News Desk The internet and new digital tools are being manipulated as never before to infringe on people’s right to free assembly, the UN’s top rights official says in a call for a moratorium on the use of facial recognition technology during peaceful demonstrations. GENEVA: UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has called on states and businesses to …

Feminism is not adequately perceived in Central Asian societies, writes Lolisanam Ulugova in the online magazine ‘The Voices on Central Asia’. Some consider it as a threat to the existing traditions of the patriarchal foundation, when a woman (responsible for too many things in the family) can get out of control, damaging the nation in its demographic development. Some believe …

In this essay, Amir Hussain critiques the so-called Green Revolution, its myths of rural transformation in the Global South with Pakistan as a case study. This is the first piece of a series of essays, summarising literature survey that he did for the forthcoming book on rural transformation published in The News today.   Amir Hussain   Rural transformation can …

Migrant workers in India, Pakistan and Nepal are crushed by poverty as earnings come to an abrupt halt in the lockdown forced by the Covid-19 pandemic, says a report compiled by Joydeep Gupta, Zofeen T Ebrahim, Ramesh Bhushal, published in thethirdpole.net online magazine. News Desk Across South Asia, the impact of the Covid-19 on livelihoods has been extreme. Despite being an outlier …

News Desk Disabled women in Afghanistan have complained of widespread discrimination they suffer in their country, which has one of the highest proportions of disabled people in the world. Their accounts come as Human Rights Watch reports that many also face sexual harassment from government officials. https://www.rferl.org/a/denied-treatment-education-and-jobs-afghanistan-s-disabled-women/30581580.html?ltflags=mailer Human Rights Watch (HRW) says Afghan women and girls with disabilities are being confronted …

Political, social, human rights activists condemn Maulana Tariq Jameel for insulting 220m people, women and media   High Asia Herald Report ISLAMABAD: Political, social and rights activists condemn Maulana Tariq Jameel for his misogynistic and hateful comments linking “women’s immodesty” to coronavirus spread in Pakistan. They sought an unconditional apology from the preacher for his controversial remarks on a TV …

Pakistan prime minister’s halting approach has left a gap for the army to step in and orchestrate policy, says a report published in the British leading newspaper Financial Times.   Imran Khan has been sidelined by Pakistan’s powerful military after failing to act decisively on the coronavirus crisis or impose a lockdown in an attempt to curb the spread of …

Doctors, WHO, and HRCP warn the government against the spike in Coronavirus cases if religious congregations allowed   High Asia Herald Report   Islamabad/Lahore/Gilgit: Doctors, world health watchdog, and a premier human rights body have alarmed at the spike in coronavirus cases in Pakistan and urged the government to enforce a complete lockdown. They have also asked the PTI-led government …

By Mesum Qasmi   Bureaucracy has three major roles to play: maintain social order, implement laws and policies framed by the legislature and regulate government functionaries’ working. It is fortified by and draws power and authority from the constitution to regulate and ensure administrative measures. Being the frontline officers to serve the public, bureaucrats need to create goodwill and friendly …

By Raheem Sherazi   The whole world from South of North is under the grip of great fear of the coronavirus pandemic. It has not only generated panic all around but also resulted in an unprecedented impact in almost all spheres of life. International bodies like the World Health Organization (WHO) have recommended the simplest ways to deal with the …

Herald Report Gilgit: The health workers in District Headquarters (DHQ) hospital here continued their protest against alleged manhandling and mistreatment of their colleague by the law enforcement personnel. They accused the police personnel of beating up their colleagues at checkpoints. They warned the government to go on a strike if actions were not taken against the LEAs involved in such …

Zaigum Abbas was terminated without prior notice for cultivating critical thinking among the students High Asia Herald Report   Lahore: The termination of a young academic of the Government College University (GCU) Lahore has prompted a strong reaction from academia, students and activists on social media. The services of Zaighum Abbas, who had been teaching political science at one of …

Afghanistan has descended into a full-blown political crisis after the two main contenders in a bitterly disputed presidential election — each claiming victory — were sworn in as president in rival ceremonies. President Ashraf Ghani, the officially declared winner of the vote, was sworn in for a second term by the country’s chief justice in Kabul on March 9. Abdullah Abdullah, …

The peace deal was signed after 18 months of talks in Doha Sorin Furcoi Al Jazeera] Peace deal signed in Qatari capital, Doha, will pave the way for the complete withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan within 14 months   Doha, Qatar: The US and the Taliban have signed a landmark peace agreement after nearly 20 years of war that could …

Azeri Ambassador Ali Alizada addressing a seminar on Together for Peace and Humanity. End to Ethnic and genocide jointly by embassy of Azerbaijan and NUML. Khojaly massacre highlighted at a seminar at NUML to remember the 613 victims killed by Armenian forces on Feb 25-26, 1992   by Gul Nayab   ISLAMABAD: Pakistan affirms its support to the stance of …