When Reporting Replaces Protection: Recurring Human Rights Concerns and the National Action Plan 2026

Human rights are more than the rights we are born with – they are about how the state chooses to recognize and protect them.

This session presents key findings from a new study by Ibtidah for Education, which began as a review of the National Action Plan for Human Rights 2026 and grew into a broader examination of Pakistan’s human rights laws, policies, and reporting systems.

The book asks a critical question: What happens when the state’s focus shifts from protecting people to simply complying with international reporting requirements?

Drawing on comparative legal analysis, UN treaty body observations, UPR, EU GSP+ monitoring, and extensive field research with lawyers and human rights defenders, the study highlights recurring gaps in:

• Independence of national human rights institutions
• Academic freedom and attacks on education
• Fair trial guarantees and misuse of laws
• Freedom of religion or belief
• Protection for communities often missed in policy — indigenous and nomadic groups, refugees, and stateless children

About the Panelists:

• Zeeba Hashmi
  (Founder ‘Ibtidah for Education,’ Research and Evaluation Expert)
• Rashid Chaudhury
  (Development Professional, Civil Society Activist)
• Waiza Rafique
  (Advocate, Author, Chevening Scholar, Human Rights Law & Policy Specialist)
• Amjad Nazeer
  (Author, Anthropologist, Policy Analyst, Rights Activist)
• Mujahid Hussain
  (Author, Research Journalist — Moderator)

This session is free and open to all. Just visit the venue to attend it.

The Black Hole
Plot 5H, Street 100, G-11/3, Islamabad.
Click here for Google Maps Location