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Islamabad, Feb 2 (IANS) Pakistan army Saturday rejected as "a pack of lies, propaganda driven and totally biased" the Human Rights Watch (HRW) report that the government has failed to act against abuses by security and intelligence agencies, which allowed extremists to attack religious minorities. The Pakistani military spokesman said the HRW has made yet another attempt to malign Pakistan and its institutions through fabricated and unverified reports, reported Xinhua. "Completely favouring an anti-Pakistan agenda, the HRW has based its opinion on imprecise facts and biased views," the spokesman of Inter Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement. In its 665-page World Report 2013, the HRW also criticised the Pakistani authorities for doing little to address attacks against journalists and human rights defenders, and for serious abuses in counter-terrorism operations. The ISPR spokesman said the HRW report seems to be a clear attempt to further fuel already ongoing sectarian violence and to create chaos and disorder in Pakistan. The HRW has no credibility and has been criticized worldwide for raising controversies through its biased reports and funding from certain quarters and its reports have been rejected by many countries of the world, he said. Pakistan director at HRW Ali Dayan Hasan claimed: "Pakistan's human rights crisis worsened markedly in 2012 with religious minorities bearing the brunt of killings and repression." The report said suicide bombings, armed attacks and killings by the Taliban, Al Qaeda and their affiliates continued in 2012, targeting politicians, journalists, religious minorities and security personnel. Militant Islamist groups attacked more than 100 schools in 2012, including students, teachers and rights advocates, the HRW said. In 2012, well over 400 Shia Muslims were killed in targeted attacks across Pakistan. In Balochistan, over 125 were killed, mostly from the Hazara community.
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