Pakistan was created in 1947 towards the end of the British Raj. It is the thirty-fourth largest country in the world by land mass and has a population of approximately 232,690,000 million which makes it the fifth most populous state in the world. According to Pakistan’s 2017 census, 63% of Pakistan’s population were aged between 15-33 (UN Population Fund Report 2017).
The government of Pakistan led by Shahbaz Sharif, is formed of 14 political parties to form ‘Pakistan Democratic Movement’ who came together on 9 April 2022 when they toppled Imran Khan’s government in a ‘no confidence’ vote.
The Supreme Court ordered elections within 90 days of the dissolution of Punjab and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) assemblies in accordance with Pakistan’s Constitution which was ignored. Recently, the Supreme Court ordered elections to take place on 14 May 2023 which was again ignored without any consequences.
We are a group of medics, lawyers and human rights activists who have come together to form Citizens Against State Torture (CAST).