Brussels, July 17 (IANS) The European Union has expressed serious concerns over human rights abuses in Pakistan, warning that the country’s continued access to the trade benefits under Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) granted by the EU will depend on compliance with its international commitments under the revised GSP rules from 2027.In its latest joint monitoring report for the 2023-2025 period, the European Commission and the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Securit…
Latest Anti-Terrorism Act News & Updates
Quetta, June 22 (IANS) As the sit-in protest by leaders of the human rights body Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) inside Huda jail in Balochistan’s Quetta, continued, the BYC expressed grave concern over the health and safety of all the detained leaders, saying they were enduring harsh conditions while seeking the protection of their “constitutional and legal rights.”According to the BYC, the sit-in protest by BYC leaders, including Mahrang Baloch, Bebarg Baloch, Shah Jee Baloch, Beebow Baloch,…
Dhaka, June 9 (IANS) As the crackdown on Awami League leaders continues to intensify across Bangladesh, a delegation of the party’s former lawmakers and leaders met Member of the European Parliament (MEP) Billy Kelleher to seek global cooperation for lifting sanctions imposed on the party, local media reported.During a meeting held on Monday in Ireland, the delegation urged the restoration of a “fair political and democratic atmosphere and the improvement of the human rights situation” in Ba…
Quetta, May 11 (IANS) Human rights organisation Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) slammed Pakistan’s Sindh government for barring the organisation from participating in the Aurat March programme, describing the move as “state fascism” against the people of Balochistan.The rights body stated that declaring the BYC and Jeay Sindh Qaumi Mahaz (JSQM) as banned organisations in the conditional permit issued for the march on Sunday demonstrated the “extreme of state fascism”.Raising questions ov…
Islamabad, April 28 (IANS) Human rights activist and chief organiser of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), Mahrang Baloch has approached Pakistan’s Supreme Court against the denial of post-arrest bail in a case lodged against her under the 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), local media reported on Tuesday. Advocate Jibran Nasir filed the petition in Supreme Court on behalf of Mahrang Baloch after the Balochistan High Court (BHC) rejected her bail application on February 23, in connection with a Fi…
New York, April 24 (IANS) US advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) strongly condemned the arrest of at least four individuals in Bangladesh for posting social media content allegedly critical of the ruling government, describing the move as an alarming continuation of the repressive practices from the previous Muhammad Yunus-led interim government. Expressing concern, the HRW stated that the Tarique Rahman-led Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) government should uphold its promises on freedom …
Dhaka: Bangladesh’s return to electoral politics has done little to settle the deeper questions surrounding its democratic future. The February 12 victory of the Bangladesh Nationalist Party (BNP) may have produced a government, but it has not resolved the growing crisis of political exclusion, institutional imbalance, and the steady contraction of democratic space. At the center of this concern lies the exclusion of major political actors from the democratic process. The Awami League, one of …
Geneva, March 20 (IANS) The Baloch National Movement (BNM) called on the international community to take urgent action against widespread human rights violations in Balochistan, accusing Pakistani authorities of weaponising the law to suppress dissent, target civilians, and systematically silence the region. Speaking at a United Nations Human Rights Council session, BNM representatives highlighted enforced disappearances, extrajudicial killings, and restrictions on freedom of expression as part …
Islamabad, March 10 (IANS) The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has condemned sentencing of 47 party leaders and supporters to 10-year imprisonment on terrorism charges in absentia, terming the prosecution as part of “political vendetta,” a report has detailed. PTI’s statement came after Judge Amjad Ali Shah of the Anti-Terrorism Court-1 in Rawalpindi sentenced 47 PTI leaders and supporters on charges under 21-L of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), 1997. Section 21-L of the ATA, 1997 bars an individua…
Islamabad, Feb 24 (IANS) Five United Nations special rapporteurs have voiced concern over criminal proceedings against human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir and Hadi Ali Chattha in Pakistan, stressing that the charges made against them may be used to suppress legal advocacy and freedom of expression, local media reported on Tuesday. In a formal communication sent to the Pakistani government, the UN experts voiced concerns regarding the convictions of the two lawyers under the Prevention…