The power of trust

THE Human Rights Commission of Pakistan has painted a grim picture of the state of human rights in the country in its latest annual report. In a press release, the organisation pointed out “a severe contraction of civic space, the erosion of judicial independence, and deepening insecurity” in 2025. This is akin to a civil-society charge sheet against state institutions. The report mentions how the “Commission of Inquiry on Enforced Disappearances (COIED) registered 273 new cases [of missing persons] nationwide”. While 13 were traced to state agencies’ centres, 32 to prisons, and some individuals returned, many other individuals remained missing. Harsh legal and institutional mechanisms created a climate of fear and self-censorship while limiting public discourse. Amendments to the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, at the centre and in Balochistan, empowered LEAs to detain any citizen for up to three months without charge or judicial oversight, further undermining fundamental rights, due process and protection from arbitrary detentions.

On World Press Freedom Day, the prime minister expressed his government’s commitment to protecting the freedom of the press while also stressing the importance of “credible journalism”. The president said, “A free, independent and diverse media is not a threat to a confident nation, rather a proof of one.” Meanwhile, media bodies and civil society organisations raised alarm over growing curbs on press freedom and the rising risks to journalists. Freedom Network cited the weaponisation of cybercrime laws as one of the most serious threats to media freedom in Pakistan. From April 2025 to March 2026, “at least 129 verified incidents of violations” were reported and included: “two murders, five cases of threat to murder, 58 legal cases (mostly Peca-invoked), 16 cases of assault, 11 cases of threats to harm and two cases of kidnappings”.

Separately, civil society representatives issued an open letter to the PM, warning that “Pakistan’s media landscape was increasingly marked by intimidation, legal pressure and economic vulnerability”. While stressing the need for an independent media committed to truthful reporting and accountability, they highlighted a growing pattern of harassment under cybercrime and anti-terror laws against journalists and human rights activists. Such persecution “had fostered fear within the media community, leading to self-censorship and limiting public access to critical information”.

Ex-senator and president of the PPP human rights cell Farhatullah Babar expressed his views on World Press Day candidly. “Silencing those who speak for rights, justice and the marginalised is silencing the conscience of society itself. The strength of a democracy lies not in suppressing dissent, but in engaging with it,” he said. He also asserted: “Prolonged detentions without trial, delayed hearings, excessive charges and midnight knocks are new tools of coercion … Such practices violate constitutional guarantees under Articles 10-A and 19 … .”

It is all about reaching out and being honest with one another in spite of existing differences.

Another report by the Pakistan Press Foundation said that Pakistani journalism was “dealing with overly active forms of legal challenges — from criminal complaints to summons, the continuation of violent physical attacks coupled with threats of violence, digital threats and harassment online, further amplified in an age of artificial intelligence”. It outlined the full scope of repressive actions the media was subjected to. In a bold May 3 editorial on press freedoms, this paper stated that the entire industry was being “suffocated by the repressive actions of the state that has gradually come untethered from law and principle”. It warned that “a public that abandons its press abandons its last organised defence against the unchecked ambitions of power”.

Our biggest concern revolves around the results of choices made by those in power. There is a gap in perception between the rulers and the ruled. The current politicised climate of distrust and division is promoting social disconnection and impeding dialogue and cooperation. We have a hard time listening to each other. We tend to judge quickly and assume the worst about those who disagree with us. This makes working together to overcome challenges increasingly difficult. The more difficulties we face, the angrier we get, which fuels the cycle of fear and distrust that, in turn, stokes alienation between the state and society. It’s a vicious cycle. The natural response to defend ourselves in the face of threats is to close ourselves off and judge others, instead of opening up and giving them the benefit of the doubt. Too often we are filled with contempt that becomes an obstacle in the way of constructive engagement. Almost all problem-solving requires compromise.

We need a movement to restore civil discourse and engage people in healthy debates to overcome prejudices and create tolerance for divergent viewpoints. The goal should be collective problem-solving. The first step is developing empathy and promoting a sense of mutual belonging. Those who govern should see the world through the eyes of the governed and live it, and build connections to remove fear and distrust. Only then can the rulers truly begin to appreciate the context of the public’s discontent and make genuine attempts to develop understanding and trust. It is all about reaching out and being honest with one another in spite of existing differences — ‘reach and reveal’ should be our motto. We are bound by a humanity common to all, which cannot be erased. We must develop the capacity to love people — family, friends, and strangers — even if we profoundly disagree with them.

In order to rebuild and strengthen the social contract between the state and citizens, course correction is direly needed through persuasion instead of persecution, dialogue instead of deterrence, compromise instead of contempt, dignity in dealing with dissent, decency in discourse, and above all, the promotion of justice. As Martin Luther King Jr said: “Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.” Empathy and kindness are the way forward if we want to see what miracles the power of trust can achieve.

The writer is a former police officer.

Published in Dawn, May 13th, 2026