This paper outlines the promises made by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) before their election in October 1993 and compares these to the record of the PPP government in the area of human rights during its first 15 months in office. In this period torture, including rape, continued to be reported from all parts of the country, facilitated by the widespread practice of incommunicado detention, sometimes in places not officially designated as prisons. Torture was used to extract information, to punish and humiliate and, frequently, to extort money. At least 67 people died, allegedly due to torture, during the period under review. At least 35 extrajudicial executions were reported and the fate of several “disappeared” persons remained unclarified. Torturers and killers have almost always acted with impunity while victims and their families face serious difficulties if they wish to pursue complaints about human rights violations by law enforcement personnel.
