UN rights chief warns Pakistan’s rushed constitutional changes undermine judicial independence

ISLAMABAD: The United Nations’ top human rights official warned on Friday that Pakistan’s latest constitutional amendments, adopted in haste and without wide consultation, seriously erode the independence of the judiciary and threaten accountability for the military, raising profound concerns about the rule of law in a nation already grappling with political turbulence.

Read more

Govt, PTI deny reports of Imran Khan’s ill health amid rising public anxiety

ISLAMABAD: As unconfirmed reports of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s deteriorating health circulated widely on social media and in foreign outlets, both government officials and members of his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party on Thursday rejected the speculation, insisting that Mr. Khan, held in isolation at Adiala jail, remained in good condition.

Read more

Rights campaigner Mazari, spouse decry ‘disappearance’ of court-appointed counsel

ISLAMABAD: A prominent rights activist and her lawyer husband, facing charges of inciting linguistic divisions and portraying the armed forces as engaged in terrorism through social media posts, protested in court on Thursday over the abrupt replacement of their state-appointed defence counsel, raising questions about the fairness of their trial and the whereabouts of the previous lawyer.

Read more

Lahore bar seeks return of appeals on military trials to Supreme Court

ISLAMABAD: The Lahore High Court Bar Association on Thursday petitioned Pakistan’s newly established Federal Constitutional Court to return a series of pending appeals challenging the military trials of civilians to the Supreme Court, arguing that the transfer of jurisdiction under a recent constitutional amendment was unlawful and undermined the judiciary’s independence.

Read more