Covid-19 pandemic affecting human rights, weakest segments of society invisible and unheard, notes HRCP in its flagship report High Asia Herald Report Islamabad: Pakistan’s human rights record is worrisome as curbs on dissenting views increased. The outbreak of Coronasvirus will have far-reaching effects on people’s economic and social rights fundamental rights, says a report. “Widespread social and economic marginalisation have …

PAKATAN, PUNJAB: Muhimman proudly writes his name slowly, carefully, one letter at a time, grinning broadly as he finishes. He’s just 11 years old and was a good student who had dreams of being a doctor. School frightens him now. Earlier this year, a cleric at the religious school he faithfully attended in the southern Punjab town of Pakpattan took …

  For some people, social distancing means being trapped indoors with an abuser. As more cities go under lockdown, activists are worried that attempts to curb coronavirus will inadvertently lead to an increase in domestic violence, writes Arwa Mahdawi in The Guardian, London   Home is supposed to be the safest place any of us could be right now. However, for people …

By Anita Bakhtiar As a citizen born in the 1980s, I grew up watching Kashmir Solidarity Day parades and looking at posters depicting children and women injured or killed by Indian soldiers. While this kind of imagery is horrific for the children’s mind you get used to it. Your reaction, though just as visceral each time, gets muted over the …

The audience at the first Asma Jehangir memorial lecture organised by the HRCP at Islamabad Hotel on Tuesday. Credit: Asif Khan/hrcp HRCP announces Asma Jahangir Award for human rights defenders; resumes Nisar Osmani Award for courage in journalism, and I.A Rehman research grant in human rights   By Amir Khan  Islamabad: A veteran human rights defender has called for a …

High Asia Herald Report   Islamabad: Civil society and women rights activists have condemned a resolution passed by the lower house of the parliament supporting capital punishment for those involved in sexual abuse. “We at Women Democratic Front condemn National Assembly’s resolution on #HangRapistsPublicly,” the socialist feminist movement said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page. Sexual barbarism is undoubtedly widespread, but …

Two young auto-workers at work vulnerable to hazards. Photo by the writer. Gul Hammad Farooqi CHITRAL: The child labour in extreme unsafe environment has become a norm in Chitral as young mechanics, often of tender ages, are forced to work in auto-repair shops without safety gears. The practice has rendered a large number of children prone to hazards related to …

    By Ron Synovitz & Freshta Jalalzai   KABUL — Mohammad Wali was just 12 years old when his widowed mother began arranging his marriage to a 24-year-old woman from their village in Ghazni Province. “I don’t want to be married,” the young Afghan boy is said to have pleaded with his mother. “I just want to play soccer and cricket. …

By Anwar Iqbal WASHINGTON: Many children in Pakistan cannot read a sentence even after years in school, says a new study of the country’s education system, arguing that the focus should now shift from quantity to quality. The study — “Pakistan’s Education Crisis: The Real Story,” by a Wilson Centre global fellow Nadia Naviwala — seeks to explain how Pakistan’s …

Saad Sayeed ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said on Friday that he would not hesitate to make more changes to his cabinet if required a day after a major reshuffle that saw the appointment of a new finance minister and nine other ministerial switches. The cabinet shakeup, which comes eight months after Khan took office, included the replacement of …