<\/p>\n
ISLAMABAD: Pakis\u00adtan faced one of the worst economic crises in its history in 2023 with poverty, inflation and unemployment soaring, jeopardising millions of people\u2019s rights to health, food and an adequate standard of living, according to a report by the Human Rights Watch.<\/p>\n
In its 740-page \u2018World Report 2024<\/a>\u2019, made available on Friday, the HRW reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries, and observed that the insistence of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on austerity and the removal of subsidies without adequate compensatory measures resulted in additional hardship for low-income groups in Pakistan.<\/p>\n The country remained exceedingly vulnerable to climate change and faced rates of warming considerably above the global average, making extreme climate events more frequent and intense, according to the report<\/a>.<\/p>\n Increasing repression by governments in Asia is negatively affecting human rights locally and internationally, the HRW said. Asia, unlike Europe, Africa and the Americas, lacks a meaningful human rights charter or regional institution to safeguard human rights standards, it adds.<\/p>\n IMF insistence on removal of subsidies sans compensatory measures adds to hardship for low-income groups<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n The report says government threats and attacks on the media created a climate of fear among journalists and civil society groups, with many resorting to self-censorship. Authorities pressured or threatened media outlets not to criticise state institutions or the judiciary.<\/p>\n \n