CAP LC and Nazir Ahmad Publish First Pakistan Human Rights Fact Sheet

The Coordination of Associations and Individuals for Freedom of Conscience (CAP LC) is pleased to announce the publication of its first collaborative human rights fact sheet on Pakistan, covering the period from May to July 2026. This document marks the beginning of a working partnership with Nazir Ahmad, a human rights defender based in Pakistan, whose field experience and local knowledge have shaped a report grounded in observable facts rather than political commentary.

The fact sheet does not claim to be exhaustive. It gathers and categorises reported developments across ten thematic areas: the situation of Afghan refugees facing deportation; child sexual abuse in educational and residential institutions; civilian harm and internal displacement in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan; the misuse of blasphemy provisions; attacks on religious minorities; enforced disappearances; judicial proceedings raising fair-trial concerns; child labour; gender-based violence including honour killings; and violence against transgender persons. Each section draws on press reports, official statements, and civil-society monitoring data. Where possible, the document cites figures, dates, and named sources. Where information remains disputed, it says so.

This approach reflects a shared conviction. Both CAP LC and Nazir Ahmad believe that human rights advocacy is most useful when it begins with accurate information. The report records what has been reported, identifies patterns across cases, and offers concrete recommendations addressed to the Government of Pakistan. It does not assign blanket blame, nor does it ignore evidence of positive steps where courts or authorities have intervened. The aim is to give readers — diplomats, civil servants, fellow defenders, and concerned citizens — a reliable basis from which to form their own assessments and, where appropriate, to act.

Nazir Ahmad is a Pakistani human rights defender with more than 20 years of experience in human rights advocacy and community engagement. He has been elected twice as a Council Member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), serving a total of six years, and has also served as Coordinator of the HRCP South Punjab region.

His human rights work has included fact-finding, documentation, advocacy, awareness-raising and engagement with communities affected by violations. He has worked on issues including the rights of religious minorities, women and children, labour rights, peacebuilding and protection of vulnerable communities. He has participated in community-level peace initiatives and has worked with civil-society organizations on human rights awareness and advocacy.

Alongside his human rights experience, Nazir Ahmad has more than 25 years of corporate leadership experience, including senior roles with GlaxoSmithKline. He has also served as Project Manager with Jhpiego Tanzania, affiliated with Johns Hopkins University, where he worked on community engagement and public awareness programmes.

This combination of grassroots advocacy and structured management gives him a particular capacity — he understands both the urgency of individual cases and the discipline required to document them systematically.

We hope it will not be the last. The plan is to produce further issues on a regular basis, each covering a defined reporting period and maintaining the same categorical structure. Over time, this should allow readers to track trends, measure whether recommendations have been acted upon, and identify emerging concerns before they escalate.

The document is published in English and is available to any organisation, journalist, or official who wishes to use it. CAP LC and Nazir Ahmad welcome feedback, corrections, and additional source material. Human rights monitoring is a collective exercise. It works best when those who hold information share it, and when those who receive it treat it seriously.

This first issue is a beginning. We offer it in the hope that it will prove useful to those working to protect human dignity in Pakistan and beyond.

Download the report