Rights lawyer asks Islamabad court to summon military spokesman in social media case

ISLAMABAD: A prominent human rights lawyer and her husband, facing charges of inciting linguistic divisions and maligning the armed forces through social media posts, asked a court in Islamabad on Wednesday to summon the military’s top public relations official as a witness, citing a recent press conference that they said directly touched on their case.

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Modi’s silence on attacks against Christians this Christmas speaks volumes

The scenes from this Christmas in India were hard to ignore, and they point to a troubling shift under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In Uttar Pradesh, the country’s biggest state, crowds of Hindu activists showed up at churches right as Christmas Eve services got underway. They shouted “Death to Christian missionaries” and blasted Hindu chants to throw everything off. This wasn’t just some random flare-up; it fit into a larger wave of trouble for Christians, who make up only a sliver of the population.

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Court sentences exiled journalists and critics to life in ‘digital terrorism’ case

ISLAMABAD: An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad sentenced seven critics of the government and military, including journalists, a YouTuber and a former army official, to life imprisonment on Friday for their alleged roles in inciting riots that erupted after the arrest of former Prime Minister Imran Khan in May 2023.

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For the fifth time, Islamabad’s local elections appear headed for postponement

ISLAMABAD: The long-delayed local government elections in the capital, Islamabad, are poised for yet another postponement, the fifth in a row, after the federal cabinet on Friday approved a raft of amendments to the law governing the polls, casting fresh doubt on a vote already scheduled for Feb. 15.

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ECP extends deadline as 446 lawmakers fail to file asset statements

ISLAMABAD: The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) said on Thursday 446 lawmakers, including 125 members of the National Assembly, had failed to submit required statements detailing their assets and liabilities by a Dec. 31 deadline, setting up a potential wave of suspensions that could disrupt legislative proceedings across the country.

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PTI seeks to oust defector senator who backed controversial constitutional change

ISLAMABAD: The opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party formally moved on Thursday to disqualify one of its own senators, Saifullah Abro, accusing him of defection after he broke ranks to support a controversial constitutional amendment that has deepened divisions in the country’s fractured political landscape.

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Pakistan expands biometric law to allow facial and iris scans for national identity checks

ISLAMABAD: The government has expanded the legal definition of biometrics to include facial and iris scans alongside fingerprints, paving the way for a new system of contactless identity verification that aims to ease longstanding hurdles for citizens whose prints have faded with age or illness.

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