Islamabad, April 5 (IANS) All Pakistan Minorities Alliance chairman and former federal minister for national harmony and minorities affairs, Paul Jacob Bhatti, has urged the government to establish an independent parliamentary commission to analyse cases of forced religious conversion and marriage of minor girls, local media reported. In a statement, Bhatti termed the issue a “matter of serious and legitimate concern” and warned that repeated cases of forced concern and child marriage were under…
Latest Federal Constitutional Court News & Updates
Washington, April 4 (IANS) Pakistan has witnessed a consistent exodus of minority populations – including the Christians, Hindus, and other communities – reflecting a broader pattern of fear and insecurity. Since 1947, religious minorities have faced persistent atrocities across the country — including social prejudice, institutional discrimination and targetted violence, a report has revealed.“In Pakistan today, many minority girls live in fear that, despite being born here, they are not fu…
Islamabad, April 2 (IANS) Christians, rights advocates and civil society members in Pakistan held protests against a federal court judgement upholding the forced conversion of a Christian girl by a Muslim man, local media reported. A protest was held after a Federal Constitutional Court in its verdict allowed a 30-year-old Muslim man to keep the custody of a 13-year-old Maria Shahbaz. On March 29, a large number of Christians gathered outside the Karachi Press Club carrying placards and shouting…
Islamabad, Feb 26 (IANS) Several international press freedom and human rights organisations have written to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, raising serious concerns over the continued deterioration of media freedom in Pakistan.In a joint letter, the Committee to Protect Journalists, alongside 17 other organisations, highlighted that the recent legal and institutional developments, coupled with persistent failures to ensure accountability for attacks on journalists, have created a worsen…
New Delhi, Feb 24 (IANS) Even as the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has praised Pakistan for stabilising its economy under the ongoing support programme, fresh data shows that poverty and income inequality have sharply worsened, raising serious concerns about the social cost of recent reforms. While key macroeconomic indicators such as fiscal balance and the current account have improved, millions of citizens are facing rising hardship — highlighting a growing gap between economic stabilisat…
Quetta, Jan 27 (IANS) Christian rights advocates and civil society groups have severely condemned the incident of a 13-year-old Christian girl being allegedly abused in Pakistan, urging the country’s authorities to protect vulnerable children from similar acts of violence and humiliation in the future. Local sources said the minor, identified as Zarnaab, was working as a domestic worker in an influential family of Pakistan’s Punjab province. Reportedly, she was tortured with household utensils, …
Islamabad, Jan 16 (IANS) A federal court in Pakistan has ordered the police to find and present a 13-year-old Christian girl who was kidnapped, converted and forcibly married to a Muslim man, local media reported. A two-judge bench of Federal Constitutional Court (FCC) has ordered police to present Maria Shahbaz and 30-year-old Shehryar Ahmad in court. Supreme Court Attorney Rana Abdul Hameed said that Ahmad abducted Maria Shahbaz on July 29 last year, forcibly converted her to Islam and married…
Islamabad, Jan 8 (IANS) Human rights group Amnesty International’s call for a review of the 27th amendment is a reminder that constitutional legitimacy flows from restraint and not concentration of power, an editorial in Pakistan’s leading daily The Express Tribune has mentioned. The rule of law, it states, becomes conditional if judicial freedom is reduced and a conditional rule of law is no rule at all. “Amnesty International’s warning — that the amendment constitutes a sustained assault on …
Islamabad, Jan 6 (IANS) Calling for an urgent review, human rights group Amnesty International has termed the 27th Constitutional Amendment in Pakistan as “significant regression” and “part of a direct and sustained assault on judicial independence” It also urged the Pakistani authorities to take all measures to protect the impartiality, independence and safety of judges, ensuring that they can carry out their judicial functions without any inappropriate or unwarranted interference.”The 27th ame…