History remains the slave of victors only when people internalize the master’s version of history. History can be salvaged, retrieved and appropriated through multiple and even in mundane sources not necessarily sublime one, writes Aziz Ali Dad. By Aziz Ali Dad History is an enigmatic discipline because it deals with events of the past but its understanding tends to change …

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, …

By Michael Karanicolas Pakistan’s newly published Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020 (the Rules) pose a serious danger for free speech in that country. Ostensibly, the Rules aim at curbing harmful online content, such as hate speech, harassment, and misinformation. However, the breadth of the Rules’ restrictions, and the intrusive requirements that they place on social media platforms, would severely threaten online freedom of expression in Pakistan. …

  by Farhatullah Babar   The death of comrade Dr Yasrab Tanvir Gondal, popularly known as Lal Khan for his Marxist views, last Friday is an occasion to reflect on the politics of the Left in Pakistan. Son of an army colonel from Chakwal, Lal Khan was the author of over a dozen books. including Partition – Can it be Undone? He was …

The laws that were created by the British Raj are still being used to stifle dissent on the Indian subcontinent, writes Dr Ammar Ali Jan in Al-Jazeera’s online news page. by Ammar Ali Jan   It appears to be sedition season on the Indian subcontinent. A relic of the colonial era, the sedition law has become a potent weapon in the …

A guard tower and barbed wire fences surround an internment facility in the Kunshan Industrial Park which has previously been revealed by leaked documents to be a forced indoctrination camp in Artux in western China’s Xinjiang region. (File photo) Leaked data shows the detention of 311 individuals from the Karakax County sent to internment camps for reasons their faith and …

IHC wraps up cases against AWP PTM activists, asks government to protect the right to freedom of expression    High Asia Herald Report   Islamabad: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Monday disposed of a petition of 23 workers who were arrested by the police last month for protesting against the arrest of PTM chief Manzoor Pashteen when the court …

The coalition of social media tech giants and legal experts have alarmed that the new regulation will curb political dissent, harm privacy, and online business   High Asia Herald Report   Islamabad:  Human rights and media watchdogs as well as lawyers, citizens and a global technology coalition have hit out at government’s new measures to regulate social media platforms and …

Mamata Banerjee, the Chief Minister of West Bengal, and her party supporters attend a protest march against the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and a new citizenship law, in Kolkata, India, December 16, 2019. Reuters/Rupak De Chowdhuri Fiction in time of fake news. Below is the text of the 2020 Clark Lecture in English Literature instituted by Trinity College, Cambridge. We …

Sedition seems to be the ‘crime’ of the times — even as the demand for the state to respect fundamental rights is growing increasingly louder, comments Dawn in its editorial piece on article 124-A  Pakistan Penal Code and its frequent use against dissenting views and protest for fundamental rights. “During the last few months alone, charges of sedition have been …