by Suwaibah Bilal It was a chilly January night. Dinnertime in Wuhan had just acquired a new hint of umami. News of a certain virus wafted through re gan mian (hot dry noodles) stands and hot pot restaurants, resonating through the clinking of stoneware and china, resonating deeper than anyone could hear. Alleged to have originated in a wet market …

Hotels, motels, and guest houses turned into incubation centres; markets, shops, parks, wedding halls shut; religious congregations, public gatherings, rallies as well as entry of tourists to GB banned for 21 days; exams, sports activities cancelled.   by Inayat Abdali   Gilgit: As the number of coronavirus continues to rise, civic, social and economic life comes to grinding halt in …

By: Aziz Ali Dad   A study of the relationship of new media of communication and information technology with social change in the particular context of Pakistan reveals a different pattern of transformation. Instead of creating a rupture in the continuity of cultural ethos and traditional outlook, electronic media in our country buttresses prevalent biases and irrational mindset of the …

| By Shafqat Aziz | The students of history have the luxury of travelling back to eras and epochs ranging a few decades to millions of years. To observe the great struggles for human rights, gender equality and all the fundamental freedoms, travel to the 19th century would be more advisable for rapid developments around such evolutionary concepts. This epoch …

Marches will be held in Islamabad, Lahore, Faisalabad, Hyderabad, Peshawar, Karachi and Quetta   High Asia Herald Report    The brave and resolute women of Pakistan take to the streets on March 8, for equal space, rights in the face of violent threats by the conservative groups and uninformed commercial media spreading hysteria, fear and obfuscation around trivial slogans and …

The closure of ‘Herald’ and ‘Newsline’ in Pakistan marks a larger crisis in the country’s journalism JAHANZEB HUSSAIN | 2019 was a difficult year for Pakistani journalism. Due to a history of state-orchestrated financial pressure and censorship, a faltering national economy, and poor management by media houses themselves, scores of journalists either lost their jobs, suffered significant pay cuts, or simply …

HRCP, AKHSP conduct training workshop for reporters about gender issues; code of ethics to be developed for local reporters   Herald Special Correspondent   GILGIT, March 2: Media persons, government and civil society officials have stressed the need for creating awareness about gender-sensitive issues in media and society to curb violence against women. They also called for enhancing the capacity …

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. …

High Asia Herald Report Two young Pakistanis have been shortlisted for the Commonwealth Youth Awards, according to a press statement issued by the Commonwealth Secretariat. Jaya Rajwani and Hafiz Usama Tanveer were among 16 innovators, activists and entrepreneurs from 12 Commonwealth countries who were selected by a panel of Pan-Commonwealth judges in each of the award’s four regional categories. Jaya …

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 …