The decision will add to the woes of PWDs that make 15 per cent of the population, says activist News Desk Islamabad: The human rights defenders have condemned the government’s decision to abolish two per cent employment quota for differently-abled persons in public and private entities. In a statement issued on Sunday, the Potohar Mental Health Association (PMHA) termed the …

Monal restaurant sealed for illegal construction and chopping 200 precious trees by Herald Reporter Islamabad: Pakistan’s top court has ordered the capital administration to halt all illegal constructions on Margalla Hills. The court ordered the capital administration to immediately halt the expansion of Monal Restaurant, a popular eatery and other construction activities at the picturesque hills which are protected under the …

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 …

Gilgit-Baltistan Youth Action Committee expresses its commitment to struggle for the achievement of the 15-point demands. | by By Anayat Baig & Adnan Hassan Gohar | KARACHI: Gilgit-Baltistan’s youth have called on the government to revive ancient routes and repair all important roads connecting their region to Pakistan, and Kashmir, provide modern air and land travel services to the people …

The AWP leader’s sister has written an open letter to the CM about a ban on family members’ visit to jail and violation of prisoner’s rights   Herald Special Correspondent   Family members of Baba Jan, a political prisoner serving a life term at Damas jail in Ghizer District of Gilgit-Baltistan, have complained against new restrictions on the prisoner, drawing …

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 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 award-winning author addressed a gathering at Jantar Mantar in Delhi on Sunday   Beloved friends, comrades and my fellow writers, This place where we are gathered today is only a short bus ride away from where four days ago a fascist mob, fired up by speeches made by members of the Ruling Party, backed up and actively assisted by …

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 …

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 …