Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday addressed the United Nations General Assembly regarding the dispute with India over shared waters of the Indus River and the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT). Sharif told the Assembly that any attempt by India to stop, impede or divert Pakistan’s share of the Indus River waters “will be treated [...]

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk on Friday expressed alarm over the mounting toll on civilians from the escalating fighting in Ethiopia, urging the Ethiopian government and the Tigray People’s Liberation Front (TPLF) along with their respective allies to immediately de-escalate tensions to avoid a return to a full-scale war.  According to the [...]

26 September 2026: International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons The UN will observe Saturday the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, an annual observance established by the UN General Assembly to promote nuclear disarmament and raise public awareness of the risks posed by nuclear weapons. The General Assembly established [...]

Syeda Aamna Hasan is a law graduate and LLM student working as a legal researcher, covering legal developments in Pakistan. On Wednesday, September 16, Pakistan’s Supreme Court deferred proceedings regarding the medical treatment and the proposed transfer of imprisoned former Prime Minister and founder of Pakistan’s Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), Imran Khan, to Shifa International Hospital after [...]

The US Supreme Court on Friday allowed the federal government resume checking voters’ citizenship against Social Security records, reviving a system a lower court ruled violated privacy laws. The decision comes less than six weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm congressional elections. The unsigned opinion paused a June 22 order by the US District Court [...]

World leaders on Thursday approved by consensus the UN Declaration on Sea Level Rise, as UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that rising seas are already threatening homes, livelihoods and the future of coastal communities worldwide. The declaration  taken during the meeting of the General Assembly in New York, marks the first UN-wide political framework devoted [...]

Amnesty International called Thursday for the abolition of US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), in a report alleging widespread human rights violations in federal immigration enforcement operations. In its 168-page report, Amnesty investigated ICE activity in Chicago, Minneapolis-St.Paul, New Orleans and Washington DC, concluding that in each city officers have relied on racial profiling; arbitrarily [...]

The United Nations (UN) on Wednesday called for lasting solutions to Myanmar’s displacement and refugee crisis, warning that the outcome must enable refugees to return home with guarantees for a safe future. Senior UN officials underscored the importance of allowing Rohingya refugees to “return home safely and with dignity, while ensuring justice and accountability.” The Rohingya [...]

As a US immigration lawyer who has spent years dealing with visa problems involving Russian citizens, I initially saw the recent report concerning Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Alexander Alimov as another consular issue. Once I started looking at the rules that apply, however, it became clear that ordinary visa law only takes the analysis so [...]