The Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a federal republic. Parliamentary elections in 2002 were reported as seriously flawed. The President is head of state and Chief of Army Staff. The Prime Minister is head of a government that has been controlled by the President since he took office in a military coup in 1999. The coup was sanctioned by the Supreme Court with a caveat that the elected government be restored in 3 years. In 2002 the President held a referendum to get a 5-year extension of his presidency. Fraud and coercive voting took place but the Supreme Court accepted the 97.5% vote to allow the President to retain office until 2007.

The country is an Islamic state and the President and the Prime Minister must be Muslim. 60 of 342 National Assembly seats are reserved for women; there are 73 women in the Assembly and 5 women in the Cabinet. 10 religious minorities have reserved seats.

The judiciary is independent in law but subject to pressure and influence from the legislature. Lower courts are reported as corrupt, inefficient and subject to influence. Standards of evidence discriminate between men and women and between Muslims and non-Muslims. The Federal Shari'a Court may overturn legislation inconsistent with Islam. In the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), courts operate under the Frontier Crimes Regulation, in which tribal leaders are responsible for justice. Members of tribes or villages may be punished until the suspect surrenders or the tribe or village punishes the suspect. Local assemblies (jirgas) are held in some rural areas to settle feuds and impose tribal penalties.

Security forces are accused of torture. Special police stations with all female officers have been established to counter complaints of rape and abuse of women by police. Corruption is reported as rampant in police forces and in government. Intelligence services monitor politicians, activists and suspected terrorists. Wiretaps are used and mail is intercepted without court approval. The Anti-Terrorist Act bans membership and activities in extremist religious groups.

Discrimination on the basis of race, religion, caste, residence or place of birth is prohibited in law, but discrimination is evident.

Freedom of speech and of the press are guaranteed, but journalists are intimidated into practising self-censorship. Retribution against media critical of government policies is noted. The Anti-Terrorist Act prohibits material said to foment sectarian hatred. Foreign books are censored for objectionable content before being reprinted. However, television stations have aired dramas on previously taboo subjects, and Internet access is not restricted.

All forms of trafficking are prohibited, but trafficking is a significant problem. Pakistan is a source, transit and destination country for trafficked persons. Trafficked men and women work as bonded labourers or in domestic service. Young boys aged 3 to 10 are sold as camel jockeys in Middle Eastern countries. Some police and immigration officials are accused of complicity in trafficking; some have been prosecuted. An Anti-Trafficking Unit has been formed.

Homosexuals do not reveal their sexual orientation to avoid discrimination. Persons diagnosed as HIV-positive face discrimination. Education campaigns do not appear to have the desired impact.

Education is not compulsory, but it is tuition-free in primary school. Additional charges for books, materials and uniforms put education out of reach for many children in both primary and secondary education. Schools in rural areas are in very short supply. Statistics show that about two-thirds of children aged 5 to 9 are in school and that dramatic drops in enrolment occur during both primary and secondary education. The literacy rate is 38% overall, with men having 50% literacy and women 24% literacy. Discrimination against girls in education is still evident.

An earthquake in 2005 destroyed some 7,000 schools in the area, but 18 months later children were still studying in classes held outdoors or in tents. To provide at least some education for their children, parents send them to madrassas, particularly in rural areas, even though madrassas tend to focus on Islamic studies and rarely help children find employment afterward. Efforts to modernise madrassa education are being made, and government funding has been allocated to assist with teacher training to help provided a broader education for madrassa students. Students at some madrassas are reported to be abused.

Islamic studies is a compulsory subject for all Muslim students in state-run schools. Students of other faiths are exempt from such classes, though in practice they are sometimes required to participate.

A 2-year programme begins at age 3. The Net Enrolment Rate (NER) is 38%. There are 86,444 ECE teachers (45% women). The pupil/teacher ratio (PTR) is 41 : 1.

Education is not compulsory. Primary school begins at age 5 and lasts 5 years. 41% of students are girls. The NER is 66% (76% of boys, 56% of girls). There are 432,222 primary teachers (45% female). The PTR is 37 : 1.

Secondary education begins at age 10 and lasts 7 years. 11% of students in upper secondary education study in technical vocational programmes. The Gross Enrolment Rate (GER) is 27%. There are 197,082 secondary teachers, 161,500 (54% female) in lower secondary and 35,582 (32% female) in upper secondary schools. The PTR is 38 : 1 in lower secondary and 32 : 1 in upper secondary education.

520,666 students (43% female) study in tertiary institutions, for a GER of 3%. 18,639 Pakistani students are studying abroad, mainly in the USA (7,325), the UK (4,378), Germany (1,186), Australia (1,100) and Malaysia (613).

Most people with physical and mental disabilities are cared for by their families. Many disabled adults and children beg to earn some money. Public and private business is required by law to have 2% of their jobs for persons with disabilities, but the law is not enforced. Many children suffered severe spinal injuries in the 2005 earthquake. Little education is provided for disabled children other than by NGOs and intergovernmental organisations.

Child offenders can be sent to residential reform schools in Karachi and Bahawalpur, where they encounter abuse, torture and drugs. Nutrition and education are inadequate in the centres.

The law does not provide for the granting of asylum or refugee status in accordance with the 1951 UN Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol, but the government has established a system to protect refugees. Temporary protection has been provided for many years to millions of refugees from Afghanistan. Some 3 million Afghanis remain, according to the UNHCR, which helps support this population.

Refugees face discrimination and abuse and are often blamed for high crime rates and unemployment. 1.5 million displaced Kashmiris are in Pakistan. They have the same rights as Pakistani citizens.
Education in refugee camps is generally provided by the UNHCR. NGOs and intergovernmental agencies provide some education for refugee children outside of camps.

Elected legislators, including non-Muslims, must take an oath to "strive to preserve the Islamic ideology, which is the basis for the creation of Pakistan." Religious minorities face discrimination. The Ahmadi community considers itself a Muslim sect but is considered to be a non-Muslim minority by the authorities. Ahmadis are prohibited from participating in the Ramadan fast, using Muslim greetings, referring to Ahmadi places of worship as mosques, reciting Islamic prayers or attending the Haj. All citizens are subject to the Shari'a blasphemy laws.

The Hindu community reports demands for bribes from security forces, which increase with Indo-Pakistani tension. The Ahmadi, Christian, Hindu, and Shi'a Muslim communities all face discrimination in employment and access to public education.

Academic freedom is limited by student violence and intolerance, through groups linked to political parties. Some university campuses report well-armed groups of students associated with the All Pakistan Mohajir Students Organisation (APMSO), which is affiliated with the Muttahidi Quami Movement (MQM), an influential political party that originated as an ethnic student organisation. MQM is accused of being involved in terrorist activities in Sindh. The Islami Jamiat Talaba is affiliated with the Jamaat-e-Islami, a political movement founded in Lahore. It is one of the largest components of the coalition of religious parties.

These groups reportedly intimidate students, instructors and administrators over issues of language, syllabus, examination policies, grades, doctrines and dress. They interfere with staff hiring and student admissions, and they influence the use of university funds. University authorities have banned political activity on many campuses without success.

The President discouraged domestic women's organisations from publicising rape and sexual abuse cases in the international community, claiming their work damaged Pakistan's international image. Discrimination on the basis of sex is legally prohibited but endemic in practice. Sexual harassment is common but rarely prosecuted despite legislation.

Family, property and inheritance law is stacked against women. A wife inherits only one-eighth of her husband's estate, and women who marry without family consent are ostracised or become the victims of "honour" crimes. To avoid division of property a family may resort to a daughter's "Koranic marriage," after which she will be considered to be married to the Koran and permanently forbidden contact with any man over age 14. Discrimination in employment is reported; wages for women are lower than for men in work of equal value.

Domestic violence is a serious problem. Dowry-related and family-related disputes can result in death or disfigurement. The judiciary rarely takes action in such cases, which are considered to be internal family problems. Female genital mutilation is practised by some groups but is said to be declining. Victims of domestic or international trafficking are held as prostitutes.

The minimum age for employment is 14, but enforcement is lax and corruption allows the worst practices to continue. Child labour is a serious problem. 35 hazardous forms of child labour have been observed, but children continue to work in all of them. Agriculture and domestic service also account for child labour.

Forced and bonded labour continues, while the numbers of children in such situations are increasing with trafficking and sexual exploitation. ILO programmes use a combination of monitoring, educational access, rehabilitation and family-member employment to help get children out of child labour situations. The Bonded Labour System Abolition Act outlaws bonded labour and cancels bonded debts, but estimates of bonded labourers range from 5 million to 20 million.

Poor rural parents sell children as bonded labourers. Many bonded labourers are scheduled-caste Hindus, or Muslim and Christian descendants of low-caste Hindus. Low literacy levels prevent many from knowing when their debts are paid. Landlords in rural Sindh are reported to maintain private jails where they house adult and child bonded labourers. Corruption prevents the elimination of bonded labour.

Workers have the right to form and join trade unions, except for agricultural workers and teachers, while limited rights apply to security forces, many civil servants, health care workers and petroleum company personnel. Union members account for 10% of workers in the formal sector and 3% of the total work force. Restricted collective bargaining is permitted, and limits are placed on the right to strike. Export processing zones are not covered by the labour law.

The minimum monthly wage for unskilled workers is US$42 (PKR 2,500), which does not provide a decent standard of living for a worker and family. The maximum work week is 48 hours for some and 54 hours for seasonal factories.