Sedition and its discontents
Elements of the offence are vague and over-broad, and open to subjective interpretations.
Reema Omer
Due process
Musharraf must be allowed to engage a counsel of his own choice.
Dismal approach to rights
Pakistan responded in a perfunctory manner to the UN committee’s recommendations.
Definition of terrorism
International standards clarify that laws related to terrorism must be clearly and precisely formulated.
Defining judicial misconduct
Some aspects of the judicial accountability framework appear inconsistent with international standards.
Bail and liberty
Under international standards, pretrial detention should be the exception.
Myth of ‘speedy justice’
Courts in Pakistan have warned that “speedy trial should never be at the cost of the procedure”.
Yet another extension?
Extending the military courts’ jurisdiction will not help counter the very real terrorist threat.
Military ‘justice’
Speedy justice has come at the cost of a fair trial.
LAW: WHY THE INDIAN JUDGMENT IS A GAME-CHANGER
The Indian Supreme Court verdict on Section 377 has implications far beyond LGBT rights
A distinct crime
A law is needed to criminalise disappearances.
Suo motu action
Article 184(3) is a powerful mechanism to be used judiciously.
The third review
Human rights have not improved.
Crucial human rights review
Will Pakistan retain its GSP Plus status?
‘Short-term’ disappearances
UN experts have called enforced disappearance “a tool for repression” and a “technique of terror”.
Human rights review
The NCHR’s work has been subjected to a number of constraints.
Human rights doublespeak
Pakistan’s election to the Human Rights Council in itself is no victory for human rights in the country.
Ineffective commissions
No perpetrators of enforced disappearances have ever been brought to account.
Defining terrorism
Courts have failed to interpret the Anti-Terrorism Act in a consistent manner.
International law in Pakistan
The judiciary has sometimes appeared dismissive of international human rights treaties.