(Kathmandu/ Bangkok, 25 October 2019) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASA) expresses concern over the alleged abduction of Muhammad Ismail, the father of Pashtun women human rights defender Gulalai Ismail. Muhammad Ismail was last seen being picked up by men wearing black militia dress outside Pashawar High Court yesterday.[1] Gulalai’s family [ Read more ]

FORUM-ASIA organised its second Global Advocacy Learning Programme (GALP) on Human Rights and Development in Thailand on 27 October – 2 November 2018. Below is a case study written by one of the participants of the GALP in 2018. Information on the upcoming GALP, to be held in 2020, will be announced soon. Disclaimer: The [ Read more ]

Press release Balochistan: Neglected still Islamabad, 2 October. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has released a detailed report after a fact-finding mission to Balochistan. Titled Balochistan: Neglected Still, the report states that Balochistan continues to be shortchanged politically. Incidents of enforced disappearance continue: in most cases, victims’ families say they are afraid of [ Read more ]

Press release HRCP takes note of deaths in police custody Lahore, 4 September. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has taken serious note of at least four incidents involving suspects’ deaths in police custody. Earlier, in August, HRCP investigated reports that two young Hindu boys in Mirpur Khas – accused of murder – were [ Read more ]

Press release Solidarity with forcibly disappeared persons across the world Lahore, 30 August 2019. As we observe International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) expresses solidarity with all victims of enforced disappearance the world over. Our thoughts are also with those Kashmiris who have been forcibly disappeared as part of [ Read more ]

Pakistan National Commission for Justice and Peace (NCJP), FORUM-ASIA member in Pakistan, published its latest report titled ‘Education & Religious Freedom: a fact sheet’. Since the past seven years, NCJP has been annually observing and analyzing the National Education Policy and Curriculum along with the content prevalent in the textbooks taught in public schools across Pakistan. The [ Read more ]

As freedom of expression is being curtailed and civic space is shrinking across Asia, few groups are as much under pressure as the media and human rights defenders. Both are facing harassment, incarceration and even being killed in countries across the region. However, in most instances the two do not manage to overcome their differences [ Read more ]

Threats to Gulalai Ismail’s family must stop  Lahore, 5 July. HRCP is seriously concerned over reports that activist Gulalai Ismail’s family has been threatened, allegedly by state agencies, in connection with her work as a human rights defender. HRCP urges the state to investigate the recent raid on Ms Ismail’s house in Islamabad, reportedly by a [ Read more ]

HRCP demands parliamentary commission on Waziristan Lahore, 27 May 2019. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) is alarmed by the use of military force causing deaths of at least three Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) activists in North Waziristan. HRCP believes that this will further escalate tensions between PTM supporters and security institutions, consequently leading to [ Read more ]

  FORUM-ASIA member Bytes for All, Pakistan published the fourth edition of “Internet Landscape of Pakistan”. The report focuses on trends in local cyberspace related to key topics including internet access, censorship and privacy, cybercrime and hacking, child porn, blasphemy, fake news, e-commerce and fin-tech/branchless banking, among others. *** The fourth edition of “Internet Landscape [ Read more ]