November 22, 2025
By Rana Malhi
ISLAMABAD
The National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) appeared before the Federal Constitutional Court on Friday to advance its constitutional petition under Article 184, seeking a complete nationwide ban on manual sewer cleaning and the establishment of mandatory health and safety regulations for all sanitation workers. The case was heard by a three-member bench headed by Justice Aminuddin.
The petition marks a legal step in the Commission’s efforts to safeguard the rights and lives of one of Pakistan’s most marginalized labour groups. In its submissions, the NCHR highlighted the severe and often fatal risks sanitation workers face due to unsafe working conditions, lack of protective equipment, and absence of proper training. The Commission argued that forcing workers into sewers without safety measures violates fundamental constitutional rights, including the right to life, dignity, equality, and secure working environments.
The NCHR highlighted that the petition was filed on the basis of an inquiry report “Risk of Sanitation Work in Pakistan,” which compiled extensive complaints and documented multiple deaths, injuries, and unsafe working conditions faced by sanitation workers across Pakistan from 2022 to 2024. According to this report from 2022 to 2024, the NCHR received multiple complaints regarding sanitation workers who lost their lives while on duty.
In 2022, two workers in Chakwal, a father and son named Riaz and Jahanzaib, died after inhaling poisonous gases. That same year, two workers in Muzaffargarh, Rab Nawaz and Malik Riaz Hussain, perished after falling into a sewage line. In Sargodha, Faisal Masih and Nadeem Masih lost their lives while working inside a manhole, while in Faisalabad, a worker named Shaukat Masih died during duty.
In 2023, the NCHR was approached with a complaint from Sargodha highlighting the deaths of Faisal and Nadeem Masih along with concerns about the lack of protective equipment, unsafe working conditions, and the absence of death benefits for daily wage workers.
Another complaint came from Bahawalnagar, where a worker named Ehtisham Pervaiz reported mental torture and inhuman treatment. During the same period, the Commission initiated several suo moto actions, including the deaths of Muhammad Usman and Muhammad Tahir in Taunsa, and of Roshan Poran and Karan Poran in Karachi, both involving sewer line cleaning. The Commission also intervened in Lahore after reports of physical torture and inhuman treatment of a Christian sanitation worker.
In Gujranwala, NCHR took suo moto notice of the death of Samson Warris, who was asphyxiated by toxic gases. In 2024, Asif Masih and Shan Masih died from toxic gas inhalation while on duty in Faisalabad.
The NCHR has actively followed up on these tragedies. In November 2022, the Commission took suo moto action regarding the death of a sweeper in Hasilpur and wrote to the Metropolitan Corporation Bahawalpur requesting a comprehensive report within seven days. Multiple reminders were issued in December 2022, followed by repeated requests for the appearance of a municipal representative, which were not met, ultimately leading to closure of the case in July 2023.
In June 2023, following reports of deaths of two Hindu Dalit sanitation workers in Karachi, the NCHR Chairperson wrote to waste management companies across Lahore, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Karachi, Islamabad, Faisalabad, and Rawalpindi requesting detailed information on worker deaths. Reminders were issued on 6th July, 3rd August, and 29th November 2023, seeking data on deaths, injuries, number of manual scavengers working without PPE, and employment figures. Faisalabad, for instance, claimed no such cases had been reported.
The Commission also took suo moto action on the death of Babar Masih in Karachi, sending letters to the Karachi Metropolitan Corporation on 8th June 2023, followed by reminders in July, August, and September, with the latter addressed to the DMC Malir for a response by 15th October 2023. In another case, regarding the death of a nine-year-old boy who drowned in an open manhole, NCHR sent a letter to the Municipal Corporation Khanewal requesting an inquiry and report, followed by a reminder in October 2023.
For the deaths of two sanitation workers in Taunsa while cleaning a sewage line, the Commission sent a letter requesting an inquiry in June 2023 and followed up with reminders.
In the case of sewer worker Samson Warris in Gujranwala, NCHR sent a letter to the Water and Sanitation Agency in October 2023, with the report received on 25th October. Additionally, letters were sent to the Chief Secretaries of Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa urging inquiries, phasing out manual sewer cleaning, and provision of PPE to prevent further tragedies. For hearings on the protection of sanitation workers’ rights, letters were sent to provincial secretaries of Local Government requesting attendance before the Commission. Several municipalities submitted inadequate responses or failed to respond altogether, prompting extensions of deadlines into February 2024.
During the court hearing on Friday, NCHR’s counsel, Barrister Iqbal Nasar, informed the court that yet another sanitation worker had died in Sindh just a day earlier. He argued that this recurring loss of life reflects the urgent need for immediate government intervention. The Commission emphasized that Pakistan currently lacks a unified national health-and-safety framework for sanitation work. Poor regulatory enforcement and the absence of emergency response mechanisms continue to expose sanitation workers to toxic gases, life-threatening injuries, and preventable deaths.
“Manual cleaning of gutters is brutal and dehumanizing. No person’s life should be put at risk for work that should never require human hands,” said NCHR Chairperson Rabiya Javeri Agha, attending the hearing. She stressed that mechanization, proper training, and strict enforcement of occupational health and safety standards are essential to protect workers who are often from marginalized religious and social backgrounds.
The petition seeks to establish a nationwide policy ensuring mechanized cleaning of sewers, mandatory PPE, emergency response protocols, and strict monitoring by municipal and provincial authorities. The Court has issued notices to the respondents, and a follow-up hearing is expected to address compliance and implementation strategies.