A/HRC/22/12 setbacks faced in its 65-year history. Following restoration of democracy in 2008, Pakistan had taken a number of steps to restore the democratic nature of State institutions. 8. The Minister highlighted that Pakistan was a functional democracy with an elected and sovereign parliament, an independent judiciary, a free media and a vibrant and robust civil society. The media, besides aggressively monitoring Government policies, worked zealously to raise awareness among the people of their human rights and fundamental freedoms. Civil society played a key role in fostering a culture of accountability and transparency and assisted in changing societal attitudes. Similarly, an independent judiciary and legal community had taken wide-ranging steps to uphold the rule of law and ensure the protection of constitutional rights of all citizens. 9. The Minister stated that the human rights record of any country could not be assessed in a vacuum as one needs to study the situation on the ground in its proper context. The reporting period (2008 to 2012) had been one of the most challenging in recent. Pakistan continued to face enormous challenges on different fronts, ranging from security and terrorism to the economy, apart from natural calamities. 10. The Minister said that during the last four years, there had been transformational changes in Pakistan’s constitutional and legislative framework. Parliament had passed three constitutional amendments as part of an overarching compact between the country’s major political parties to engender long-term democratic values in the country, after the trauma of repeated military interventions. The right to education, the right to information and the right to a fair trial were now recognized as fundamental rights, which could not be suspended. The restored federal system empowered the provinces, and invested much more richly in the notion of the democratic significance of the State’s ability to engage with the grassroots. 11. The Minister highlighted that the years 2008 to 2012 had been the most active period of legislating on human rights in the history of Pakistan. A number of bills were passed by the Parliament to strengthen human rights in the country, including more than half a dozen laws for the promotion of women’s rights. In May 2012, Pakistan enacted a new law creating an independent National Commission for Human Rights in accordance with Paris Principles. Moreover, some long overdue changes were made to administrative governance in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Following amendments to the colonial-era Frontier Crimes Regulation (FCR) in 2011, the arbitrary powers of the local administration to make arrests and detain individuals were curtailed and prisoners given the right to bail. Furthermore, in 2011 the Political Parties Order 2002 was extended to FATA. 12. The Minister stated that, since the last review, Pakistan had ratified a number of international human rights instruments including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the Convention against Torture (CAT) and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). Pakistan had now ratified seven out of nine core international human rights treaties and was focused on implementing these instruments at the national level. An inter-ministerial process had been set up to coordinate implementation and to prepare reports for the treaty bodies. 13. The Minister stated that in the spirit of dialogue, Pakistan extended invitations to a number of special procedures of the Human Rights Council to visit Pakistan. The High Commissioner visited Pakistan in June 2012 at the invitation of the Government. The visit provided her an opportunity to observe first-hand the wide-ranging measures taken by Pakistan in promotion and protection of human rights. The Special Rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers visited Pakistan from 19 to 29 May 2012, while the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances visited Pakistan from 10 to 20 September 2012. Pakistan has also extended an invitation to Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression. 4