Search Results for: pakistan

The Associated Press (AP) reported that a Pakistani court sentenced a 22-year-old student to death and gave a teenager life in prison on Monday under the country’s blasphemy laws. The 22-year-old student’s lawyer, Aslam Gujar, told the AP that Junaid Munir had been sentenced to death last week. The charges come as a result of [...]

The plight of women’s rights in various countries reflects a complex interplay of legal, cultural and societal norms that significantly disenfranchise women and girls, threatening their human rights and dignity. Countries like Saudi Arabia, Afghanistan, Iran, Yemen, Sudan, Pakistan, Somalia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Syria, and Nigeria present challenging environments where women’s rights [...]

The Indian government unveiled Monday the Citizenship (Amendment) Rules, 2024 (CAR), in accordance with the controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 (CAA), which aims to amend the laws governing citizenship in India. The CAA helps persecuted religious minorities gain access to Indian citizenship but specifically excludes Muslim immigrants. The government also stated that the application procedure under the [...]

In a groundbreaking ruling delivered on Thursday, the Supreme Court of India declared that the lawful exercise of dissent is protected under the Indian Constitution. The verdict addressed a case involving Javed Ahmad Hajam, a resident of Baramulla in Kashmir, who faced charges under Section 153A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). The charges stemmed [...]

The Sindh High Court issued a directive on Wednesday to the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) to restore access to social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter) which has been blocked by the orders of PTA since February 17, 2024. The bench, headed by Chief Justice Aqeel Ahmed Abbasi, ordered “uninterrupted” access to the social [...]

Can a country’s citizens nullify the criminal cases that a popular leader faces by handing them an electoral victory in the general elections? This question raises issues that could prove pivotal to the political processes in Pakistan and the US, pertaining respectively to their former prime minister Imran Khan and former President Donald Trump. Its [...]

Cybersecurity and digital governance organization NetBlocks reported a new national-scale disruption to X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday in Pakistan, as protests erupted following allegations of election fraud. Netblocks first published evidence of a disruption to the platform on February 10, two days after the parliamentary vote, which was marked by violent protests and controversies. The [...]

Law students and law graduates in Pakistan are reporting for JURIST on events in that country impacting its legal system. Mashal Asim Khan is an LLB student in the University of London External Programme at The Institute of Legal Studies (TILS). She files this from Islamabad.  Pakistan conducted its 12th general election on 8th February in [...]

Former Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan appealed his conviction in three controversial cases on Friday. Two of the three appeals were reportedly filed in Pakistan’s capital Islamabad’s High Court, while the other was filed in Sessions Court, a criminal court subordinate to the High Courts. Khan’s defense lawyer Latif Khosa talked to the press and [...]

Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged Pakistani authorities Monday to ensure a peaceful transition of power following the country’s parliamentary elections, encouraging all political parties to uphold democratic norms and cooperate with an independent investigation into alleged election irregularities. HRW claimed the national parliamentary elections that took place February 8 were “marred” by authorities’ widespread violations [...]