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 …

High Asia Herald Report LAHORE: A protest was held at Lahore Press Club on Sunday (19 Jan 2020) to demand the release of 14 political prisoners of Gilgit-Baltistan, sentenced to life imprisonment in the Hunza Riots Case of 2011.  The protest will be held every two weeks. The protest was organised by students and youth activists from GB on the …

The criticism of Western policy by the so-called free press within narrow bounds has subtle effect of imposing the hegemonic doctrine of imperialism, serves the western dominant intellectual culture and its institutions, says Prof Noam Chomsky

Speakers at HRCP seminar decry regression of democratic values, violations of fundamental rights, propose a broad-based coalition based on minimum people's agenda 

Even if we change our emissions now, we are committed to a lot of ice melt, says Prof. Kääb. Image credit: Sharada Prasad We need to understand how glaciers are shrinking in order to better adapt to climate change impacts such as changes to water supply, landslides, and avalanches, says Prof Andreas Kääb from the University of Oslo in Norway …

Scholars debunk neoliberal development concept; offer pluriversality and inclusive development concept   by Fayyaz Baqir   We are at a critical juncture at this moment in time facing a growing disillusionment with current economic and political order that has dominated the world for quite some time. Growing concerns about climate change, rising income inequality, polarization, populist nationalism, and unending military …

The region is missing from mainstream policy discourse on Kashmir, says Dr Nosheen Ali   By Anayat Baig & Ehtesham Khan KARACHI: Pakistani rulers govern Gilgit-Baltistan as a security zone with suspicion and repressive tactics. The region’s constitutional issue, people’s aspirations and perspectives are missing from our mainstream policy and political discourse. This was the gist of the speech made …