Inhuman & degrading treatment

Balochistan Province continues to suffer the wrath of law enforcement agencies; even by official figures, corpses found are threatening to breach the 1,000 mark in recent years. The real numbers are greater, with violent death scarring the countryside and blotting humanity. According to official reports, nearly a thousand bullet-ridden corpses have been recovered from various […]

This week Just Asia begins with the senseless and brutal attack on lawyers in Quetta, Balochistan on August 8. The blast killed 97 persons, including 63 lawyers, and more than 120 persons including women and children were injured. The attack occurred amidst a gathering to pay respects to the assassinated President of the Bar Association. […]

A wave of anxiety has gripped the most populated province of Punjab, following the kidnapping of more than 700 children within this past year.. Several areas in Punjab particularly Lahore, the capital city, has witnessed a sudden surge in child kidnappings. There have been reports of the dead bodies of missing children surfacing in deserted […]

Avinash Pandey Narendra Modi’s high-octane poll campaign in 2014 was littered with the promise of development, with a capital D. Buying into his promise, big business rooted for him, in India and abroad. And now, after a little more than 2 years of premiership, the developments under his watch have rattled the same gung-ho corporate […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) joins everyone who is shocked and dismayed by the senseless and brutal attack on civilians in Quetta, Balochistan on Aug 8, 2016. According to the leaders of the Balochistan Bar Association, the attack has killed 97 persons which includes 63 lawyers, and two journalists, the photographer of Dawn and […]

This week Just Asia begins with Indonesia, where the debate on the death sentence is heating up after executed Freddy Budiman’s message shocked the country. Before his July 29 execution, the drug kingpin broadcasted a message that he had cooperation from the police and the National Narcotic Board for smuggling drugs to Indonesia. Calls are […]

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) is gravely dismayed by President Joko Widodo’s decision to continue the execution of death row inmates. Prior to the July 29 executions, the AHRC issued an open letter urging the President to stop the third execution, to no avail. President Widodo’s administration has so far executed 19 death row inmates, most […]

Avinash Pandey One doesn’t often see a respected international media house asking a democratic republic’s prime minister to break his silence in an editorial. Even more rare is it to see this “silence” tagged with the adjective “shameful”. The New York Times did exactly that today, 8 August 2016. The editorial forewarns Mr. Narendra Modi, Prime Minister of […]

The Pakistan government and its foreign minister were so happy when the Indonesian government stopped the execution of a Pakistani convict, Mr. Zulfiqar Ali Shah, at the last minute. Both the Pakistani government and the Foreign Ministry tried to take credit, as it was an outcome of their best attempts at diplomacy, having stopped the […]

Thailand acceded to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT) on 2 October 2007. Nearly ten years later, on 26 May 2016, the Thai government issued a Cabinet Resolution stating that it will pass a Prevention of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act. However, the Asian Human Rights Commission […]

Avinash Pandey Delhi, the national capital of India, has witnessed another gory incident involving the rape-murder of a minor. This time, a 16-year-old was allegedly raped, strangled, and then set on fire in her own house in East Delhi. The police reportedly tried to pass off the crime as suicide, filing a case of rape and […]

A Press Releasefrom World Sindhi Congress (WSC) forwarded by the Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) After an alleged incident of burning Quran in Ghotki on 26th July, in all the large and small towns of district Ghotki including Ghotki, Dharki, Mirpur Mathelo, Rahrki the proxies of the state agencies and vigilantes of religious extremist have […]

The pretext of blasphemy has once again led to communal violence in Sindh, with one teenager Hindu shot dead and another critically injured. The violence started after a newly converted Muslim drug addict allegedly burned pages of the Quran. Twenty-four hours after the incident and his arrest, agitators in the presence of police and the […]

This week’s episode begins with the surprising decision of Indian activist Irom Sharmila to end her 16-year fast, and join politics. Sharmila, known as Manipur’s ‘Iron Lady’, has been spearheading the state’s struggle to repeal the Armed Forces Special Powers Act. Just Asia caught up with Babloo Loitongbam, Director of Human Rights Alert and long […]

The district police of Nowshera, Khyber Pakhtunkha (KP) province has ordered the externment of the transgender community for an indefinite period. The order will affect more than 1100 transgenders who are scattered throughout the district. Nowshera’s District Police Officer (DPO), a fundamentalist and extremist, issued the order of kicking out the transgender community from the […]

A fact-finding team of the Dalit Civil Society has concluded that Ajit Mijar, found dead at Kumpur – 3 in Dhading District, did not die as a result of suicide. His was, rather, a staged murder. They have made this declaration in a report, based on the facts and findings collected during their three-day visit […]

By Basil Fernando It has been 33 years since Black July, 1983. These 33 years have been part of our lifetime. We have witnessed not only the horrendously criminal acts of July 1983, but also what happened by way of justice after those serious crimes. I would like to illustrate my point in terms of […]

Naseer Memon The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) and Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) have released a report “Multidimensional Poverty in Pakistan” which depicts a grim picture of social well-being in the country. The concept of poverty has evolved over time. As knowledge about the complexity of human societies is growing, poverty has […]

This week’s episode begins with the murder in Nepal of 18-year-old Ajit Mijar. Ajit married his non Dalit girlfriend Kalpana Parajuli on July 9, and the couple were forcibly separated by police and Kalpana’s family on July 11. On July 14, Ajit was found hanging near Phurke Khola, Dhading district. To learn more, Just Asia […]

The extent to which Pakistan has complied with human rights standards set out in the International Convention of the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD), will be assessed by a United Nation’s expert committee in Geneva on August 16-17, this year. The committee will look at a report to be presented by the government of Pakistan, […]