Statement

A three-member bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan has declared two leading politicians of the country, Mr. Nawaz Sharif and Mr. Shahbaz Sharif, as ineligible to hold parliamentary positions. Mr. Nawaz is the former Prime Minister and the leader of the second largest political party, the PML-N, and Mr. Shahbaz is the Chief Minister […]

The world was reminded of the tragic paradoxes that take place daily in Pakistan, when a young journalist was kidnapped and executed last month while covering a march for peace. Mr. Musa Khankhel, journalist and correspondent of Geo Television disappeared on February 18, while covering a procession led by Maulana Sufi Mohammad, a religious leader […]

Three prisoners were killed within the premises of the Negombo prison last week. One of the prisoners shot two others with a pistol he had in his possession. Thereafter, he climbed into a tree and announced that he would surrender only if the commissioner of prisons came to the scene. This was perhaps to avoid […]

Three prisoners were killed within the premises of the Negombo prison last week. One of the prisoners shot two others with a pistol he had in his possession. Thereafter, he climbed into a tree and announced that he would surrender only if the commissioner of prisons came to the scene. This was perhaps to avoid […]

The non-commissioned officers of the Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) have revolted against their commanding officers of the Bangladesh Army. Officers from the regular army head the BDR under deputation. The revolt started at the Headquarters of the BDR yesterday. The officers used heavy artillery resulting in an unexpectedly high number of casualties within the force, as […]

The judiciary in South Korea had made some humiliating decisions under political influence during military dictatorships in the past. Some judges who collaborated with the then-government by judging in its favour, got speedy promotions as a form of compensation. Others who fulfilled their commitment as judges underwent either physical threats or the threat of demotion. […]

Thousands of peasants from different parts of the Sindh province are on a long march demanding amendments in the Sindh Tenancy Act, 1950. The demand is to obtain equal status for the peasants while they share the harvest with the landlords, irrespective of the loan they have availed from the landlords for agriculture. The practice […]

The recent incident of violence between a faction of lawyers practicing at the Madras High Court and the Tamil Nadu local police is one more incident that exposes the appalling state of rule of law in India. On 19 February, the local police, in order to curb a strike called by the lawyers, closed the […]

Mr. John Solecki, who heads the United Nation’s refugee agency UNHCR’s Quetta office in Pakistan, was abducted on 2nd February, 2009, by a militant group, fighting for political autonomy of the Southern province, Balochistan. He has still not been released. The group, the Balochistan Liberation United Front (BLUF), is demanding the release of 6,000 disappeared […]

The newly elected Government of Bangladesh led by the Bangladesh Awami League has announced its decision of withdrawing “politically motivated” cases that are pending before the courts across the country.  Quoting the country’s Law, Justice and Parliamentary Affairs Minister Barrister Shafique Ahmed the local media reports that the government wishes to unburden the courts of […]

On 26 January, 2009 a 21-year-old girl was covered in petrol by her husband and her in-laws and burned to death. Mrs. Bisma Bibi, resident of Chak number 86, NB Sargodha, Punjab, had been married to one, Mr. Muhammad Safdar for about a year and a half and had a six-month-old baby, according to local […]

A group of domestic helpers from Sri Lanka interviewed last week in Hong Kong expressed views which are representative of hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, as well as those aspiring to be migrant workers. When asked why they have come to work in Hong Kong the unanimous reply was, “we simply can’t earn enough […]

The constitutional petition No. D-2417/2008, regarding the eight women and four children who were made hostages by the police of four districts of Sindh province, for the surrender of a robber was heard by the double bench of Sindh High Court yesterday. The application for sou motto action was filed by the AHRC which was […]

Very recently three different communities living in three different provinces have organized occult ceremonies to seek help from supernatural forces to seek justice and protection from land grabbing. On the 31st January some 300 indigenous Phnong villagers living in Krongteh commune, Pichreada district, Mondolkiri province, organized an offering ceremony dedicated to the supernatural protectors of […]

Is there a relation between the residents of the Gaza strip and the Indians? Other than for the fact that the Government of India supports the Palestinian cause, there is no apparent connection between an ordinary Indian and a person living in Gaza. Yet, for the politicians in India like Mr. Prakash Karat, the Israeli […]

In a follow up development of the arrest of four teenagers and a man on blasphemy charge the representative of the Punjab provincial government, Mr. Syed Saqlain Shah, a member of the National Assembly, has instigated the people of the Layyah district, Punjab-Pakistan, to observe a protest day on February 17, the day on which […]

The alleged killers of a number of people, including a 70-year-old man, have been released from remand prison on the orders of another civilian. The man who arranged their release is the brother of a provincial minister, and the men themselves work for the minster’s political party. The investigation officer in the case was promoted […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission welcomes the statement made by ten UN experts on the 9th February, 2009 expressing deep concern at the suppression of criticism and unabated impunity.  In the first paragraph of the statement the experts express special concern on the following matters. The shrinking space for critical voices The fear of reprisals […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has closely followed with growing concern the increasing number of lese-majesty cases being filed against people from all walks of life in Thailand for written comments on the royal family. At present, dozens of persons are known to be facing charges or have already been convicted of the offence, […]

The federal government has imposed section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), in Islamabad, the federal capital of Pakistan, for a period of two months. This has been done in the face of possible processions and demonstrations by the lawyers in Islamabad. The order has been imposed with immediate effect.  According to the order, […]