The protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms, while addressing terrorism, is a core principle that states in the international community are obligated to uphold. However, Pakistan has consistently violated this principle in its purported counterterrorism efforts by employing a heavy-handed approach that has often proved counterproductive. This strategy has alienated communities, radicalised individuals, and undermined the rule of law, which terrorists aim to destabilise.

International organisations have called for reforms to ensure that Pakistan’s counterterrorism efforts comply with human rights standards. However, Pakistan has instead continued the practice of enforced disappearances, where individuals suspected of terrorism or militancy are abducted by security forces, often without formal charges or legal proceedings. These individuals are commonly held incommunicado in undisclosed locations, denying them access to lawyers, family, or the courts. Human rights organisations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch, have documented instances where security agencies, such as the military and Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), have been implicated in such actions.

For example, members of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM), which protests extrajudicial killings and disappearances in tribal areas, have reported arbitrary arrests and detentions of their activists under the pretext of counterterrorism operations. The cases of........

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