(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 7 February 2024) – As Pakistan–a nation of nearly 250 million people–gears up for its general elections on 8 February 2024, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) underscores the importance of fair and free elections as part of a country’s democratic process. Pakistan’s 2024 electoral landscape is marked by various challenges, [ Read more ]

The Asian Forum for Development and Human Rights (FORUM-ASIA) and its six member organisations express deep concern over the recent attacks against minority Christians in Pakistan’s Jaranwala town in Punjab province. Following allegations of blasphemy against two Christian residents, a mob of hundreds of Muslims responded by burning down churches, vandalising homes, and destroying private [ Read more ]

PAKISTAN: 30th July 2023, Marks the 18th Year of Enforced Disappearance of Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz We, the undersigned organisations, stand together in solidarity on the commemoration of the 18th year of the Enforced Disappearance of Masood Janjua and Faisal Faraz. We join their families and loved ones in their ongoing struggle for truth, [ Read more ]

Authorities must stop clamping down on the political opposition through mass arrests, arbitrary detention and charging people under vague anti-terrorism laws and release immediately all those held solely for exercising their right to freedom of peaceful assembly said Amnesty International, Equidem, CIVICUS and Forum Asia today. Media reports have quoted Punjab Information Minister Amir Mir, [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 12 May 2023) – The Asian Forum For Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) expresses its deep concern over the worsening human rights situation in Pakistan, including reports of violent protests, mass arrests, fatalities, and internet shutdowns following the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan.  Khan’s arrest is the latest in Pakistan’s ongoing political [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu – 16 March 2023) –  The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and seven of its member organisations condemn police violence against peaceful Aurat March protesters in Pakistan on International Women’s Day. Since 2018, the Aurat March has been organized annually by feminist organisations to bring to attention the socio-political problems and [ Read more ]

In response to a concerning development in Pakistan, where amendment of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (CrPC) is being proposed, FORUM-ASIA says: FORUM-ASIA champions freedom of expression and information. We are concerned about a proposed bill in Pakistan that could imprison anyone who “ridicules or scandalises” state institutions such [ Read more ]

Pakistan is the world’s fifth most populous country. Agriculture, directly and indirectly, employs 37.4 per cent of the country’s labour force, 70 per cent of whom are mostly located in rural areas. Not only do rural women receive fewer wages than men, but WAWs are susceptible to malnutrition, discrimination, violence and ill-treatment, including exploitation and [ Read more ]

(Bangkok/Kathmandu, 9 September 2022) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is deeply concerned about the lack of transparency and the exclusion of civil society in the ongoing ‘peace’  talks between the Government of Pakistan and the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) Pakistan, also known as Pakistan Taliban, in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. Although the [ Read more ]

Civic space is under attack in South Asia. Across the region, increasingly authoritarian governments are relying on a wide range of repressive laws and other tactics to silence criticism, a trend that only intensified in 2021. While the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan is the starkest example of this, almost all other countries saw alarming restrictions [ Read more ]