practices were harshly curbed during the year in review. The government so far has not responded to the report. However, the government described a similar U.S. State Department report as "factually inaccurate and unwarranted." 

Some information for this report provided by AP. 

Email this article to a friend.
Printer Friendly Version