Call 1099 for Free Legal Advice on Human Rights Violations in Pakistan
Pakistan's 1099 human rights helpline gives free legal advice. See the new weekday hours, the email and WhatsApp numbers, and what to prepare before you call.
Call 1099, the toll-free helpline of Pakistan's Ministry of Human Rights, for free legal advice if your rights have been violated. Calls are free from anywhere in the country. A notice on the ministry's home page says the new hours are 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM on weekdays. You can also write to helpline@mohr.gov.pk or message the WhatsApp number 03339085709.
We read the Ministry of Human Rights website on 14 October 2026. Everything below comes from its helpline page and home page. We did not call the line ourselves, so we say nothing about how long a call takes to connect.
1099 gives free legal advice and sends your case to the right office
The ministry says the helpline offers free legal advice, counselling, legal assistance and referral. Referral means the staff pass your case to the department or organisation that can act on it. Nobody pays a fee to call.
The ministry's page lists five aims for the line. It gives legal advice on human rights violations, refers victims to the right office, keeps a national record of violations, links victims to support services, and builds ties with police, courts, law colleges, bar associations and other groups.
The helpline began as a development project in the 2014-15 financial year. The ministry says it first used a long number, 111-664-775, and replaced it with the short code 1099 in November 2015. It is now a permanent part of the ministry. That history matters for one reason: the old long number may still appear on old posters, so use 1099.
The helpline works on weekdays from 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM
A news item on the ministry's home page says the helpline timings have been revised. The new hours are 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM on all weekdays. The item does not name the days, so we read "weekdays" as Monday to Friday and did not find weekend hours.
The same page shows a header line that says "Mon-Fri 9:00am to 5:00pm". That line sits beside placeholder text and appears to describe the ministry office, not the helpline. We follow the helpline notice, but if a call goes unanswered at 8:45 PM, try the email or WhatsApp route and call again the next morning.
Use the channels the ministry lists
The ministry's helpline page lists a toll-free number, an email, a fax, a Facebook page, a WhatsApp number, a postal address and a mobile app. Pick the one that suits your situation. A call is best when you need an answer today.
| Channel | Detail from the ministry page |
|---|---|
| Toll-free phone | 1099 |
| helpline@mohr.gov.pk | |
| 03339085709 | |
| Fax | 051-9221710 |
| facebook.com/helpline1099 | |
| Post | 8th Floor, New Pak Secretariat (Kohsar Block), Sector F-5, Islamabad |
The page also links the Awaz App. The ministry's home page describes the app and a related site, zarra.mohr.gov.pk, for reporting missing and abducted children. For that purpose, our steps to report a missing person in Pakistan cover the police route as well.
Prepare five facts before you call
The ministry does not publish a checklist for callers. This list is our own suggestion, built from what any legal adviser will ask first. It is not an official requirement.
- Write down what happened, the date and the place, in a few short lines.
- Note the name of the office or person involved, such as a police station or a department.
- Keep any paper you already have, such as an FIR number, a receipt or a letter.
- Say whether the case is already in court, because that changes the advice.
- Ask the adviser which office your case is being referred to, and write the answer down.
The helpline gives advice. It is not a police station and it does not replace one. In an emergency call the police on 15 first. For harassment or abuse of a woman, the Punjab Women's Helpline 1043 is the provincial line, and the steps to report an offence to police as a woman show your rights at the station.
The ministry reports about 1.5 million calls and 60 thousand cases
The helpline page says the line has received almost 1.5 million calls up to May 2025. It says the line has provided services in almost 60 thousand relevant cases. These are the ministry's own figures and we have not checked them against any other record.
The ratio is worth reading with care. Many callers ask questions that are not rights cases. The page says "all relevant callers" get legal advice and are referred where needed. So a call that is not a rights matter may still get a redirect, but we found no promise of a result.
If your problem is with a federal department, such as a delayed passport or a NADRA error, another route exists. The Wafaqi Mohtasib complaint guide explains the free federal ombudsman. Online abuse and blackmail have their own steps in the guide to reporting online blackmail.
Common questions about the 1099 helpline
Is the 1099 helpline free?
Yes. The ministry calls it a toll-free number, and its page says callers from all over the country get legal advice and referral at no cost. Check your own operator if you see a charge.
What are the 1099 helpline hours?
The ministry's home page says 8:30 AM to 9:00 PM on all weekdays. A separate header line on the same page shows 9:00am to 5:00pm, which looks like office hours. Use the helpline notice.
Can I use 1099 for a police emergency?
No. The line gives legal advice and referral. For an emergency call the police on 15 or the rescue service on 1122, and use 1099 afterwards for legal guidance.
Is there a WhatsApp number for the helpline?
Yes. The ministry's page lists 03339085709 as the helpline WhatsApp number. It also lists helpline@mohr.gov.pk for email. We have not tested either, so keep a copy of what you send.
Does 1099 file my case in court?
Not on the information we read. The ministry describes advice, counselling, legal assistance and referral. It does not say the helpline files cases for callers.
How we verified this
What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.
Last checked 14 October 2026. The hours notice, the contact list, the history of the line and the call figures come from the Ministry of Human Rights website, mohr.gov.pk, including its Toll Free Helpline 1099 page. We did not call the line or test the email, WhatsApp or app. A separate victim support directory is linked from the ministry's home page, but its pages did not load fully for us, so we leave it out. Check the ministry's page for any change in hours.
About the author
Public Services and Education Journalist
Fajr Riaz is a journalist and content writer at Pakistan Era, based in Lahore. She covers the questions people meet in everyday life in Pakistan: how a public service works, what a change in the rules means, and where to find a reliable answer.
