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ANNUAL REPORT 2023

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​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​KILLINGS

• July 14, 2024: Unidentified motorcyclists shot dead 40-year-old journalist Malik Hassan Zaib, affiliated with the Urdu daily Aaj, in Akbarpura, Nowshera district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. He was traveling in a car with his brother, Anwar Zaib when the attackers targeted him. Journalist Hassan Zaib died instantaneously while his brother remained unharmed. Journalist Zaib was affiliated with the Khyber Union of Journalists (KHUJ) and the Peshawar Press Club (PPC). His brother has filed a police report known as the First Information Report (FIR). Journalist Zaib covered healthcare and city news. The police are investigating the murder and found the footage of the killers on the crime scene from a CCTV. NewsDesk/ Motive: UNDETERMINED
  

• June 18, 2024: Unidentified killers shot dead a senior journalist Khalil Jibran, affiliated with a privately owned, Pashto-language, Khyber News channel, and the former president of the Landi Kotal Press Club, while he was returning home in Landi Kotal, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. District Police Officer (DPO) Khyber Salim Abbas told media that the gunmen, riding motorcycles, dragged him out of the car and killed him. Journalist Jibran was traveling with his friend Sajjad Advocate, and the car had some mechanical problems when the killers killed him and wounded Sajjad. Mr. Jibran died instantaneously. Sajjad has registered a police report known as the first information report (FIR) against unknown killers. The police have set up an investigation team to investigate the murder of journalist Jibran. The journalists protested the killings. June 30, 2024: Arsonists destroyed the snooker club on Jibran’s property. His 17-year-old son and 15-year-old daughter told authorities that the unidentified criminals threatening them and wanted to cut off their only source of income by setting the snooker club on fire; the unidentified criminals had been threatening us for a long to establish their monopoly in the area. Jibran’s son said we are under “constant threats” and requested the government for immediate relocation of the family. Motive: UNDETERMINED Unidentified attackers had attacked Jibran with a grenade in 2014 and attempted to blow up his car in 2017. Terrorists and local militia threatened Jibran many times because of his work. The militancy has returned to Pakistan and claimed hundreds of lives, including Law enforcement officers (LEAs), civilians, journalists, and rights activists. Pakistan launched a new counterterrorism operation, Azm-e-Istehkam (pledge to solidify), in June 2024 after rampant militancy. Pakistan has conducted two major operations against terrorists in the past; on June 15, 2014, Operation Zarb-e-Azb was launched, a joint military offensive conducted by the Pakistan Armed Forces against various militant groups, including the Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan, the Islamic Movement of Uzbekistan, the East Turkestan Islamic Movement, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, al-Qaeda, Jundallah, and Lashkar-e-Islam. On February 23, 2017, Pakistani forces began Operation Radd-ul-Fasaad, which has not yet formally ended.  NewsDesk

• May 24, 2024: journalist Nasrullah Gadani, affiliated with the Sindhi Daily, Awami Awaz, succumbed to his injuries. On May 21, 2024, Unidentified armed assailants riding a motorbike shot and injured journalist Nasrullah Gadani in Mirpur Mathelo, the Sindh province. Three bullets hit the different parts of Gadani. The Station House Officer (SHO) of the concerned police station, Sadruddin Luk, rushed to the crime scene and shifted Mr. Gadani to Civil Hospital Mirpur Mathelo. Later, the doctors moved the journalist to Shaikh Zayed Hospital in Rahim Yar Khan and then air-lifted to the Agha Khan University Hospital (AKUH), Karachi, where his condition was stated as “critical.” Mr. Gadani was on his motorbike when attacked at around 11 am. The police were investigating the crime. May 25, 2024: The Commission for the Protection of Journalists and other media practitioners (CJMP) expressed mistrust for the investigation team working on journalist Gadani's case and asked the authority to form a new investigation team. May 28, 2024: After over a week’s delay, Mirpur Mathelo Police Station in Ghotki registered a case (commonly known as the first information report FIR) against unknown killers under Anti-Terrorist Act sections 302 for premeditated murder, 337-H, 120-B, 506 and 34 of the Pakistan Penal Code with Section 7 of the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997. Gadani’s mother, Ms Pathani, was the plaintiff.  June 10, 2024: Three suspects had been arrested in the murder case of journalist Nasurllah Gadani. June 28, 2024: Gadani’s mother, Ms. Pathani Gadani, witnesses Yaqoub Gadani, Salahuddin Gadani, and their lawyer, Salahuddin Panhwar, alleged Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) lawmaker Khalid Khan Loond, his sons, Shehbaz Loond, and Noor Mohammad Loond orchestrated the murder. They recorded their allegations under Section 164 Cr-PC in a court and said the accused are well-connected political figures, and the police are scared to include their names in the police report (commonly known as the first information report FIR). Mr. Panhwar said the lawmaker and his two sons have been threatening Gadani with death threats for him and himself. The police delayed recording Gadani’s family and witnesses’ statements for over 40 days. According to police, the case would now progress to the anti-terrorism court. The police presented Asghar Loond, a suspect in custody, in front of a judge who remanded him in judicial custody for five days. June 30, 2024: After fierce criticism of the investigation and political meddling to protect the main suspects, the investigation of Gadani’s murder transferred to a senior police officer, Siraj Lashari.  Motive: UNDETERMINED.  Mr. Gadani was one of the fearless journalists in Pakistan who would challenge and expose the untouchables, elites, bureaucrats, politicians, and influential. He was a bitter critic of those plundering and robbing the resources of Pakistan, and he used his vlogs for awareness and social good. The independent sources alleged that a lawmaker of a mainstream political party was involved in the crime. Mr. Gadani wanted the local businesses and the manufacturers to contribute to the welfare of the community of his native impoverished village Ghotki, and write about the collusion between the authorities and the bandits. Journalism was his passion, and he worked hard to support his family. He left behind a widow, four sons, two daughters, and his mother.  Pakistan People's Party (PPP) Suspected role and record: Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) has been an intermittent force in Pakistan politics. Founder Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto was the Prime Minister of Pakistan, and his tenure ended with the death penalty. His daughter, Benazir Bhutto was elected twice as the Prime Minister and killed in a terrorist attack in Pakistan. During her tenure, her brother Murtaza Bhutto was killed in Karachi, but Benazir did not pursue a fair investigation of her brother's murder. Her close aides and insiders alleged her husband, Asif Ali Zardari, for Murtaza’s murder. Fatima Bhutto, daughter of Murtaza Bhutto, a celebrated writer, raised her voice for unreliable investigation of her father’s murder. Asif Ali Zardari seized the power of the PPP after Benazir's murder. He has been the President of Pakistan once and is also the current President of Pakistan. In addition, the PPP has been in power in Sindh province for over three decades. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is the son of Benazir, and Zardari is also a member of Pakistan’s National Assembly. Against the cultural norms, the young and infant Bhuttos added Bhutto in their names to continue their political inheritance and keep the Bhutto dynasty alive. The Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) has ruled Sindh province for over three decades. PPP, predominantly consisting of wealthy landowners with political inheritance, is mocked and tainted with corruption. The party vehemently protects the Bhutto family and the vested interests of its members while people continue to beg for clean water, medical, transportation, jobs, security, and sanitation. On February 16, 2020, unidentified killers murdered a journalist, Aziz Memon, who was working with Sindhi TV channel KTN News and Sindhi-language daily Kawish, and disposed of the body in a canal in Naushahro Feroze, a rural part of the Sindh province. The journalist's family informed the media that the journalist was working on a story. In 2019, Mr. Memon traveled to the capital Islamabad, for safety. He revealed in a video message that the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Naushahro Feroze, and party activists intimidating him over his news report claiming the PPP paid money to hundreds of poor people to greet the chairman of the part and member of the National Assembly (NA), Bilawal Bhutto, in a march from Karachi to Larkana. According to Mr. Memon, PPP had promised to pay RS. 2,000 to attend the march, whereas the party paid only Rs. 200 after the march was over. In his video message, Mr. Memon maintained his non-partisanship and repeatedly begged for safety from the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) affiliates and activists. Video link https://twitter.com/siasatpk/status/1229113448543531010  Mian Abdul Haq, commonly known as "Mian Mitthu," is the ringleader of forced marriages and forced conversions of underage minority girls in the Sindh province also belongs to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). NewsDesk 

• May 21, 2024: Taliban militants shot dead a young journalist, Kamran Khan Dawar, in Tapi, North Waziristan. Taliban. Mr. Khan was instrumental in freedom and raising his voice against the Taliban and affiliated with the National Democratic Movement (NDM). Taliban has re-emerged and regrouped in the rugged terrain of Waziristan and re-established a reign of terror. The tribal belt of Waziristan has been a hotbed of conflict between native Pashtun nationalists and the Pakistan military. The armed conflict started in 2004 when Pakistani forces reached the region in pursuit of the Afghan Taliban. The Taliban blended and used Pashtun communities as human shields. The nationalists called the fight a conflict to demand their constitutional rights, while the military called it terrorism and insurgency. Some independent activists claimed that the Taliban have killed over 600 civilians and hundreds of security forces personnel over the years with impunity. NewsDesk

• May 15, 2024: Unidentified assailants riding a motorbike shot dead journalist Mehar Ashfaq Siyal, affiliated with Daily Khabrain, in Muzzafargarh near Thermal Bypass, Punjab. The journalist and his brother, Muhammad Ishaq, rode different bikes and headed toward the city. Pillion riders stopped Ashfaq Siyal and shot him three times in the chest. Ishaq took his brother to DHQ Hospital, but Ashfaq Siyal succumbed to his injuries. The police were investigating the murder and the motive. Motive: UNDETERMINED. NewsDesk
  

• May 03, 2024: unidentified attackers killed Maulana Muhammad Siddique Mengal, the President of the Khuzdar Press Club (KPC) and a provincial senior leader of the Jamiat Ulema-i-Pakistan-Fazl (JUI-F), two others, and injured nine more including a policeman with a bomb attack, in the Chamrok area of Khuzdar, Balochistan province. The blast killed Mr. Mengal on the spot. According to police, CCTV footage caught a motorcyclist who planted a “magnetic bomb” in the mengal’s vehicle, which was detonated. The Counter-Terrorism Department is investigating the crime. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Balochistan Chief Minister Mir Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti, Information Minister Attaullah Tarar, the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ), Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), and the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) have condemned the attack. Mr. Mengal was a well-respected figure in the community. NewsDesk Motive: UNDETERMINED.
  

• April 19, 2024: GUJAR KHAN: Mystery shrouds the killing of a woman belonging to Pakpattan whose body was found lying alongside the GT Road near Lehry forests in the jurisdiction of Sohawa police on March 11. The mutilated body with stab wounds and acid burns was later buried by the police declaring it “unidentified”. The police then registered a case on its own and started investigations. Station House Officer (SHO) Inspector Ahsan Butt told Dawn that the police after matching her fingerprints with Nadra records identified the deceased as Tahira Nosheen Rana, a resident of Chak-33 SP, Pakpattan. She turned out to be a journalist attached to a local Urdu paper. He said her heirs were also traced and her brother approached the police and claimed that she had not been in contact with the family since 2018 after she got divorced from her first husband and married to another man. He said the first husband of his sister had died and she had a daughter from him. Motive: UNDETERMINED
  

• March 14, 2024: Three unidentified individuals armed with AK-47 assault rifles and pistols stormed into a pharmacy and shot dead journalist Jam Saghir Ahmed Lar in Khanpur, the Punjab province. Lar was affiliated with the Daily Khabrain newspaper, a freelancer for the local media, former Nawankot Press Club President, and working part-time in the pharmacy. Jaleel Ahmed, brother of Lar, filed a police report (commonly known as the first information report FIR) 369/24 at the Saddar Police Station the next day. He said the killers got away on a motorbike after the crime, and unidentified sources threatened to kill Shar for his reporting on dominant persons in the area. The family of the journalist was unaware of the motive of the killings. NewsDesk. Motive: UNDETERMINED 
  

​​​​​​​​​​​​ASSAULTS | ARRESTS | HARASSMENT

• July 25, 2024: An illegal hydrant mafia attacked and assaulted an Express News team in Karachi on Thursday, also harassing anchor Sana Qadir. The incident occurred in Ayub Goth, Karachi, when the Express News programme "Grift" team arrived to expose the illegal hydrant. Upon seeing the team, mafia members became uncontrollable, taking the team hostage and assaulting them. They also harassed and threatened female anchor Sana Qadir. Qadir reported that the mafia members surrounded their vehicle and issued death threats. The programme's producer, Arsalan Farooqui, and other team members were taken hostage and assaulted. Qadir managed to save herself by locking the car from inside. She has called on Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah and relevant authorities to take strict legal action against those responsible for the violence and to bring the culprits to justice. 

• July 19, 2024: The police assaulted and injured protesters, including Irfan Sangi, a cameraman affiliated with Time News, and Bashir Mirjat, a reporter with Dharti TV, during a protest at Teen Talwar, Karachi.  Clashes between police and the protesters started when police attempted to sabotage the protest. The media crew was covering the protest for the recovery of a missing girl, Priya Kumari, who disappeared three years ago. The police informed the media that the four policemen had been suspended for attacking the journalists. Scroll down to TARGETING DISSENTS, RIGHTS MOVEMENTS, ACTIVISTS, AND PROTESTERS timeline for details on Priya Kumari’s case. NewsDesk 
  

• ​July 10, 2024: In a troubling incident of domestic abuse, private TV channel anchor Ayesha Jehanzeb has reportedly become the latest victim of grievous physical assault by her husband. The alleged assault left her severely bruised, media sources reported on Wednesday. According to the anchor, a domestic spat with her husband escalated, leading to the horrifying physical abuse. After undergoing a medical examination, Ayesha filed a case against Haris under charges of attempted murder. The police confirmed that Haris has been arrested and is currently under investigation. The upsetting report prompted a swift reaction from Punjab Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz, who took notice of the assault on the popular TV host and ordered the police to take action against the accused. The chief minister has also sought a detailed report from the Inspector General of Police (IGP) and directed that Ayesha be provided with the best possible medical care and security. "Women are my red line; violence against domestic or working women will not be tolerated," she asserted. Violence against women is a global phenomenon, and Pakistan is no exception. A report by the Asia and the Pacific Policy Society highlights that around 27% of women in Pakistan face violence at some point in their lives. The Sindh High Court recently observed that despite the Domestic Violence (Prevention and Protection) Act 2013, the government had failed to implement the law effectively. tribune.com.pk
  

• June 2024: Privately-owned Public News abruptly fired journalist Mian Mohsin Bilal without any explanation. It was alleged that his termination was linked to his questions with the ruling Punjab Assembly lawmaker, Hina Parvez Butt. However, we suggest media houses train their journalists in media ethics. His interaction with Ms. Butt was humiliating. In the past, Mr. Bilal has faced criticism over his misogynistic remarks and insulting posts targeting women.  UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, WE CONDEMN THIS PUNITIVE ACTION FROM THE PUBLIC NEWS AND URGE THE MEDIA HOUSE TO REVERT THE DECISION. NewsDesk
  

• June 2024: Religious fundamentalists, Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) affiliates in particular, hacked her X account, trolled and targeted journalist Benazir Shah, affiliated with Geo network. Trolls targeted her with serious threats, obnoxious remarks, and unfounded allegations for her principled comments on the blasphemy cases in Pakistan and the safety of the Christian community in a TV show. Alongside Ms. Shah, fundamentalists also continued online attacks on the Geo network and other members of the team. NewsDesk  
  

• June 23, 2024: Farooq Afridi, a Bara-based journalist, told his colleagues at the local press club that he along two other reporters, Jahanzeb Afridi and Khadim Khan, was on his way to Jamrud on Friday to participate in a protest demonstration against the brutal murder of one of their senior Landi Kotal colleague. However, he said they were stopped at the checkpost despite showing their personal identity cards as journalists and registered members of the Bara Press Club. Farooq alleged that the armed staffers at the checkpost not only confiscated their CNICs but they also tried to snatch their mobile phones, which they resisted. He said that upon their refusal to surrender their mobile phones, they were made to wait on the main road for over an hour under the blazing sun.He said that he along with two other colleagues repeatedly pleaded with the security staff that they were journalists and wanted to not only participate in the protest demonstration but also to report the event to their respective media organisations.  Dawn.com  

• June 12, 2024: Lahore police arrested YouTuber and anchorperson Imran Riaz Khan from the airport before his departure to Saudi Arabia. Mr. Khan was wearing the religious costume worn to perform Haj, a mandatory condition in Islam. The police alleged him driving at high speed and damaging government property. June 14, 2024: A magistrate discharged him in both cases he was accused. Imran Riaz Khan rapidly rose to fame after his unflinching support to now dismantle Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and its founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan on his YouTube channel. He cooperated and targeted the political opponents of PTI, including women journalists, and was boastful in his vlogs about the monetary benefits and privileges given to him by PTI in return for its support. After PTI’s fall, Mr. Khan has been a victim of enforced disappearance, intermittent arrests, and arbitrary police cases. Please check the timeline for the details. NewsDesk   
  

• May 30, 2024: Unidentified armed motorcyclists shot and injured Chaudhry Ikhlaq, affiliated with Daily Express and a member of the Bewal press club in Gujar Khan, the Punjab province. He was coming back to his hometown, Bewal when pillion riders shot him in the shoulder. He was taken to the hospital and treated for non-life-threatening injuries. Akhalq covers overseas Pakistani issues and has received threats following his story about a Pakistan national who left Pakistan. Motive: UNDETERMINED. NewsDesk 
  

• May 29, 2024: On May 29, Time News reporter Haider Mastoi and his cameraperson Khan Muhammad Pitafi were attacked by three armed motorcyclists in the Achhiyoon Qubbiyoon area of Rohri in Sindh province’s Sukkur district. The assailants, who intercepted Mastoi and Pitafi as they traveled by motorcycle, opened fire, shooting Mastoi four times in the right leg and once in the arm. Following the attack, Pitafi, with help from local residents, rushed Mastoi to Sukkur Civil Hospital. He was later transferred to Liaquat National Hospital in Karachi for further treatment. Mastoi is currently in a serious condition. On May 31, Pitafi told the Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF) that after finishing work, the duo was returning home on a motorcycle when they were intercepted by three armed individuals, also on motorcycles, approximately one kilometer from their residence. According to Pitafi, Mastoi quickly advised him to hand over their mobile phones and wallets to the assailants. However, after receiving the items, the attackers threw them aside and aggressively inquired about their castes. Following their responses, one of the attackers struck Pitafi with the butt of a pistol.The situation escalated as one of the assailants fired four shots at Mastoi, hitting him twice. Another attacker fired seven shots, with three striking Mastoi, resulting in his severe injuries.  Source and Full Story  

• May 28, 2024: KARACHI: The father of a journalist from one of Pakistan’s top television news networks said on Tuesday he was picked up from his home in Karachi city by plain-clothes and uniformed officials and his whereabouts were unknown while the family feared for his safety. The journalist, Hafiz Maaz Bin Khalid, works as a Digital Media Coordinator for ARY News. A video shared with media by the family showed officers taking Khalid away in a police van from Karachi’s Buffer Zone area early on Tuesday morning. “They arrived in three mobile vans and a double cabin, climbed over the wall, and took my son with them, claiming they were taking him for investigation to the Crime Investigation Agency center,” Khalil Ur Rehman, the journalist’s father, told Arab News, adding that officers, who were both in police uniform and plain clothes, did not produce warrants when asked. “They took him along with his national identity card and mobile phone. When I went to the CIA center, I was told my son was not brought there. I am unaware of his whereabouts,” the father added. Source and Full Story

• May 21, 2024: Unknown attackers attacked anchorperson Iqrar Ul Hasan's vehicles with batons, stones, and acid outside a private University in Gujranwala, the Punjab province. He is affiliated with the privately owned ARY News channel. The police have registered a case, and the investigation was underway. Mr. Hasan alleged that the attackers were sent by the spiritual healer, Haq Khateeb alias Shuf Shuf. Mr. Hasan alleged that some well-connected individuals shield the Khateeb hence, taking the Haq Khateeb case to the Bar Associations, Colleges, traders, and the people. On March 7, 2024, unidentified gunmen attacked the house of Iqrar ul Hassan in Defence, Lahore. After a break of 22 minutes, the attackers came back and again opened indiscriminate firing at the residence of the ARY News anchor. He filed a police report (commonly known as the first information report FIR), and the police reviewed the footage to identify the attackers. Mr. Hassan is the host of the TV show Sare-eAam, based on covert operations against individuals and companies who, Mr. Hassan thinks are involved in wrongdoings. Just days ago, Mr. Hassan did an undercover investigation of a spiritual healer, Haq Khateeb. According to Mr. Hassan, Khateeb did not know the basics of Islam. Scroll down to March 07, 2024, for web links. NewsDesk

• May 15, 2024: Unidentified masked persons abducted journalist and revolutionary poet Ahmad Farhad from his residence in Islamabad. He has been affiliated with different print and electronic media houses. The police refused to register a police report (commonly known as the first information report FIR) to his wife and denied Mr. Farhad custody. The police registered the case after a social media backlash. According to his social media platforms, Mr. Farhad had been the subject of constant threats for his reporting on Pakistani-controlled Kashmir rights movements. Acting on a petition filed by Mr. Farhad’s wife, the Islamabad High Court (IHC) ordered the police to produce Mr. Farhad in the court within 24 hours. The police responded to the court that the investigation was underway. Mr. Farhad was raising his voice through his poetry. He rose to fame after his poetry  "Use Uthalo" (pick him/her), criticizing the infamous, unabated Enforced Disappearances authorities and sympathy with the dismantled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Mr. Farhad's family believed the spy agencies were behind the alleged kidnapping. NewsDesk.  May 29, 2024: The DAWN reported that missing poet resurfaced in police custody. ISLAMABAD / MUZAFFARABAD: The government on Wednesday revealed the whereabouts of “missing” poet Ahmed Farhad Shah, informing the Islamabad High Court that he had been arrested by the Azad Jammu and Kashmir police and was being kept at the Dhirkot Police Station following the registration of an FIR. The poet’s family met him at a police station in Muzaf­farabad at around 9pm. The disclosure by the government before the court pushed the questions framed by the IHC about the functions of spy agencies into a grey area. Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani, while hearing the petition seeking the recovery of Mr Shah last week had framed 12 questions mostly related to the functions and obligations of spy agencies i.e. Inter-Services Intelli­gence, Military Intelligence and the Intelligence Bureau. June 04, 2024: An anti-terrorism court (ATC) rejected the bail to poet Farhad in AJK. June 10, 2024: Islamabad High Court (IHC) declared poet Farhad a victim of an “enforced disappearance/missing person” till he reaches his home safely. June 14, 2024: The Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) High Court granted him bail.   
  

• May 08, 2024: The atmosphere turned tense outside Adiala Jail in Rawalpindi on Wednesday as associates of firebrand PTI leader Sher Afzal Marwat reacted aggressively to a journalist's probing question during Marwat's media address. The incident unfolded when a journalist confronted Marwat with a question regarding alleged attempts to secure the chairmanship of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) by ‘begging’ to PML-N leader Khawaja Asif and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq. Marwat, visibly agitated, interrupted the journalist, demanding proper language usage and ultimately prohibited further questioning. "You are a beggar… I curse a journalist who uses foul language, you will not be allowed to question me in the future," Marwat retorted. Source and Full Story

• May 01, 22024: On May 11, while covering the protests on Eidgah Road in Muzaffarabad, Ayaz sustained a hand injury after being struck by a glass bottle. Ayaz, wearing a bulletproof vest, was mistaken for a police officer by the protesters. According to the TV Journalists Union of Kashmir President Asif Raza Mir, the misunderstanding led to the attack, but some individuals intervened to prevent further harm. Ayaz received first aid for his injuries and has since recovered.Source and Full Story
  

• April 17, 2024: Women Press Freedom unequivocally condemns the doxxing and subsequent threats directed at Nadia Saboohi, a seasoned journalist of Geo News in Pakistan. This egregious incident occurred following Saboohi’s professional reporting on issues concerning the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government, a task she undertook with the utmost diligence and adherence to journalistic standards. The aftermath, which saw her inundated with calls, threats, and vulgar content, is a glaring example of the risks journalists face, particularly in regions hostile to free press and women's visible roles in media. Women Press Freedom calls for an immediate investigation into this matter and for those responsible for both the doxxing and the threats to be held accountable. We also demand the implementation of stronger protective measures for journalists, including legal remedies against doxxing, enhanced security protocols, and a public reaffirmation of the government's commitment to upholding press freedom. It is crucial that journalists like Saboohi, who bravely report on sensitive issues, are assured that their safety is a priority and that they are not left vulnerable to such vicious attacks. Source & Full Story
  

• April 09, 2024: Unidentified men briefly kidnapped and tortured journalist Malik Waseem, affiliated with Urdu Point (Urdu-language web portal of Pakistan) in Gojra, the Punjab province. Opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) alleged local police and political rivals Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) tortured the journalist for a live telecast of PTI lawmaker Usama Hamza's press conference. Edited  Source  
  

• April 05, 2024: Police booked You tuber Khalid and cameraman Ali Ahmad under the infamous Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016 – 18/ 3 / 155C in Tobatek Singh, the Punjab province. The police alleged Khalid and Ali Ahmad illegally interviewed two under-trial suspects outside the police station without permission and released it on social media. Source 
  

• April 3, 2024: Three unidentified armed men riding a motorcycle attacked and injured a freelance journalist Ahmad Hanayesh, affiliated with RFE/RL's Radio Azadi, Dunya, and Kahkisha radio in Islamabad, Pakistan. The attackers fired multiple bullets at Mr. Hanayesh while on his way back home to the G-6 Embassy Road area. The doctors performed surgery to remove two bullets from his leg. Hanayesh injuries were not life-threatening. Islamabad is a heavily guarded area but notorious for the safety of journalists. Mr. Hanayesh is an Afghan citizen, a member of the Pak-Afghan Journalists Union, working in Pakistan for a long time as a freelancer. The police investigation is underway. NewsDesk. Motive: UNDETERMINED
  

• Mar 28, 2024: The federal cabinet has given its nod to include the names of 24 individuals in the Exit Control List (ECL), as per a summary circulated through the cabinet by the Interior Ministry. Among the notable names approved for inclusion in the ECL are journalists Sami Ibrahim and Imran Riaz Khan. Both individuals have been recommended for inclusion in the ECL due to ongoing inquiries against them.  Source and Full Story

• March 25, 2024: RAWALPINDI - Senior journalist and crime re­porter for The Nation, Israr Ahmed Rajput, was arrested yes­terday by the Pirwadhai Police on charges related to a tweet post­ed on social media. Before his ar­rest, Rajput stated that the police had filed a case against him. He mentioned that he not only deleted the tweet with­in thirty to forty minutes of its uploading but also apologized to the Rawalpindi Police on Twitter. De­spite this, a case was registered against him, he ex­plained. Rajput further mentioned that before the case, he had received a friendly call from the CPO’s PRO and the SHO of Pirwadhai, stating that the vid­eo was fake, which he had already deleted. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the Rawalpindi Police stated in a press release that Rajput was arrested for spreading false rumours of a sensi­tive religious nature on social media. He said that the Pirwadhai Police have start­ed an investigation based on merit. They noted that false news was spread on Twitter the previ­ous night, even though no such incident had oc­curred, causing fear and distress in the communi­ty and hurting the sentiments of religious groups. The Rawalpindi Police value the journalistic com­munity highly but emphasize the importance of responsible reporting. Previously, the police had filed a case under Section 153 A.  Source  Next day, Judge Dr Mumtaz Hanjra dismissed the case and released Mr. Rajput. The judge ruled that the police report (commonly known as the first information report - FIR) was not filed per law. 
  

• March 7, 2024: Unidentified gunmen attacked the house of Iqrar ul Hassan in Defence, Lahore. After a break of 22 minutes, the attackers came back and again opened indiscriminate firing at the residence of the ARY News anchor. He filed a police report (commonly known as the first information report FIR), and the police reviewed the footage to identify the attackers. Mr. Hassan is the host of the TV show Sare-eAam, based on covert operations against individuals and companies who, Mr. Hassan thinks are involved in wrongdoings. Just days ago, Mr. Hassan did an undercover investigation of a spiritual healer, Haq Khateeb. According to Mr. Hassan, Khateeb did not know the basics of Islam. 
  

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• March 3, 2024: Journalist Waqar Aslam, affiliated with the Geo News Urdu, reported the harassment by police for sporting a Shawl (a square or oblong fabric garment or wrapper used as a covering for the head or shoulders for a cultural reason and as a protection against cold). The police saw Shawl as a security threat. He said the journalists waited hours for the Chief Minister of Balochistan to start the presser at Gawader. Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Zuhaib Mohsin Gawader assaulted and pushed Geo News cameraman Zubair for using his cell phone to do his job." Edited​
  

• February 24, 2024: The Cyber Wing of the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) summoned YouTuber Asad Ali Toor, under Section 160 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), Enquiry Number 101/2024, over his alleged social media activism to slander the judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan. A joint Action Committee is investigating the allegations. February 26, 2024: Mr. Toor complied with the orders and reached the FIA office. First, The FIA separated him from his attorney, Imaan Hazir Mazari, and then arrested him under Sections 9, 10, and 24 of the Prevention of Electronic Crime Act (PECA), 2016. The FIA report alleged that Mr. Toor “built a false narrative and started malicious/obnoxious and explicit campaign intentionally and publically against the modesty of civil servants/ government officials and state institutions of Pakistan as well as glorifying anti-state activities through his social media accounts.”    NewsDesk  March 16, 2024: An Islamabad trial court granted bail to Mr. Toor. May 06, 2024: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) vindicated Mr. Toor. ​
  

• February 23, 2024: A court in Lahore sent Imran Riaz Khan, a YouTuber and anchor, to jail on judicial remand. The provincial Punjab Anti-Corruption Establishment (ACE) had alleged Mr. Khan and his father for obtaining the Tharabi Lake contract at a notably reduced price of Rs. four Million against a market value of Rs. 11 million. An anti-corruption court ordered the ACE to inform the details of Khan’s arrest to the court. YouTuber Khan is a staunch supporter of the former Prime Minister Imran Khan and enjoyed great benefits during the Imran Khan government. Imran Riaz was allegedly remained in police custody for over four months and barred from leaving Pakistan in 2023. March 01, 2024: The court granted Imran Riaz Khan bail in the alleged contract for Dharabi Lake in Chakwal. However, the police arrested him on terrorism charges and took him into custody on a five-day physical remand. The terrorism charges stemmed from a police report (commonly known as the first information report FIR) containing allegations of arson, stone-pelting, throwing petrol bombs, and intervening in state matters outside the residence of PTI founder Imran Khan in Zaman Park, Lahore, on March 13, 2023. Mr. Khan denied the charges and maintained he was covering the riots for Bol TV. NewsDesk.  
  

• February 16, 2024: RAWALPINDI: A police official was suspended and charged after he was found guilty of torturing journalists during PTI’s protest in front of the Divisional Election Commission Rawalpindi on Sunday. After the incident came to light, Regional Police Officer Syed Khurram Ali and City Police Officer (CPO) Syed Khalid Hamdani ordered an inquiry into the incident and appointed SP Rawalpindi Faisal Saleem as inquiry officer. Following an inquiry conducted by SP Saleem, it was found that Yasir Khan, constable posted at Police Station Pirwadhai, displayed extreme arrogant behaviour and flouted the orders of his seniors regarding dispersing the protesters, which amounts to gross misconduct and inefficiency. Source & Full Story 
  

• February 2024: Political activists affiliated with Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) targeted journalists Gharida Farooqi, Saddia Mazhar, and acclaimed Digital Rights activist and member of the UNSG AI Advisory Body, Nighat Dad, with obnoxious trolls, threats and character assassination threads on social media for doing their job. NewsDesk.
  

• ​February 7, 2024: Shaista Shahzad, wife of Salman Mirza, affiliated with the privately-owned channel Bol News, informed about the arrest of Mr. Mirza. In a video statement, she said, “Around 3 a.m. on the night of February 6, 2024, (February 7) police and plainclothes individuals rang the bell and told they had come to take Salman. They asked for Salman’s cell phone but did not allow him in the house to pick up the phone. Instead, they asked him to tell his wife to hand you the phone. The police did not give the reason for Salman’s arrest or a chance to talk to his family. The next day, Shaista Shahzad went to the police station to file a police report (commonly known as the first information report FIR). However, the police refused to register the FIR and denied the information on the whereabouts of Mr. Mirza. After repeated requests from Mrs. Mirza, the police asked her to write an application. Mrs. Mirza did so, but the police did not give her the receipt of the application as they had promised. The police said, we have no order from SHO (Station House Officer, in in-charge of the police station) to give you the receiving of your application.” She gave her statement 48 hours after Mr. Mirza’s arrest and termed the incident Enforced Disappearance. ​A social media post that announced the protest for the recovery of Salman Mirza, his date of alleged abduction was reported as February 5, 2024. February 20, 2024: Anchor Salman Mirza returned home. He did not share details and the supposed motive of his abduction.

• February 6, 2024: On January 25, PNN reporter Noroz Rana was assaulted by supporters of the Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) political party during a rally in Vehari, Punjab. Rana told PPF that he was interviewing attendees for their opinions while covering the rally in Vehari. Some younger participants expressed support for another party, Pakistan Tehreek Insaf, prompting Rana to ask them why they were attending a PML-N event. This led to a confrontation when a PML-N supporter accused Rana of trying to discredit the rally and incite violence against him. Two individuals, purportedly supporters of the party, verbally assaulted Rana, slapped him, and destroyed his camera. They also attacked him with his microphone, targeting his eye. Rana noted that the incident occurred towards the rally’s conclusion when many reporters had left. He reported the incident to his organization and filed a complaint with the Vehari District Police Officer (DPO). Adnan Tariq, the Public Relations Officer to the DPO, told PPF that officers are currently preoccupied with election duties, the DPO is aware of Rana’s situation and will take appropriate action following the elections. In another incident, on January 30, at a political gathering in Lahore, the Talon News team, including reporter Hanooq, driver Hammad, and cameraperson Farooq, faced violence at the hands of PML-N supporters. Source & Full Story
  

• January 25, 2024: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) cybercrime branch sent notices to the court reporters, YouTubers, and journalists criticizing the Court’s ruling that deprived Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of their signature “cricket bat” election symbol. The FIA targeted 519 individuals, at least 115 inquiries have been registered, and 65 notices served over allegations of Explicit and malicious campaigns against Hon judges of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on social media. Court reporter Mati Ullah Jan and YouTuber Asad Ali Toor are among those who received the FIA notices. Later, Chief Justice of Pakistan (CJP) Qazi Faez Isa used suo motu powers against the FIA list including 47 journalists and YouTubers. and ordered the FIA to withdraw the notices against journalists. On January 17, 2024, the caretaker government formed a Joint Investigation Team (JIT) to find the sources behind a malicious social media campaign against SC judges after the court ruling that stripped PTI from the bat election symbol. NewsDesk.
  

• January 25, 2024: Workers of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) on Thursday attacked a team of Naya Daur during a reporting assignment in Bilawal Bhutto's constituency of NA-127 in Lahore. They roughed up Naya Daur's team and destroyed camera equipment while illegally confiscating the media storage drive in the camera. The incident took place on Ghazi Road in Lahore on Thursday afternoon. The area falls within the remits of NA-127, where PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari is contesting elections. Source & Full Story. 
  

• ​January 14, 2024: Unidentified pillion riders shot and injured Shoaib Burney, the bureau chief of the privately-owned Sunu TV channel, in Gulshan-i-Iqbal, Karachi. Mr. Burney was taken to the hospital and treated for the bullet injury in his left hand. His injuries were not life-threatening. The police registered a case under Section 324 (attempted murder) and 34 (common intention) of the Pakistan Penal Code. Motive: Undetermined. NewsDesk. 
  

TARGETING DISSENTS, RIGHTS MOVEMENTS,  ACTIVISTS AND PROTESTERS

• July 25, 2024: The police briefly detained Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) Chairman Asad Iqbal Butt from his residence in Federal B Area, Karachi, Sindh province. The police action ensued from the reports that Mr. Butt might be planning a rally with the Baloch Yakjehi Committee (BYC) against the unabated enforced disappearances of Baloch activists and civilians on July 28, 2024, in Gwadar. During his detention of three to four hours, the police at the Gulberg police station questioned the HRCP's involvement in the rally, participation, and his visit to Quetta (Balochistan province). He told police that he had visited Quetta seven years ago. BYC has reported an increase in abductions and disappearances of its workers ahead of the rally. Members of HRCP, civil society, and journalists have reached the police station after the news of Mr. Butt’s arrest. Baloch Yakjehi Committee (BYC) claims to struggle against the alleged enforced disappearances of the members of the Baloch communities, rights for Balochistan, and the due share in the resources and progress of Balochistan. NewsDesk

• July 2024: The police assaulted and booked dozens of Baloch activists, including Sammi Deen Bloch, for advocating Baloch Raji Machi. Among many charges, the police alleged the activists for anti-state activities. According to the Baloch activists, Raji Machi is a peaceful awareness campaign about the exploitation of natural resources and human rights violations in Balochistan. Sammi Deen Baloch's father, Dr. Deen Muhammad Baloch, disappeared on June 28, 2009, when she was only 11 years old. Since then, she has been raising her voice for the recovery of her father and the other missing persons in Balochistan. Ms. Baloch, family, friends, and other activists against the enforced disappearances alleged the security forces for the disappearance of Dr. Baloch. According to the eyewitnesses, law enforcement agencies (LEAs) raided his hospital, tortured, blindfolded, and threw him in the LEAs vehicle. That was the last time Dr. Baloch was seen. People remember him as an active member of the community and, a well-respected person.  NewsDesk
  

• July 19, 2024: The police stopped the opposition leader, Omar Ayub Khan, from attending the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting and briefly detained the venue hotel manager in Gujranwala, the Punjab province. The police action prompted a country-wide strike by the journalists. The protests, traffic disruptions, and condemnation forced the police to let Ayub Khan address the meeting. Other political party leaders also participated. Omar Ayub Khan is affiliated with the dismantled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). NewsDesk
  

• July 19, 2024: Karachi police assaulted protesters with batons demanding the recovery of a seven-year-old Hindu girl Priya Kumari, missing since August 19, 2021, from Sukkur, Sindh province. A large crowd of civil society members, the public, and the rights groups gathered at the upscale neighborhood in Clifton, Karachi. The police briefly detained some protesters over allegations of traffic interruption and inconvenience to the commuters. The Sindh Home Minister and the police have been issuing misleading statements about Kumari’s whereabouts since her disappearance. Priya Kumari disappeared while volunteering at a Muslim celebration during the Muslim month of Muharram. On July 20, 2024, Sindh Home Minister Ziaul Hassan Lanjar met with the parents of Priya Kumari and the rights groups and again informed them that Priya Kumari was alive and had evidence to support his claim. He did not say what evidence was available and announced a reward of Rs10 million for the police team that would bring Kumari back. NewsDesk
  

• July 19, 2024: A peaceful protest turned violent after the gunshots, reported fatalities, and injuries in Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. As many as 10,000 people started protesting the return, regrouping of Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and random militancy in KP province for over a year. The protesters alleged the security forces for unprovoked assaults. The mainstream media confirmed one death, while independent sources claimed multiple fatalities. The KP government has formed a commission for fair investigation. In July 2024, TTP suicide bombers rammed an explosive-filled vehicle into a Pakistani military facility and killed eight soldiers. Pakistani forces killed all ten attackers in retaliation. In a separate attack, the TTP attacked a healthcare facility and killed five civilians in Bannu, KP. TTP commander Gul Bahadur claimed the attacks, but Pakistan refuted the claims. Pakistan and Taliban led the Afghan government at odds and engaged in several cross-border firing. On July 19, 2024, Pakistan claimed the capture of an al-Qaida leader, Amin ul Haq, and a close friend of Osama bin Laden from a small village near Jehlum, the Punjab province. Due to the same ethnicity, easy-to-infiltrate, and rugged terrain, It's difficult for the Pakistani forces to put foolproof security in place.  According to the South Asian Terrorism Portal (SATP), 621 people have been killed in 262 incidents of killings, including 136 civilians and 195 members of the security forces, 286 terrorists, and four unspecified individuals in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province since January 2024. NewsDesk 
  

• July 18, 2024: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) ruled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Sanam Javed incarceration illegal and granted her bail. However, Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb curtailed her freedom of movement, restricted her from leaving Islamabad, and “ avoid unnecessary rhetoric.” The court threatened to revoke the order if Sanam Javed, mother of two, fails to comply. Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir, a human rights lawyer, commented on the court orders, “Is this the job of a High Court judge? And under what section of the PPC is it a criminal offense to use “inappropriate language and profanities”? And is the supposed penalty for the same spending 14 months behind bars without a conviction.” NewsDesk
  

• July 2024: Dismantled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) claimed that Rizwan Ahmed, a member of the PTI media team, and his brother Nouman Ahmed were abducted in Islamabad. The PTI alleged law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for abduction. The police arrested another PTI member, Amir Mughal, the President of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), from outside the Deputy Commissioner's (DC) office in Islamabad. The police did not disclose the reason for the arrest. They were abducted and arrested before a public meeting of PTI, which was later canceled. PTI claimed thousands of its workers languishing in jails because of their affiliation with PTI. PTI founder Imran Khan has been in prison since August 2023. NewsDesk  
  

• July 12, 2024: The police assaulted Baloch protesters who were protesting against the alleged forced disappearance of Zaheer Ahmed in Quetta, Balochistan province. The police baton-charged, used tear gas, and hustled the women protesters. Zaheer Ahmed disappeared on June 27, 2024. The family, friends, and the Baloch rights activists alleged the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) for alleged abduction. Voice for Baloch Missing Persons (VBMP) has released a plaster cast picture of VBMP’s leader, Horain Baloch, and alleged the police for breaking her leg and hand in torture. The VBMP also alleged the police returned the seized mobile phones of the protesters, but Horain's phone was not given back to her.  The police have also booked  Mahrang Baloch, a Pakistani Baloch rights activist now affiliated with the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), and other Baloch protesters. NewsDesk
  

• June 25, 2024: An anti-terrorism court in Islamabad ordered on Tuesday the seizure of movable and immovable properties of YouTubers and journalists—including Adil Raja, Shaheen Sehbai, Moeed Pirzada, Sabir Shakir, Haider Mehdi, and Wajahat Saeed Khan—in the case of inciting violence and unrest. ATC judge Tahir Abbas Sipra directed the Islamabad deputy commissioner to confiscate the assets of the accused YouTubers, who have been declared proclaimed offenders, in the case. The court also ordered the National Database and Registration Authority chairman to block the accused persons’ national identity and National Identity Card for Overseas Pakistanis cards while directing the Federal Investigation Agency director general to block their passports. The court has sought a compliance report on the implementation of the orders within 15 days. The statements of the prosecution witnesses against the accused have also been recorded. This action comes amid an ongoing crackdown on individuals accused of spreading hate speech and inciting violence through digital platforms. Furthermore, the ATC has directed all the relevant departments to submit a compliance report on the implementation of its orders by July 10. It is notable that Adil Raja, Shaheen Sehbai, Moeed Pirzada, Sabir Shakir, Haider Mehdi, and Wajhat Saeed Khan are facing charges of incitement of violence and instigating people to resort to violence. aaj.tv

• June 21, 2024: Authorities arrested Yawar Abbas, an environmentalist and averse campaigner, against the land acquisition by the authorities in the scenic tourism region of Gilgit Baltistan (GB). Authorities kidnapped him after he started a social media campaign opposing the land ownership by the authorities. Mr. Abbas has been raising his voice against corruption and social injustice for years in GB. The police disclosed his arrest many hours later following a social media campaign calling him a victim of notorious enforced disappearances.  NewsDesk
  

• June 17, 2024: Authorities stopped pop singer Muhammad Ashraf, alias Malkoo, from departing Pakistan to the UK over the inclusion of his name in the Provisional National Identification List (PNIL) list. The PNIN replaces the punitive Exit Control List (ECL), arbitrarily used by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) to intimidate dissents and political opponents from going abroad. Malkoo's counsel, Azhar Siddique said, "his client name appeared on PNIL after he released two songs, Qaeedi 804 and Nak da Koka, on his YouTube channel praising former Prime Minister Imran Khan for supporting his election campaign in February 2024." PM Khan is in jail over multiple charges, including sedition. Malkoo’s show organizer, British-Pakistani businessman Liaqat Malik claimed he lost £200,000 because of Malkoo’s flying ban. In a surprising twist, Malkoo withdrew his petition seeking his name removal from ECL. Some social media influencers shared Malkoo’s song after his detention, contradicting the lyrics of his earlier songs in favor of PTI. In 2023, the police booked Malkoo on the charges of aerial firing in Lok Mela (folk festival) 2023. NewsDesk  
  

• June 09, 2024: Unidentified armed individuals abducted Ghulam Shabbir, the brother of Shahbaz Gill, a former spokesperson to the Government of Punjab, and former Special Assistant to the former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan. Shahbaz Gill, affiliated with the now dismantled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). However, his brother has no political affiliation. Shahbaz Gill lives in the United States. PTI and Gill alleged that law enforcement agencies (LEAs) abducted and intimidated the family and the other activists of PTI. The party claimed all the arrests and the police reports were politically motivated and denied any wrongdoings. NewsDesk 
  

• June 08, 2024: Authorities booked Shehryar Afridi, Shandana Gulzar, Haleem Adil Sheikh, and others with sedition charges, including Section 120-B (punishment for criminal conspiracy) of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) over allegations of holding a rally without permission and inciting hate against the state. All the politicians affiliated with forced-dismantled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) held the rally in Bostan, Balochistan province. Dozens of PTI leaders and workers, including PTI founder Imran Khan booked under Sedition charges after the May 9, 2023 attacks, which caused destruction and arson to national and military installations. Imran Khan and dozens of others have been incarcerated. Pakistani authorities have alleged and arbitrarily used Sedition charges to intimidate the dissents and strangulate the voice. NewsDesk 
  

• June 06, 2024: Dismantled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist Azhar Mashwani holds the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) responsible for the alleged disappearance of his brothers Zahoor-ul-Hassan and Mazhar-ul-Hassan. Mashwani’s father, Qazi Habibur Rehman, had petitioned the Lahore High Court for their recovery. Mashwani claimed the alleged abductions were the punishment for his affiliation with PTI. His brothers were reported missing for almost a month. The police said that they were working on the case. Azhar Mashwani has served as the focal person on digital media for the Office of the former Prime Minister, now incarcerated, Imran Khan. In March 2023, Azhar Mashwani disappeared for eight days. He accused LEAs for his alleged abduction. His brothers have no political affiliations. NewsDesk
  

• June 06, 2024: Police booked Mahrang Baloch, a Pakistani Baloch rights activist now affiliated with the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), and at least 200 other Baloch activists for disrupting traffic and forcing entry into the Quetta Press Club in May 2024. Among other sections under the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC), Ms. Mahrang and other activists were also booked for sedition charges under Section 124-A over allegations of speaking against Pakistan and inciting hate against the state and the institutions. Ms. Baloch has been facing such charges since she started a campaign for the recovery of her missing father on December 12, 2009; her brother was abducted in December 2017 and released after three months. On May 18, 2024, the police and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) banned the Participants, journalists, students, and panelists from entering the Quetta Press Club and locked the doors. Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) organized a conference titled ‘Fencing Gwadar - From Mega Project to Mega Prison.’ The provincial government of Balochistan is erecting a fence around the 24 square kilometers of Gwadar city with an estimated cost of $ 60 billion, with hundreds of surveillance cameras and foolproof security. The Reason behind fencing is to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from the Baloch separatists. The Baloch alleged the provincial government of Balochistan is not doing justice to locals in CPEC by not providing jobs in the projects, depriving them of their livelihoods of fishing, and displacing them from their ancestral lands. China is one of Pakistan’s saviors from economic meltdowns, defaults, military needs, and hostile attacks. However, the Baloch separatists, supported by the big Baloch landlords and foreign elements used suicide bombers to kill Chinese citizens and Pakistani forces in intermittent attacks. The terrorists have killed hundreds of Chinese citizens and professional and Pakistani force members on duty to protect the Chinese citizens. In March 2024, the terrorists killed five Chinese engineers and their driver in Besham; The Baloch Liberation Army suicide wing, Majeed Brigade, tried to attack Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) and Pakistan's second largest naval airbase, PNS Siddique, in Balochistan. The security forces thwarted both attacks. The terrorist attacks in Dasu, Tarbela, and several other places in Pakistan over the years have killed dozens of people. In April 2022, a suicide bomber killed three Chinese tutors and a Pakistani driver in a suicide bombing near Karachi University's Confucius Institute. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the attack. NewsDesk

• June 06, 2024: One civilian died, dozens injured, including security forces, and over 60 detained after the provocative arrests of the Chaman Sit-ins leaders. The protesters attacked the government property and installations and blocked highways to secure the release of their leaders. The demonstrations spilled into the other parts of the bordering towns across Pakistan and Afghanistan, and the suspension of business activities. The protesters, armed with stones and clubs, clashed with the police. The police used teargas and rubber bullets to counter the crowd. The government sources claimed that 17 law enforcement personnel were injured, while the independent sources claimed over a hundred civilians were injured. The local hospitals said that 13 people were treated for the injuries caused by the rubber bullets. The situation was brought under control after the local clerics and tribal leaders intervened. The affected area was partially cut off from the rest of the country due to interrupted media access and internet suspension. July 21, 2024: Pakistan lifted the travel ban and reinstated using Afghan Tazkira and Pakistan’s National Identity Card to cross the Durand Line to travel between Chaman and the Afghan town of Boldak. On May 15, 2024, the negotiations between the members of the Balochistan province government and the Laghari Ittehad—representing the daily wage earners and members of other political parties ended without any deal. In October 2023, Thousands of the residents of Chaman started protesting against the new rules of passports for crossing the border into Afghanistan. The residents have been asking the government of Pakistan to continue to accept the national identity and tribal cards for travel to meet families, and relatives and feed livestock. Chaman is a city and the headquarters of the Chaman District in Balochistan, Pakistan. Chaman is located in close proximity to the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and the residents and their families live on both sides of the border, in the mountainous terrain. Authorities briefly detained Maulana Hidayatur Rehman Baloch, the chief of Haq Do Tehreek (HDT), and banned him, Parliamentarian Mohsin Dawar, and activists of the National Democratic Movement (NDM) from entering Chaman to join the sit-in. On December 04, 2023: The police arrested Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM) chief Manzoor Pashteen in Chaman, the Balochistan province. The police alleged that armed men from Mr. Pashteen vehicle started firing at the police; PTM and Mr. Pashteen vehemently denied the allegations and claimed otherwise. The police claimed four people were injured from the firing from Pashteen vehicle. Mr. Pashteen was going to Turbat to join the protest against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances in Balochistan. Over the years, authorities have arrested, banned him from national and international travel, and booked Mr. Pashteen on several charges including sedition. December 5, 2023: The Sindh police arrested nine more individuals affiliated with the PTM for protesting the forced deportation of the Afghan refugees. NewsDesk

• May 21, 2024: An individual holding a sharp object (blade) attacked and cut part of the face of the columnist and dismantled Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) spokesperson Rauf Hasan outside a TV channel office in Islamabad. Mr. Hasan was exiting the TV channel building after attending a TV show when an individual started arguing with Mr. Hasan and attacked him while the other accomplices tried to join the individual. The attackers escaped from the overcrowded crime scene. Mr. Rauf received a big cut on his face and was taken to hospital. His condition was stable. The incident was caught on camera, and the police were investigating the crime. NewsDesk 
  

• May 2024: People in Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, also called Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) by Pakistan, thronged the streets against high taxes, electricity prices as per hydropower generation cost in AJKashmir, inflated utility bills, and the sudden rise in inflation and demanding subsidized wheat flour. The Awami Action Committee (AAC) called for the protests and kept the business closed and vehicles off-road. The situation turned violent when protesters clashed with the paramilitary forces. The violence erupted when security forces tried to stop a rally from entering the AJK capital, Muzaffarabad. The protesters brutally killed a police Sub-Inspector and chased, tortured, and pushed many Policemen from the hillocks. Protesters damaged vehicles and property and torched a magistrate's car. Three people died, and hundreds of protesters and Policemen were injured from tear gas and stone attacks. The lives were at a stand-still in Muzaffarabad, Bhimber, Bagh, Mirpur. The violent protesters blocked Poonch-Kotli Road and Kohala-Muzaffarabad Road. The government blocked the internet and mobile phone services to deter coordinated attacks. The police arrested dozens of protesters and booked them under multiple charges. The AAC denied its role in the violence. Some journalists and critics wanted the government to name the authorities who ordered paramilitary forces to stop the rally that resulted in the violence. Some independent and unconfirmed reports put the number of fatalities higher than the official figure of three, while the injured over two hundred. The government figure of the arrested protesters is 70. The government said it had signed an agreement with the action committee on February 4, 2024, and six out of ten demands have already been fulfilled, while the rest need legislation and Federal government action. The people of AJK pay only four taxes, while the rest of Pakistan pays ten kinds of taxes on electric bills. Some government Ministers alleged one of Pakistan's bordering countries and the nuclear rival was behind the attacks. Under extreme pressure from the protesters, the government of Pakistan announced Rs23 billion in subsidies for electricity and flour, which would bring wheat and power prices down. NewsDesk

• May 18, 2024: LAHORE: The civil society and family members of Pakistan Seraiki Party (PSP) former information secretary and Seraiki nationalist Abdul Sattar Thaheem are running a social media campaign for his safe return. Thaheem, who dedicated years to the PSP and its late founder, Barrister Taj Muhammad Khan Langah, disappeared under mysterious circumstances six months ago, leaving no trace behind. Thaheem was last seen at the residence of Rana Faraz Noon, the chairman of the Seraikistan Democratic Party (SDP), in Sabzazar Colony on Bosan Road, Multan. ​On Oct 11, 2023, he departed Noon’s house to visit a friend in Kabirwala and never returned. His continued absence has raised serious concerns among his friends and family who have tirelessly sought his whereabouts but in vain. Source and Full Story

• April 30, 2024: Unidentified armed men kidnapped Kamran Khan, a social media and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) activist, in Peshawar, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP). Kamran’s wife has filed a police report known as the First Information Report (FIR) with a local police station and approached the Peshawar High Court to speed up the safe recovery of her husband. PTI alleged the government agencies for kidnapping for criticizing the government, albeit PTI rules the KP province. NewsDesk

• April 30, 2024: LAHORE: As farmers from across the province thronged The Mall to record their protest against what they believe to be an unfair wheat procurement policy, a heavy contingent of Punjab police in anti-riot gear rounded up scores of their number, on Monday. The farmers had taken to the streets against an inordinate delay in the purchase of grain and the decision to reduce the provincial procurement quota from over 4 million tonnes to 2.3m tonnes. The protesters, led by Kissan Ittehad Pakistan, managed to assemble at the GPO Chowk on The Mall and attempted to march towards the Punjab Assembly, where a heavy contingent of police intercepted them. Police not only blocked the road by placing containers, but also arrested several protesters. Kissan Ittehad Pakistan General Secretary Mian Umair Masood, who led the demonstration, told Dawn that more than 250 farmers were arrested by police in Lahore. He, however, managed to evade arrest himself. Source and Full Story 
  

• April 20, 2024: Gujranwala (the province of Punjab) Police briefly detained Save Gaza Campaign Pakistan founder Humaira Tayyaba, her teenage son Umer, and dozens of other protesters for protesting in solidarity with Palestine and against the killings of innocent civilians. The police assaulted and misbehaved with protesters, including women and children. Humaira Tayyaba is affiliated with religious-cum-political party Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) and is the wife of Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, who was a Member of the Senate of Pakistan from March 2018 to March 2024. NewsDesk.
  

• April 15, 2024: the District Administration of Malezai Karez, Bazar Nau, and Pishin (Balochistan province) forced Afghan refugees to leave the area within 24 hours. The ultimatum was extended to Afghan citizens living in Pakistan for decades and holding Proof-of-Residence (PoR). NewsDesk. In September 2023: Pakistan started a discriminatory drive against the Afghan Nationals living with legitimate status in Pakistan and arrested thousands of Afghanis holding the refugee Proof of Registration Card (PoR). The majority of the Afghan nationals arrested included minor children, women, and seniors living in Pakistan for decades. The law enforcement agencies (LEAs) exploited the situation and jailed Afghanis with required paperwork, minors, and women either born in Pakistan or living for decades. Vigilantes in Sindh province took the law into their own hands and went door-to-door searching for the Afghan Nationals. More than, 150 Afghan musicians and artists pleaded with the Pakistani authorities and, filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court (PHC) against forced eviction as the Taliban has forbidden singing, music, dance, and instruments playing. Pakistan had turned down appeals from international groups campaigning for refugee rights. Pakistan has not shown compassion towards the persecuted Shia-Hazara community and rejected the appeals from kids; their deportation to Afghanistan is akin to sending them to a slaughterhouse. Afghan Hazaras equate expulsion to ‘going to the graveyard to be buried. The Registrar of the Supreme Court returned a petition filed against the decision of the Apex Committee to deport Afghan Refugees stating that the petition does not raise any issue of fundamental rights. Source The arrests of Afghan refugees have been reported from across the country. The crackdown on Afghan refugees started after the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) attack on security forces in Chitral, a bordering city with Afghanistan. Pakistan has confirmed the killings of 12 militants and four soldiers. Pakistan is not a signatory of the 1951 Geneva Convention and its 1967 Protocol relating to the status of refugees.  RACIAL PROFILING
  

• March 26, 2024: ISLAMABAD: The capital police booked a former senator and 350 others on several charges, including pelting the law enforcers with stones and threatening them with dire consequences, after they organised a protest at Express Chowk in connection with Palestine. Police also attempted to detain former Jamaat-i-Islami senator Mushtaq Ahmad near a metro station on Jinnah Avenue, but returned empty-handed. A police official told Dawn a contingent intercepted the senator when he was “moving in a car along with some female members” of his family. The police led by a senior officer threatened the senator, allegedly used expletives against him and his family, and made efforts to arrest him on Sunday night, he added. However, some passersby assembled there and started making videos of the incident, prompting the police to leave the spot without making the arrest, the official added. On Sunday, the Save Gaza Campaign organised a protest at Express Chowk against the Israeli atrocities in Gaza. The protest was led by former JI Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan. Since the protest was organised without prior permission, a case was registered at the Kohsar police station under sections 148, 149, 353, 341, 427, 186, 188, and 506ii of the PPC along with Sections 2 and 3 of Amplifier Act in response to the complaint lodged by SHO Kohsar Shafqat Faiz. Source and Full Story

• March 18, 2024: The police assaulted and briefly detained several protesters including Sasui Lohar and Sorath Lohar, outside Larkana Press Club, in Larkana, Sindh province. Among many people injured were Taj Joyo, a celebrated Sindhi writer and the recipient of the Pride of Performance award. The police booked 26 known and over 150 unknown individuals on multiple charges. The protesters were demanding the arrest of the killers of the Sindhi nationalist leader Hidayat Lohar, who was killed in Naseerabad, Sindh on February 16, 2024. Sasui Lohar and Sorath Lohar are the daughters of Hidayat Lohar.  NewsDesk
  

• February 24, 2024: KARACHI: The police on Saturday baton-charged and fired tear gas to disperse activists of different opposition political parties protesting in various areas of Karachi against the alleged rigging in the recently held general elections, causing traffic gridlocks on several main thoroughfares as Section 144 was imposed in the Red Zone of the city for the oath-taking ceremony of the newly elected members of the Sindh Assembly. The activists belonging to the PTI, Grand Democratic Alliance (GDA), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), and the JUI-F staged protests across the city, creating massive traffic jams on Sharea Faisal and other major roads. The GDA activists gathered near the Sindh Assembly were rounded up by the police for violating Section 144 before resorting to baton-charging and using tear gas to disperse them. Despite the blockades set up by the police, the protesters managed to enter the Red Zone. The protesters who entered the Red Zone included women, some of whom were rounded up and shifted to the police station. The participants of the protest continued to chant slogans against the alleged rigging during the elections. The police stopped the protesters from moving towards the Sindh Assembly. During the clash, the videos of male and female protesters being arrested and put into police vans went viral on social media. Source and Full Story
  

• February 16, 2024: Unidentified armed pillion riders killed Hidayat Lohar, a Sindhi nationalist leader, teacher, political activist, and campaigner against enforced disappearances in Naseerabad, Sindh province. The police were reluctant to register the case several hours after his assassination. He was the father of the Voice for Missing Persons of Sindh leaders Surath Lohar and Sassi Lohar. Mr. Lohar disappeared between April 2017 and May 2019 and was declared a missing person. However, the family called it an enforced disappearance. Mr. Lohar and his family reported repeated police intimidation for their activism in the past. The family called the murder the targeted killing and denied personal enmities. NewsDesk  Motive: Undetermined 
  

• February 11, 2024: NORTH WAZIRISTAN: Two National Democratic Mov­e­­ment workers were killed and 15 others, including party cha­irman Mohsin Dawar, injured when police allegedly opened fire on a protest in Miramshah Cantonment on Saturday. The protest was being held outside the RO’s office over delayed election results in the National Assembly constituency NA-40, where Mr Dawar was a candidate.NDM’s provincial chairperson Bushra Gohar condemned the “cowardly attack” on Mr Dawar and held the ECP responsible for the incident, Dawn.com reported. February 29, 2024: Mr. Dawar reported the death of the fourth victim, Yousuf Khan, due to his injuries. March 6, 2024: Mr. Dawar updated on the incident: “The police refused to file our FIR against the attack on us after which we went to court. The police have informed the court that they have filed an FIR against us. We were attacked, we were injured, our friends were killed and a fake FIR has been lodged against us."
  

• January 29, 2024: Karachi police on Monday registered a case against PTI workers and leaders under terror charges for “resorting to vandalism” during what it called was an “unlawful assembly” at Teen Talwan in Clifton a day earlier. On Sunday, dozens of PTI workers were arrested as they took out rallies and processions on the call of founder Imran Khan. The power show was the first major party gathering since May 9 — when violent protests erupted across the country following Imran’s arrest. Over 20 PTI workers were arrested in Karachi yesterday after clashing with police at the Teen Talwar monument. According to the police, the party didn’t have an NOC to hold a rally in the so-called Red Zone. Meanwhile, the PTI said it had “informed” the district administration about their gathering, adding that other parties were holding rallies on the sites of their choice, but they were being deprived of this constitutional right. Source and Full Story.
  

• January 28, 2024: Police arrested 15 protesters affiliated with the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) for demanding the release of their leader, Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, in Lahore, the Punjab province. The police said the arrests were made over violation of Section 144. NewsDesk. Section 144 prohibits gathering of four or more people in the concerned area. Pakistani authorities arbitrarily and widely use Section 144 to avoid lawful protests and rampant impose ahead of general elections, scheduled for February 8, 2024. PTM claims the representation of the rights of those affected by the war against militancy and what the PTM believes oppressions of the armed forces in the tribal areas. February 7, 2024: Mr. Pashteen was released from Attock jail.  
  

• January 26, 2024: The residents of Gilgit Baltistan (GB) closed their businesses and observed a wheel-jammed protest to demand the status of a province for GB, protection for the environment, termination of Sehat (medical) card, finance bill, and against an increase in the wheat subsidy. Awami Action Committee (AAC) had organized the protest. Millions of the residents struggled to use the internet and mobile phones after authorities blocked the networks to hide the protest. The protest continued for over a month. NewsDesk. February 02, 2024: Daily The News reported that the Awami Action Committee (AAC) to continue the protest while rejecting the government's notification to withdraw the recently increased prices of subsidised wheat. Chief Coordinator Awami Action Committee Ehsan Ali Advocate said that the protest is not on one point but for the implementation of the 15-point Charter of Demand. Full Story. Gilgit-Baltistan, formerly known as the Northern Areas, is a region administered by Pakistan as an administrative territory and consists of the northern portion of the larger Kashmir region, which has been the subject of a dispute between India and Pakistan since 1947 and between India and China since 1959.
  

• January 9, 2024: The police booked Khizar Qazi, the Sindh province Vice-Chair of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP). The HRCP reported “HRCP strongly condemns the filing of a police report against its Sindh vice-chair, @khizarqaziKHI, and other rights activists on fabricated charges of sedition after they took part in a rally in Karachi in solidarity with the Baloch Yakjehti Committee, whose members are currently encamped in Islamabad to protest against extrajudicial killings and enforced disappearances.  Source 
  

• January 8, 2024: Police raided the house of the former lawmaker Nisar Panhwar and arrested him and his son Mohsin Panhwar. The police had no warrants or legitimate grounds to arrest the father and son. Mr. Nisar is affiliated with the banned Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM-L), led by self-exiled leader Altaf Hussain. Authorities have intensified arbitrary arrests of the dissents and critics ahead of the Elections, scheduled in February this year. However, Mr. Nisar is contesting the elections as an independent candidate following the government ban on MQM-L to participate in elections. Source   On February 1, 2024, the police registered a case, commonly known as the first information report FIR, after the Sindh High Court (SHC) order. The FIR has the date January 9, 2024, of the occurrence, the day Mr. Nisar and his son Mohsin Nisar were reported abducted, allegedly by the law enforcement agencies (LEAs).     In August 2022, authorities arrested ex-parliamentarian Nisar Panhwar and 17 activists affiliated with the banned faction of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), led by self-exiled leader Altaf Hussain. Mr. Panhwar challenged the media ban on MQM London-based Altaf Hussain in court by saying the media ban violates Articles 4, 17, 19, and 25 of the Constitution. The LEAs released Mr. Panhwar after 42 days of illegal custody. February 20, 2024: Police released Nisar Panhwar and his son Mohsin Panhwar.
  

• January 5, 2024: Police booked Mahrang Baloch, a Pakistani Baloch rights activist, against unlawful enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killing allegedly by the authorities in Balochistan, Pakistan, and Manzoor Ahmad Pashteen, a Pakistani Pashtun rights activist from war-torn South Waziristan. He is the chairman of the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM). The police in rural Sindh province booked both the nationalist leaders and 30 activists over allegations of slogans against the country and the armed forces of Pakistan. The police booked Ms. Baloch, Mr. Pashhteen, and others under section 124-A of the Pakistan Penal Code in Khairpur, Sindh province. Surprisingly, Ms. Baloch and Mr. Pashhteen have never been to the jurisdiction of the Police Station Wadda Machyoon in Khairpur, where the police report has been registered. Mahrang Baloch's father was abducted on December 12, 2009, and never returned. Her brother was abducted in December 2017 and released after three months. Ms. Baloch has struggled to find her father’s whereabouts since adolescence. She, her family, and rights activists allege security forces for the abduction of her father and brother. She is also the leader of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee.  For more details, check our Annual Report 2023 TARGETING DISSENTS, RIGHTS MOVEMENTS, ACTIVISTS, AND PROTESTERS part. NewsDesk. January 24, 2024: The protesters ended the protest.

MINORITIES | BLASPHEMY | TRANSGENDER COMMUNITY 

• July 2024: Pakistani Muslim Shiite (Shia) community reported harassment and intimidation during the Muslim month of Muharram. The local administration banned indoor and outdoor Shiite religious rituals in Dera Ismail Khan (DI Khan), Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The police arrested a Shiite man and forced him to sign an affidavit that he would not organize Majlis (Shiite religious gathering) at his house in Ghaziabad, the Punjab province. Muharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. The 10th day of Muharram, called Ashura, is revered equally by all Muslim sects. However, Muslim Shiites mourn the death of Prophet Muhammad's grandson, Hussain Ibn Ali, who was martyred in Karbala on October 10, 680. Hussain Ibn Ali was martyred in a battle by the rival groups of the Muslims. Most Muslims term the battle a fight between good and evil and believe the martyrdom of Hussain Ibn Ali is the victory of righteousness. NewsDesk  RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 
  

• July 20, 2024: OKARA; Eighteen people were arrested while 134 were booked on Friday for attacking a police station after an alleged blasphemy incident at village Behlolpur. Sections of the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) were added to the case, in which 29 suspects were nominated. Earlier, a man was booked in another FIR on charges of setting the pages of the Holy Quran on fire. As per the first information report (FIR), the complainant was passing through Behlolpur when he saw a village resident allegedly burning the pages of the Holy Quran along a mosque wall. When the alarm was raised, the village men rushed to the site. Hujra police responded quickly, arrested the suspect and registered a case against him. As the news spread, a mob gathered outside the police station and attacked its building. The police had to shift the arrested suspect to a safer place. Man accused of blasphemy also booked in separate case. As per the second FIR, on Thursday midnight, a mob carrying rods, bricks, stones and weapons gathered outside the police station, chanting slogans against the police. They demanded the handover of the suspect who had allegedly burnt the pages of the Holy Quran. The police assured the mob that the suspect would face the law, but the protesters started throwing stones at the building, breaking its window panes. Contingents from other police stations were called to control the mob. On the report of SHO Farrukh Shahzad, a case was registered against 134 people. Eighteen of them were arrested after their identification through geo-fencing, agency reports and the National Database Regulatory Authority (Nadra). www.dawn.com

• July 14, 2024: Banned religious group Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP) attacked Shia Muslims with bricks, iron rods, and chairs in Haripur, District in Hazara, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The fundamentalists attacked the Shia community in a religious procession and left over 18 Shias injured. The Sunni cleric Maulana Haq Nawaz Jhangvi founded SSP, a Sunni-Deoband, absolute intolerant group, in September 1985 amid rising Sunni-Shia conflicts with the name Anjuman-e-Sipah-e-Sahaba, in Jahng, the Punjab province. The group continued changing its name to operate. In 1989, Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan, and in 2003, Ahle Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ). Since 2012, dozens of ASWJ activists have been killed in encounters and by unknown assailants across the country. Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) again banned this religious group in 2012. According to dawn.com, “the ASWJ is led by its president Maulana Mohammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, and is a key part of the Difa-i-Pakistan, or Defence of Pakistan, Council (DPC), a coalition of around 40 religious and ultra-nationalist parties. The ASWJ was formed after the government of former president General (retd) Pervez Musharraf banned a handful of religious parties, including the Sipah-e-Sahaba in 2002. The Lashkar-e-Jhangwi (LeJ), another splinter group of the Sipah-e-Sahaba led by Hafiz Saeed, has also allegedly been involved in terrorist acts, and is reported to have links with the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as well.” NewsDesk

• July 01, 2024: Minority rights activists and groups monitoring abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages reported that eight Hindu girls, Paras Maheshwari, Radhika, Indira, a minor girl Sri****, three sisters Chandni, Roshni, and Paramesh Kumari became the victims of abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages in June 2024, in Sindh and the Punjab province. During the same period, fundamentalists continued to use blasphemy to attack and intimidate minorities and opponents to settle personal animosities. A local cleric filed a police report of alleged blasphemy for the destruction of a mosque against 31 members of the impoverished Hindu Bheel community in Islamkot, Tharparkar, Sindh province. Another fundamentalist, Asif Ali, filed a police report under blasphemy laws against a Christian woman, Jamila Bibi, in Lahore, the Punjab province.  A Christian boy, Chand Masih, was booked for blasphemy over the alleged intention to desecrate the Muslim Holy Book, while his sister Zanira was subjected to abduction and forced marriage with the abductors. The reports unfolded that Chand had resisted the crime against his sister. Each year, as many as 700 Hindu and Christian girls, mostly minors, are kidnapped in Pakistan, while many cases remain underreported. The court rulings often side with the kidnappers as police collude with the criminals. The majority of the victims belong to underprivileged families. The rapists use marriage and forced conversion to Islam as a convenient method to get away with rape charges of minority underage girls. The Islamabad High Court (IHC) banned marriages below 18, which carries a penalty of up to Rs200,000, and three years and rigorous jail time for the facilitators. However, the kidnappers have been filing fake evidence of the victim's age, and the courts have been accepting the paper admissible despite the objections and alternative proofs of age from the kidnapped girl's parents. POLITICAL MEDDLING: Sindh province is ruled by the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), predominantly consisting of wealthy landowners with political inheritance. PPP vehemently protects the Bhutto family and the vested interests of its members while people continue to beg for clean water, medical, transportation, jobs, security, and cleanliness. Mian Abdul Haq, commonly known as "Mian Mitthu," is the ringleader of forced marriages and forced conversions of underage minority girls in the Sindh province also belongs to the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP). NewsDesk  

• July 2024: Pakistani Muslim Shia (Shiite) rights activists reported the increased enforced disappearances of community members during the past few months. The activists reported the alleged enforced disappearances of Dr. Muhammad Ali Naqvi, Engineer Syed Mumtaz Hussain Rizvi, student Rashid Ali, a native of Gilgit-Baltistan, who disappeared from Karachi, and cleric Munir-ul-Hassan Jafari, within the last few months. Another member of the Shia community, Fida Abbas Zaidi, returned after a month-long disappearance. Mr. Zaidi did not share the details of his disappearance. NewsDesk
  

• June 30, 2024: GUJRAT: A 14-year-old suspect who had knifed an elderly man to death over some “sectarian” argument has been arrested by police. A spokesman for Gujrat police confirmed the arrest of Rehan in connection with a murder case lodged against him for killing 55-year-old Nazeer Hussain Shah of Chak Chohdo, Kunjah police precincts, on June 22. The remaining two suspects in the case are yet to be arrested as Faizul Hassan, the father of the main suspect and prayer leader of a village mosque, has been on interim bail from a local court. He was nominated in the case under section 109 of the Pakistan Penal Code. Mian Tayyab, third accused and uncle of Rehan, is still at large. Sources said the main suspect was in police custody on judicial remand. dawn.com

• June 20, 2024: A mob consisting of religious fundamentalists shot dead a man, Muhammad Ismail, son of Qamar Aziz, over blasphemy allegations in Maydan, of Swat district, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. Some people in the local shopping market alleged that Mr. Ismail had desecrated the Holy Book of Islam and handed him over to the local police station. The police locked him up in the police station. The local clerics incited the people to the killing from a mosque loudspeaker. The announcement fueled the people's killing, and thousands of people reached the police station and asked the police for custody of the suspect. The police refused and resisted the mob. However, they attacked the police station and shot dead the suspect in police custody. The police fled the station for their safety while the attackers burnt down the police station and the vehicles parked there. After killing Mr. Ismail, the mob dragged the body on the streets and burnt him alive. The administration had to bring additional force to control the mob in the popular hillside tourist attraction. Mr. Ismail was a tourist, staying in a hotel in Swat and belonging to Sialkot, the Punjab province. NewsDesk  BLASPHEMY    
  

• June 2024: The local administrations and the fundamentalists continued intimidations, threats, and arrests and deprived the Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community of slaughtering animals on Eid-ul-Adha, a mandatory religious ritual for Muslims. Slaughtering animals on Eid is part of the Muslim faith, but religious fundamentalists deny accepting Ahmadis as MUSLIMS. Armed members of the terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) fired at, desecrated, and destroyed the minarets and arch of an Ahmadi worship place in Kotli, Pakistani-controlled Kashmir, on June 17, 2024 (Eid day). At least ten Ahmadi men were arrested, including a 13-year-old Ahmadi boy for keeping a lamb (the police seized the lamb), and an Ahmadi man who was slaughtering an animal in his house, after someone reported that to TLP in the Punjab province. NewsDesk  RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATECRIME  The Sunni majority makes up 76-80% of the total population of Pakistan and vehemently refuses to call Ahmadis (Ahmadiyya or Qadyani) Muslims. The Sunni forced Ahmadis not to bury their dead bodies in the Sunni cemeteries. The Ahmadis are subjected to prolonged persecution in Pakistan. A former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, declared Ahmadiyya or Qadyani “non-Muslim,” in 1974. Since then, hundreds of the members of the Ahmadiyya community have been killed, thrown in jails, and deprived of employment opportunities. Tens of thousands have left Pakistan. Since the declaration, the Ahmadiyya community has been subjected to continuous persecution and discrimination by the succeeding governments and vigilantes. Ahmadiyya community is not allowed to call their worship place a masjid (mosque) like the rest of the Muslims. It is also a punishable offense for Ahmadis to call themselves Muslim refer to their faith as Islam or use references from Muslim books. Another former military Chief and President Zia-ul-Haq added Sections 295B, 295C, 298A, 298B, and 298C as part of his Islamic revolution and to promote Sunni Islam, and likewise sects Deobandi, Hanafi, and other fundamentalists bred radicalized in particular in the Madrassahs of India, Bangladesh, and Pakistan; all three countries were unified until 1947 under the British Raj. Under Sections 298-B & C of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC)." Section 298-C of the PPC prohibits the Ahmadiyya community from identifying themselves as Muslims. Under Section 298-C of PPC, "Any person of the Qadiani group or the Lahori group (who call themselves "Ahmadis" or by any other name), who directly or indirectly poses himself as a Muslim, or calls, or refers to, his faith as Islam, or preaches or propagates his faith, or invites others to accept his faith, by words, either spoken or written, or by visible representations, or in any manner whatsoever outrages the religious feelings of Muslims, shall be punished with imprisonment of either description for a term which may extend to three years and shall also be liable to fine."  NewsDesk
  

• June 17, 2024: Religious fundamentalists, mostly affiliated with Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), attacked, desecrated, and destroyed 17 graves belonging to the Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community in Basti Shukrani, Bahawalpur district, the Punjab province. NewsDesk RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATE CRIME 
  

• June 12, 2024: The police in uniform, accompanied by the attackers in plainclothes, desecrated and destroyed the minarets of a worship palace belonging to the Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community in Jahman, Lahore, the Punjab province. The wee hour's attack violated Article 20 of the Pakistan constitution and the Supreme Court of Pakistan 2014 ruling of the then Chief Justice of Pakistan, Tassaduq Hussain Jillani. On August 31, 2023, The Lahore High Court Justice Tariq Saleem Sheikh also ruled the structure of the Ahmadiyya worship places built before 1984 cannot be demolished or altered.  RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATE CRIME  NewsDesk 
  

• June 12, 2024: The district administration in Chakwal has decided to pre-emptively detain three members of the local Ahmadiyya Community ahead of Eidul Adha on the pretext that these individuals may indulge in "unlawful activities and acting in a manner prejudicial to the public safety or the maintenance of the public order." The Chakwal Deputy Commissioner Quratulain Malik, on June 10, 2024, issued three notifications (Nos 2253-2255), approving the detention of three individuals under Section 3(1) of the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance 1967. The three individuals are Tahir Ahmed, Malik Naveed Ahmed and Riaz Ahmed Malik. All three are residents of the Dulmial in Tehsil Choa Saidan Shah. In the notice, the Chakwal District Police Officer told Deputy Commissioner Malik that these men "may cause deterioration for law and order situation in the area" while describing the individuals as "miscreants." The notification further said that the matter had been discussed in the district intelligence committee, which met on June 10, 2024, and unanimously recommended "that in order to prevent society from their (sic) activities, which are quite detrimental to public peace and tranquility, sectarian harmony, as well as law and order situation, it is very necessary that they (sic) may be detained under section 3(1) of the MPO, 1960." "Considering the above-mentioned grounds given by the district police officer Chakwal and evidence of his conduct being prejudicial to public peace as depicted in the report of the district police officer, Chakwal, I am fully satisfied that in order to prevent the said person from acting in any manner prejudicial to public safety or the maintenance of public order, their detention is necessary and expedient in public interest." Source and Full Story

• June 11, 2024: Three Christian sanitary workers, Yunus Hidayat, Badal Gujrati, and Yunus Masih, died on the job in a septic hole due to a lack of oxygen, safety gear, and inhumane working conditions in Tando Mohammad Khan, Sindh province. In another brutal incident, a man, Khadim Hussain, and his sons badly tortured a Christian sanitary worker, Yasir Masih, with iron rods and tied him in chains in a sweltering Sun with a heat index (like) of 50 Celsius in the Gujjarpura area of Lahore, the Punjab province. The attackers wanted Yasir to do a job he was not assigned for. In March 2024, sanitary workers Amjad Akhtar, Qadeer Naeem, Sadiq, and an unidentified worker in Karachi and Asif Masih and Shaan Masih died in Faisalabad due to exposure to the toxic fumes while doing their jobs. The religious fundamentalists brutally tortured Workers Union Leaders Asif Yousaf in Gujranwala and Abrar Salhotra in Faisalabad for raising their voices for sanitary workers. The Sanitary workers, predominantly non-Muslims, work in very unhygienic, inhumane, and insulting conditions in Pakistan. They are forced to go into the small man-holes filled with raw sewage, holding their breaths and without a single protective gear. The Union Councils and the City administrations continue to ignore the deaths and danger faced by the sanitary workers in return for meager wages and brutal working conditions. There are only two percent of Christians in Pakistan. However, over 90 percent of sanitary workers are Christians.  NewsDesk  
  

• June 08, 2024: A 19-year-old fundamentalist, brainwashed by the known terrorist outfit Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP)s’, open and repeated calls to kill Ahmadiyya Muslims, killed two members of Ahmadi faith, 64-year-old Ghulam Sarwar and 30-year-old Rahat Bajwah in Mandi Bahauddin, the Punjab province. According to the Punjab Police, Two men belonging to the Ahmadiyya community were shot dead in two strikes by a 19 years old religious student in Phalia tehsil of Mandi Bahauddin district on Saturday afternoon. Community spokesperson Aamir Mahmood told Dawn the killings took place in same locality with a difference of 20 minutes. He said the attacker in both the cases was a student of a religious seminary in the same locality as its teachers were involved in hate speech campaign against their community. He said Ghulam Sarwar, 64, of Saadullahpur locality was on way home after having afternoon prayers at the community worship place when a youth opened fire at him opposite his house. He died on the spot as the attacker left the scene. The victim was a father of six. In second strike, Rahat Ahmad Bajwa (30), a cook at a centre in the locality, was shot at by the same accused. A father of two, Bajwaa died on the spot. When the locals alerted police, it chased the attacker and arrested him. Mandi Bahauddin District Police Officer (DPO) Ahmad Mohyyuddin told Dawn the police caught the attacker and recovered the pistol. He said suspect Ali Raza, 19, had confessed to killing the two members of the minority community. He said the suspect claimed that he had listened to different speeches against the minority community on social media platforms like Youtube and Facebook which made him to carry out the killings. The DPO said the teenager had bought a pistol as he wanted to kill every Ahmadi.He said the suspect belonged to the same locality and knew about the religious beliefs of the slain. He said the case was registered against the suspect under terrorism charges. He said the police would also look into possible involvement of other person(s) in the case. Punjab IGP Dr Usman Anwar sought report from the Gujranwala RPO and instructed Mandi Bahauddin DPO to form a special team to conduct a probe.The community spokesperson said a hate campaign had been launched for the last few weeks ahead of Eidul Azha in a bid to stop their community from observing the occasion. He said the religious seminary belonged to Ahal-e-Sunnat and its head teacher was continuously propagating against their religion and hurling threats of dire consequences.He said several hate videos were viral on social media against their community over observing Eidul Azha. He said speakers were hurling threats of dire consequences but the state was not taking any action against them. Motive:  KILLED FOR BEING AHMADI/ AHMADIYYA
  

• June 03, 2024: A Christian man, Mr. Masih, who was attacked by the mob, succumbed to his injuries and died at a hospital.  On May 25, 2024, religious fundamentalists affiliated with the violent Jihadi group Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) destroyed the house of a Christian man Nazir Masih, burnt his shoe factory to the ground, and brutally tortured him with clubs, stones, and kicks over allegations of desecrating the Holy Book of Islam, in Mujahid Colony, Sargodha, the Punjab province. The angry mob destroyed many houses and partially damaged a local church. The mob tried to burn Mr. Masih alive after severe torture, but the police rescued him and two more families. Mr. Masih was treated for injuries, and his condition was stable. The violent mob also attacked the police and their vehicles. According to the Punjab Police “Sargodha police claimed on Monday to have arrested more than 100 suspects for mob violence and attempt to lynch a Christian man three days ago. Earlier, a case was registered against 44 nominated and 300/400 unidentified suspects on behalf of the state under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 and sections of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC). Sargodha District Police Officer (DPO) Dr Assad Malhi told Dawn that more than 100 suspects had been arrested in the case. He said investigations were underway with the focus on determining the extent of the damage and identifying those responsible for the issue. “The police are working tirelessly to ensure that all aspects in the case are thoroughly examined and that justice is serve​d.” Minister lauds police for saving families in Mujahid Colony incident Mr Malhi said that in addition to the investigations, community engagement was also underway in the area to address the root causes of the incident and prevent similar occurrences in the future. For the purpose, he added, the police were working closely with the local community leaders and religious scholars to promote interfaith harmony and understanding. He said police had employed the best possible strategy to ensure safety of the 10 people who were being surrounded by the unruly charged mob and safely transported them to a secure location. “No death or loss of life happened and the police also ensured the safety of the family of the targeted man and prevented the situation from escalating further,” the DPO said. Meanwhile, Punjab Minister for Minorities Affairs Ramesh Singh Arora on Monday visited the site of the mob violence in Mujahid Colony to gain insight into the situation. Speaking to the media, he described the incident as heart-wrenching and an attack on the Constitution of the country. He shared that Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz had issued directions for all possible measures for saving human lives. Responding to a question, he revealed that the cases had been registered under terrorism charges against 250 to 300 unidentified individuals involved in the incident. “Based on solid evidence, police have arrested 44 suspects, out of which 33 have been remanded in judicial custody,” he added.”  Two weeks later, and under extreme pressure from the radicals affiliated with Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), the court granted bail to at least 66 individuals accused of killing Nazir Masih.  NewsDesk  Blasphemy June 21, 2024: Nazir Masih’s widow died of shock and trauma.
  

• May 2024: Two members of the Muslim Shia community were targeted over alleged blasphemy in the province of Punjab, Pakistan. A known fundamentalist affiliated with a banned religious organization axed to death a Muslim Shia cleric Taqi Shah, over alleged blasphemy in Jhang. In another incident, fundamentalists accused Tanseer Haider, a member of the Muslim Shia community, of blasphemy over a Facebook post in Chak 264, Toba Tek Singh. BLASPHEMY 
  

• May 2024: At least 14 members of the impoverished Hindu Thori community converted to Islam at the shrine of the Bharchundi, led by the fundamentalist cleric Mian Mitho. Thori, likewise the Bheel community, is among the most marginalized and underprivileged communities of Hinduism. Within a few weeks in May 2023, at least two hundred members of the Hindu Bheel community were converted to Islam in Halejvi Dargha and Mirpurkhas, the Sindh province. Hindu and religious rights activists termed the conversions forced. Bheel is one of the most impoverished Hindu communities in Sindh and is often victimized by forced conversion, kidnapping of underage girls for forced marriages, and deprivation of justice. Converting to Islam somehow protects the Hindu community from injustice and kidnapping of the young girls. NewsDesk  RELIGIOUS FREEDOM / FORCED CONVERSION 

• ​May 2024: Thousands of the residents of Chaman continued their protest against the new rules of passports for crossing the border into Afghanistan since October 2023. The residents appealed to the government of Pakistan to continue to accept the national identity and tribal cards for travel to meet families and relatives and feed livestock. Chaman is a city and the headquarters of the Chaman District in Balochistan, Pakistan. Chaman is located near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border, and the residents and their families live on both sides of the border in the mountainous terrain. Authorities detained and banned many nationalists from entering the area. At least three people have died in the clashes between protesters and the security forces. NewsDesk

• May 06, 2024: The police booked 27 members of the transgender community and 20 unknown individuals under different sections of the criminal code after an inquiry committee report in Gujrat, the Punjab province. Dozens of The Trans community members had allegedly attacked, rampaged, hustled the policemen, and dragged the furniture out of the Saddar police station in Gujrat after police arrested a Trans woman Hira, and her male partner, and allegedly tortured them before their release. The duo and other members were coming back from a party late at night when police stopped them. The police claimed and circulated video clips of a compromise with the Trans community after the alleged arrest and torture meted out to Hira and her partner. However, the transgender community still attacked the police station. The police booked the policemen, over allegations of raping Hira. NewsDesk
  

• May 03, 2024: Four unidentified assailants riding motorbikes shot and injured two Transgender persons Zahid, alias Mehek and Kamran alias Jia, on Kohat Road, Peshawar, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (KP). The victims were returning after performing in a celebration late at night. The injuries of Mehek and Jia are non-life-threatening. The police have taken some suspects into custody. NewsDesk  Motive: Undetermined 
  

• May 1, 2024: Minority rights activists and groups monitoring abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages reported four minor Christian and Hindu girls, Parisha Kumari, Sania Ameen, Neena, Yarosha Masih, and a minor Hindu boy, Soojal Meghwar became the victims of abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages in April 2024. The number of victims may be higher than reported. The police largely remained reluctant to take timely action and, in some cases refused to register a police report. NewsDesk. 
  

• May 01, 2024: The Gujranwala police have registered a case for holding a majlis inside the Imambargah. According to the case, the procession was being held at Gujranwala Imambargah when the police stopped the procession. When the mourners asked for the justification, the police administration said that there are many people living in this area and their feelings are being hurt. The mourners say that Shias and Sunnis are united in Gujranwala and there is no sectarianism here. Shiite.news

• April 24, 2024: Fundamentalist lawyers affiliated with extremist groups such as Tahreek-e-Labik Ya Rasool-ul-Allah (TLYR) forced the Karachi Bar Association to cancel celebrations of Holi organized by the Hindu lawyers in the premises of the City Court. The TLYR said that Holi is not allowed in Islam. Every year, fundamentalist groups resist and, in many cases, use force to stop minorities from celebrating their festivals. Edited Source  RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 
  

• April 2024: Leaders and members of religious extremist groups, vigilantes, and clerics continued to disseminate hate against minorities with the silent approval of the succeeding governments. The hate speeches are made in public and openly threaten minorities and critics with beheadings, blasphemy charges, and public hanging with bounties. At least 98 percent of the blasphemy allegations are the outcome of personal enmity and misunderstandings and attract more fundamentalist followers. The religious extremist group Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), responsible for killing many civilians and members of the law enforcement agencies (LEAS), seized and destroyed the Federal buildings and main highways of the country and caused billions of rupees in damages to the public remained a frightening group for minorities. Pakistan has repeatedly surrendered to the demands of TLP. The hate speeches are being delivered across the country, including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Sindh  More.  March 31, 2024 / April 02, 2024 / April 03, 2024  May 15, 2024  May 17, 2024  May 29, 2024  May 31, 2024  June 02, 2024  June 11, 2024   June 01, 2024  June 04, 2024  June 10, 2024  June 27, 2024  June 28, 2024  NewsDesk    
  

• April 13, 2024: In a heart-wrenching ordeal in Lahore's Defense Housing Authority (DHA), 13-year-old Saim Liaqat Randhawa, a Christian teenager, faced a terrifying brush with forced conversion. As he made his way to a local barbershop, Saim encountered a security guard, Qadir Khan, who aggressively challenged his faith. Saim, a young boy full of innocence, found himself diverted from his usual path near Baoowala Burki Road, where he and his family live, into the upscale confines of DHA. It was there that the unthinkable happened. Khan forcibly removed Saim’s cherished cross necklace, symbolizing his Christian faith, and insisted that Saim accompany him to a mosque to partake in Islamic rituals. The tension peaked when a vigilant neighbor noticed the distressing scene and stepped in, providing Saim a fleeting chance to break away from Khan’s hold. Tragically, the respite was short-lived as Khan managed to subdue Saim once more, this time using drugs to render him unconscious. Later that evening, some local children discovered Saim, disoriented and alone, near the Learning Alliance American School. They helped him find his way back to the safety of his family’s arms. This episode not only marks a personal crisis for young Saim but also casts a shadow on the broader issue of religious freedom and safety in the community. Unedited  Source 
  

• April 11, 2024: The police arrested Pastor Ilyas Masih over blasphemy allegations in Gujranwala, the Punjab province. 
  

• April 03, 2012, was a tragic day for the Shia community of Pakistan. A passenger convoy traveling from Rawalpindi to Gilgit was stopped at Chilas by the extremists who identified Shia passengers by their names, ID cards, and marks of Matam on their backs. They brutally killed about 12 Shias. One of my friends, who was lucky enough to survive this attack, once told me that a violent mob placed a heavy stone on the belly of a Shia youngster and threw him into the Indus River. The faces of these terrorists can easily be seen in the video, but most of them are free and have even carried out similar attacks since then. Edited 
  

• April 1, 2024: Minority rights activists and groups monitoring abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages reported five minor Christian girls, Alisha Bibi, Mahek, Roshani Shakeel, and Muskan Masih, became the victims of abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages in March 2024. The number of victims may be higher than reported. The police largely remained reluctant to take timely action and, in some cases, refused to register a police report. NewsDesk. 
  

• March 2024: Within days, members of the transgender community were attacked in Karachi. The first incident occurred in the busy area of Johar Mor. An angry mob attacked the members of the transgender community, assaulted them, and threatened to kill them. The second incident was reported in Nazimabad, where a man attacked a transgender person with a knife. No arrests were made, nor serious injuries were reported.  HATE CRIME
  

• ​March 21, 2024: A Session court judge sentenced a Muslim woman Asiya Bibi, to life imprisonment over blasphemy under section 295-B of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) over allegations of desecrating the Holy Book of Islam in Lahore, the Punjab province. The police case (commonly known as the first information report FIR) was registered by the Hayer area police in 2021. The defense and the accused vehemently denied the charges and questioned the police authority to file an FIR instead of the other person. The judge found the argument that the accused is mentally unfit not supported by the admissible evidence. Pakistan’s blasphemy laws carry death punishment for the accused guilty of insulting the Holy Book, Prophets, Prophets’ families, and wives.  NewsDesk  BLASPHEMY   

• March 15, 2024: Religious fundamentalists intensified a hate campaign against the Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community in Faisalabad and adjoining neighborhoods of the Punjab province. The fundamentalists gathered in different parts of the city, calling for brutal beheadings and derivations of public services, including healthcare for Ahmadis. Pakistan Medical Association displayed banners in front of the Allied Hospital urging authorities to deny medical care to the members of the Ahmadiyya community. NewsDesk  RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATE CRIME  
  

• March 15, 2024: SWAT: The members of Christian community in Swat staged a protest against desecration of graves by unidentified people in Shagai area on Wednesday night. Led by Shakeel Sadiq, Robert John, Ihtisham Maseeh, William Maseeh, Zakariya Maseeh, Baber Shehzad and Saqlain Shahzad, scores of members of Christian community attended the protest in Mingora. They showed annoyance over desecration of the graves of their community members. The protesters said a four-kanal and five marla plot had been allocated for the graveyard of Christians in Shagai area of Saidu Sharif. They said that five bodies were buried there but the government failed to compensate the landowner, putting the graveyard at risk. “Last night, unidentified persons vandalised three of the five graves. We are deeply saddened by the disrespect shown to our graves,” stated the aggrieved community members. Source ad Full Story  HATE MOTIVATED CRIME

• March 12, 2024: Religious fundamentalists attacked, desecrated, and destroyed the tombstones of the two graves belonging to the Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community in Kotli district of the Pakistani-controlled Jammu and Kashmir. One of the graves belonged to a soldier, martyred at the world’s highest battlefield, “Siachen,” in the Pakistan-India conflict in 1988. In February 2024, More than 50 armed attackers demolished four minarets of an Ahmadi worship place in Kotli and injured at least seven people, including a woman. Religious fundamentalist groups, such as Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), have been inciting violence against the Ahmadiyya community with the silent approval of the succeeding governments. NewsDesk  RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATE CRIME   
  

• March 9, 2024: A court in Pakistan awarded the death penalty to a 22-year-old student and a life term to a teenger accused of blasphemy, according to reports. An additional district and sessions judge on Friday announced the sentences in the case of the student and a 17-year-old boy in Gujranwala over videos and photos sent over the phone. Source and Full Story
  

• March 06, 2024: Unidentified armed assailants killed a transgender person, Umar Nawab alias Asma, and injured two trans persons, Maqsood alias Garma and Irfan alias Bijli, and a passerby, Ibrar within the limits of Faqeerabad police station, Peshawar, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province. The neighborhood predominantly housed the transgender community. The police were investigating the crime. NewsDesk Motive: Undetermined 
  

• March 05, 2024: Unidentified attackers shot and injured Haji Ramzan Ali, the Vice President of the Shia Ittahad Council, in front of his home in Hazara Town, Quetta, Balochistan province. Mr. Ramzan succumbed to his injuries the next day. The killers fired several bullets when Mr. Ramzan responded to the knocking at the door. Some Shia activists alleged a banned religious group for the murder. However, a police investigation was underway. Mr. Ali would lead his community in religious rituals. NewsDesk. Motive: UNDETERMINED.    
  

• March 4, 2024: Pillion riders shot dead Tahir Iqbal, the president of the Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community in Chak-84 village, Bahawalpur. Mr. Iqbal, a landlord, was out for a morning walk and succumbed to his injuries on the spot. The Ahmadiyya community termed the killing part of the increased violence, hate against the community in Pakistan, and repeated death threats from religious extremist groups. The police termed the murder Honor Killings and alleged the deceased was in a relationship with a woman, and her relatives warned him repeatedly. However, the police were trying to find out whether the murder was linked to Mr. Iqbal's faith. The police have registered a case and searching for the killers. NewsDesk. In April 2024, The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) confirmed that the killing of Mr. Tahir Iqbal was faith-based. RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATE CRIME
  

• March 3, 2024: An Islamist school teacher accused two Shia schoolgirls of blasphemy for allegedly discarding some pages bearing names of the Prophet Muhammed's (PBUH) Companion in Jaswal, District Chakwal of the Punjab province. Their direct motive for accusing these girls is to free their nephews who killed the girls' cousins. The teacher's nephews had killed the accused's cousins in Oct 2023. Edited  Source  
  

• February 28, 2024: A group of around 20 individuals attacked, desecrated, and demolished the minaret of a worship place belonging to the Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community in Dastagir, Karachi. The attackers snatched the guns from two policemen guarding the mosque and took them hostage to finish the religious-based hate crime. NewsDesk  RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATE CRIME  
  

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• February 25, 2024: An angry mob in Pakistan accused a woman who wore a dress adorned with Arabic calligraphy of blasphemy, after mistaking them for Quran verses. She was saved by police who escorted her to safety after hundreds gathered. She later gave a public apology. The dress has the word "Halwa" printed in Arabic letters on it, meaning beautiful in Arabic. Blasphemy is punishable by death in Pakistan. Some people have been lynched even before their cases go on trial. Police told the BBC they first received a call at about 13:10 local (08:10 GMT) on Sunday that a crowd had gathered around a woman at a restaurant in Lahore, the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab. Source and Full Story

• February 20, 2024: A 14-year-old minor girl S******* was abducted by a 50 yr old man Y*****, raped and forcibly married in Balochistan province. Her mother is requesting for the recovery of her daughter. Edited Source 
  

​​           FreedomTalk.net does not disclose the names of rape victims. We disclose only convict’s names after being convicted in the court of law and our experts believe the due process has been                   followed by the courts.

• February 15, 2024: Sectarian Tensions Escalate as Sunni Activists Lodge Blasphemy Case Against Shia Individuals in Narang Mandi, Punjab In a disturbing turn of events, Sunni activists in Narang Mandi, Punjab, have filed a blasphemy case under Sections 298A and 298 against six Shia individuals, accusing them of insulting Islamic Caliph Umar Ibn Khattab in a video circulated on WhatsApp. The incident adds fuel to the existing fire of sectarian divides, highlighting the deep-rooted tensions that persist in certain regions. The accusations, stemming from a video shared on a private messaging platform, have raised concerns about the potential misuse of blasphemy laws and their impact on inter-sectarian relations. Source and Full Story 
  

• February 13, 2024: A 72-year-old Christian in Pakistan was arrested and charged with blasphemy on Saturday (Feb. 10) based on a false accusation filed in retaliation over a property dispute, sources said.Younis Bhatti, known as Bhagat, was charged with desecrating the Quran under Section 295-B of Pakistan’s blasphemy statutes, which carries a mandatory life sentence, in village 211-RB, Jaranwala Tehsil, Faisalabad District, Punjab Province, said Asher Sarfaraz, chief executive of Christians True Spirit (CTS). Source and Full Story 
  

• February 12, 2024: In a disturbing post-election development, the Christian community in Chak 6-11-L, neighbouring Sahiwal Harappa, became the target of violent attacks by local Muslims. The clashes erupted over the community's support for the @president_pmln in the general elections held on February 8, 2024. Arshad Masih, 55, recounted the events leading up to the assault. His son, Ansar Gill, 30, was attacked by supporters of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf @PTIofficial for voting for PML-N. This initial confrontation turned violent when the victorious PML-N candidates, Rana Riaz and Mian Ashraf, were celebrated by the Christian community. The situation escalated dramatically on February 12, around 2 am, when several assailants, both local and unidentified, attacked Christian homes in retaliation for the election results. The attackers used petrol bombs and firearms, targeting the homes of prominent community members, including Pastor Hashmat Masih and Tahir Gill. Source and Full Story 
  

• February 12, 2024: An Ahmadi man, Wajid Hussain, sustained serious injuries after miscreants attacked the worship place of the Ahmadiyya community and demolished its minarets and arch (mehrab) in Kotli district of Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) on Monday. More than 50 attackers equipped with hammers, shovels, and sticks stormed the worship place and demolished its four minarets. Two of the attackers also fired shots in the air to spread fear among the community. An Ahmadi woman named Zahida Parveen was also injured during the attack on their worship place in broad daylight. The injured have been shifted to District Hospital Kotli for first aid. The community has submitted a written complaint about the incident to Kotli police. It is pertinent to mention here that opponents of Jamaat-e-Ahmadiyya were demanding the demolition of minarets of Ahmadis’ worship place (Ahmadiyya Bait Ul Zikr). They had given the administration an ultimatum to demolish minarets until December 16, 2023; otherwise, they would attack the worship place and demolish themselves. It is pertinent to mention here that on November 24, 2023, miscreants demolished the minarets of Ahmadis' worship place in Kotli.  Source  In the later updates, the activists claimed that the assailants injured 8 Ahmadi men and 5 Ahmadi women during this assault. 
  

• February 01, 2024: LAHORE: The Ahmadi community has announced dissociation from the general elections. Community’s spokesperson Amir Mahmood said currently there is one voter list that includes all religious groups including Muslims, Hindus, Christians, Zoroastrians, and Sikhs, whereas in the case of Ahmadis, a separate voter list is being prepared bearing the title “Qadiani Men/Women”, and termed it an attempt to disenfranchise Ahmadi citizens from the electoral process.  Source  
  

• January 29, 2024: Armed religious fundamentalists affiliated with Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) tortured the men who were digging the grave for a dead person, Fazal Kareem, belonging to the Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community in Sehwala, Shaikhupura, the Punjab province. The graveyard has a designated spot for Ahmadis, with two graves already there. As the participants of the funeral, both Ahamdis and non-Ahmadis started burying the body, a cleric affiliated with the TLP returned to the graveyard and contacted other members of the TLP. The TLP members gathered, tortured the funeral participants, and buried the digging tools in the grave instead of the body. The police intervened and de-escalated the situation. Later, the body of deceased Fazal Kareem was buried more than a hundred kilometers away in Rabwah. NewsDesk.  RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATE CRIME  Over the years, Pakistan has been surrendering to the demands of Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP), a party of violent religious fundamentalists, overt supporters of blasphemy laws, and anti-minority Shia and Ahmadiyya. TLP used every opportunity to seize the streets of large cities in the country to terrorize minorities. The TLP has killed and injured several civilians and law enforcement officers, destroyed federal and public properties worth billions of rupees, and brought the country to a halt in 2017, 2018, 2020, and 2021. In November 2021, fearing the seizure of the capital city of Islamabad and the parliament, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) unbanned TLP and released all the detainees, including those who were charged with the killings of civilians and at least 12 policemen. Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) banned the coverage of TLP occupation and attacks to hide the killings and destruction. In June 2023, the coalition government of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) surrendered to the demands of TLP and agreed on speedy trials for blasphemy accused, de-notify all Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA) and Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) notifications against the TLP, and the accused under 295C would also be charged under the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) Section 7, and technology to filter the blasphemous material from social media. In August 2023, The Senate amended the Pakistan Penal Code 1860 and the Code of Criminal Procedure 1898 to increase the punishments for those who disrespect Ahle Bait or Sahaba-e-Karam (family and friends of Prophet Muhammad). The amendments were celebrated by the radicals while minorities feared more deaths and destruction. 
  

• January 24, 2024: The Muslim minority Ahmadiyya (Ahmadi) community reported that the provincial Punjab police desecrated the tombstones of Ahmadi graves in Musay Wala Daska, the Punjab province. The government of Punjab had allotted the graveyard to the Ahmadi community.  Source  In another incident the very same day, the police desecrated another Ahmadi graveyard and sprayed black paint on the tombstones of Ahmadi graves in Bharoke, the Punjab province. Source  RELIGIOUS PERSECUTION / HATE CRIME
  

• January 1, 2024: Minority rights activists and groups monitoring abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages of minority girls reported at least five incidents of abductions, forced conversions, and forced marriages in December 2023. Three minor Hindu girls, Anita Meghwar, Indra, and Jaishree Kolhi, were allegedly abducted, converted, and married to the abductors. One minor Hindu girl, Narna Bheel, and a married Hindu woman Premi, and her child were abducted from different parts of the Sindh province. 

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES |  EXTRAJUDICIAL KILLINGS  

ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCE IS A VIOLATION OF MANY INTERNATIONAL LAWS INCLUDING UNGA RESOLUTION 65/209 OF 2006 AND ARTICLE 10 OF THE CONSTITUTION OF PAKISTAN

• July 1, 2024: Baloch missing person activists and Baloch rights groups reported the enforced disappearances and kidnappings of at least 19 Baloch men during June 2024. The names of the individuals; Noor Ullah S/O Seedhan Bugti, Shah Hussain S/O Tarkwan Bugti, Sewa S/O Fazal Muhammad, Anees Baloch, Khair Ullah S/O Murad Bugti, Yaqoob S/O Siddique, Dr. Shahid and his cousin, Saifullah, Jaffar S/O Malhar Bugti, Asif S/O Qasim, Ali Ahmad S/O Zareef, Barham Dag S/O Nawaz; disappeared 2nd time, Abdul Rasheed Marri S/O Malik Dad, Abdullah (14-year-old), Khaliq S/O Gul Hussain Bugti; his father Gul Hussain Bugti, disappeared in 2012, Bahadur S/O Bashir Ahmed, Mohammad Arif S/O Pir Bakhsh, and Dr. Abdul Hai Baloch S/O Mohammad Aslam. Late Updates: Muhammad Hayat Mengal S/O Shah Nazar Khan, disappeared on May 22, 2024, Shah Faisal Mengal S/O Jan Muhammad, disappeared on February 05, 2022, Farooq Sakhi, disappeared on May 28, 2024, with five other individuals, except Sakhi all other returned, Abdul Latif Bangalzai, disappeared on September 19, 2023. Returned: Kamran Baloch, disappeared on May 16, 2024; Nusram S/O Pir Bux and Yazir S/O Ghani, disappeared on October 12, 2023, and Farooq Sakhi Dad, Short term disappearances: Gold medalist student Hanif Baloch and his brother Saeed Baloch, students Danish Iqbal and Farhad. Friends and rights activists allege security forces for enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests.

• June 28, 2024: Haroon Mehmood has been missing for the last 15 years. The court also ordered to provide security to the petitioner. The petition seeking recovery of missing Haroon Muhammad of KP came up for hearing before a single bench of IHC led by Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb Thursday. The Deputy Attorney General (DAG) filed a copy of the FIR in IHC. The FIR mentions officers of intelligence agencies in the report. The incident which occurred in 2009 was registered in Jamrud police station after 15 years. The federal government also sought four weeks for payment of compensation amounting to Rs30 lac to the family of the missing person. The court accepted the federal government’s plea and remarked if the compensation was not given, the salaries of the defence and finance secretaries would be attached. thenews.com 

• June 07, 2024: Unidentified armed men abducted Chairman Village Council Khadi 2, Kamal Shah, in North Waziristan. The National Democratic Movement (NDM) alleged security forces for abduction. NewsDesk 
  

• June 1, 2024: Baloch missing person activists and Baloch rights groups reported the enforced disappearances and kidnappings of at least 30 Baloch men during May 2024. The names of the individuals; Rahimo Bugti and his son Amiro, Shezad S/O Ubaid, Dawood Abdul Wahab, Hayat Baloch S/O Naku, Dost Ali S/O Dosten Bugti, Balach S/O Shahmore Bugti, Dilshad S/O Abid Hussain, Yasin S/O Ghulam Mustafa Bugti, Saleh S/O Hazar Khan Bugti, Yousuf S/O Zahoor, Popal S/O Lal Bux Bugti, brothers Amjad and Ali S/O Din Muhammad, Mehboob S/O Yar Jan, Taj Muhammad S/O Muhammad Ibrahim, Baloch S/O Dil Murad, Abdullah S/O Abdul Qadir, Saad S/O Musa, Farhad S/O Ghafoor, Muhammad Salah S/O Tariq, Imtiaz S/O Iqbal, Waeem S/O Hassan, Aijaz S/O Umeed, senior citizen Abdul Rhim, Tariq S/O Murad Jan, Hakim S/O Majid, Muhammad Hayat Mengal S/O Shah Nazar Khan,  Shahyaq Baloch and Farooq Baloch.  Short-Term Disappearances: Kamran Baloch. Returned: Balochi poet Sakhi Sawar, disappeared on June 5, 2023; Munshi S/O Wadera Roshan Bugti, was disappeared on July 16, 2023; Arif and Afzal, disappeared for over a year. ​Late updates: Shah Faisal Mengal S/O Jan Muhammad was disappeared on February 05, 2022. Friends and rights activists allege security forces for enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests.

• May 1, 2024: Baloch missing person activists and Baloch rights groups reported the enforced disappearances and kidnappings of at least seven Baloch men during April 2024. The names of the individuals; Israr Ahmed, Mushtaq Ahmad Mohammad Shahi S/O Naveed Ullah, Aziz, Jamil Umer (Deputy Convener of the Turbat Civil Society), Sana Baloch, Dilsard S/O Bodal, and Sajjad Azam. Discovered: Law Enforcement agencies (LEAs) confessed the Custody: Muhammad Rahim Zehri, disappeared on February 3, 2023, with his wife Rashida Bibi. Bibi had returned after eleven days. LEAs confessed his custody and transferred him to jail. SourceFriends and rights activists allege security forces for enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests.
  

• April 1, 2024: Baloch missing person activists and Baloch rights groups reported the enforced disappearances and kidnappings of at least seven Baloch men during March 2024. The names of the individuals; Bilal Ahmed S/O Muhammad Bux, Shoib Buzdar S/O Muhammad Khan, Muhammad Asif S/O Muhammad Khan, Balach S/O Dara, Shoib Ahmed S/O Behram , Riaz Ahmed S/O Fateh Muhammad, Saddam Hussain. Short-Term Disappearance: Khuda Dad S/O Siraj Ahmad. Returned: Asim S/O Muhammad Azam and Wahab Kurd. Friends and rights activists allege security forces for enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests. The Human Rights Council (HRC) of Balochistan has alleged in its 2023 annual report that “The Human Rights situation in Balochistan during 2023 was marked by grave violations, with 601 cases of enforced disappearances and 525 reported killings. This report is based on verified data, representing only a fraction of the actual incidents due to limited internet access in many areas.”  
  

• March 1, 2024: Sindhi rights groups and nationalists reported the enforced disappearance and arrests of Faisal Wagen. Short-Term Disappearance: Anwar Bruhdi, Vice Chairman Jeay Sindh Tehreek. Returned: Ameer Jamali. Friends and rights activists alleged the arrests, raids, and police cases are politically motivated and linked to the individual’s political affiliations and the security forces for enforced disappearances. Translation & Edited by Ali. H. Chang
  

• March 1, 2024: Baloch missing person activists and Baloch rights groups reported the enforced disappearances and kidnappings of at least 21 Baloch men during February 2024. The names of the individuals; Mohsin Hassan S/O Abul Hassan, Mir Zaman Samalani S/O Shah Zaman, Ahmad Nawaz S/O Khudai Rahim Samalani, Abdul Wahab Kurd, Wajid Baloch, Salam Baloch, Gul Khan Shikari and his son Miran, (Gul Khan Shikari another son Nawab Imran, and nephew Najeeb Mullazai, have been abducted and still missing), Zahid S/O Muhammad Akhtar, Taaekondo gold medalist Haroon Baloch, Nasir Dinar Zai S/O Muhammad Alam, Sarwar S/O Muhammad Jumma, Sher Jan S/O Azeem, Muhammad Ayub Kurd S/O Bashir Ahmad, Naveed Kurd, Ali Jan S/O Musa, Waheed S/O Rasheed, Qambar S/O Tahir, Tariq S/O Mir Hussain Langhani, Abdullah Shah Marri S/O Mehrab Marri and Sajid Samalani S/O Muhammad Ishaq ( his brother Nisar Ahmad missing since June 15 ). Short-Term Disappearance: Sanaullah S/O Khuda Bux Bangalzai, student Muhammad Amir Alizai, and Imtiaz Aleem Baloch. Late updates: Fateh Khan Samalani S/O Muhammad Rahim disappeared from his home in Quetta on May 24, 2023. Returned: Barhamdag Nawaz, Wahid Bux, Liaquat Sasoli, Abdul Malik Samalani, and Muhammad Jan S/O Peer Jan. Source  Friends and rights activists allege security forces for enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests. 
  

• February 3, 2024: Baloch activists claimed that the two bodies of the seven dead bodies brought to the Civil hospital were the victims of the enforced disappearances. Zrumbesh Urdu claimed that both Bashir Ahmed Marri S/O Haji Khan and Arman Marri S/O Nihal Khan were abducted on June 2, 2023. 
  

• February 1, 2024: Sindhi rights groups reported the enforced disappearance and, arrests of at least 30 Sindhi nationalist men during January 2024. The names of the individuals; Kamran Khokhar, Arbab Bheel (political activist), Zahid Dahri, Pathan Khan Zohrani, Bilal Sher, Saeed Tanio, Waqr Dahani, Asif Sangi, Rehman Dino Mahesar (lawyer), Ameer Jamali, Irshahd Noohani, Muhammad Kousi, Faqir Ijaz Gehe, Sajan Malukani, Shaukat Malukani, Naeem Malukani, Syed Uzair Shah, Sain Ayoub, Insaf Dahi, Kashif Tagar, Murtaza Junejo, Suhail Raza Bhatti, Mohan Meghwar, Sarwech Noohani, Zafar Chandni, Allah Wadai Mehar, Dr. Fateh Muhammad Khosa, Faqir Ijaz Gahi, Syed Aziz Shah and Naveed Mirani. Booked: Ghani Aman Chandio, Amir Mangrio, and Ali Raza Brohi. Short-Term Disappearance: Qurban Imrani. Friends and rights activists alleged the arrests, raids, and police cases are politically motivated and linked to the individual’s political affiliations and the security forces for enforced disappearances. Translation & Edited by Ali. H. Chang
  

• February 1, 2024: Baloch missing person activists and Baloch rights groups reported the enforced disappearances and kidnappings of at least 22 Baloch men during January 2024. The names of the individuals; Ghulam Rasool S/O Suleman, Suhail S/O Moosa, Aziz S/O Mehar Dil, Balach S/O Rauf, Imam Jan S/O Sawali, Hassan S/O Asif, Jasim S/O Mohammad Bux, Ismail S/O Jumadar, Sala Bugti S/O Gago Bugti, Balochi poet Qasim Malar, Ismail S/O Shahi dad, Hafeezullah S/O Abdul Hameed, Aslam S/O Karim, Hammal S/O Qadir Bux, Ghous Bux S/O Miran Bux Bugti, Rahim Dad S/O Haji Bugti, Atta Ullah S/O Gohar Khan Bugti, Faisal S/O Hanif Bugti, Shah Hussain S/O Shah Gul, Akhtar Balanzai S/O Aman Ullah, Wahid Bux S/O Pir Muhammad, and Mehboob Baloch. Short-term Disappearance: Bahadur S/O Chakar Sakna. Returned: Badeen and Jibran. Late Updates: Ali Ahmad Shahwani S/O Noor Ahmad, a police officer, disappeared while on his way home from work in Ziarat Balochistan on July 26, 2021.  Source  Friends and rights activists alleged security forces for enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests. 
  

• January 1, 2024: Baloch missing person activists and Baloch rights groups reported the enforced disappearances and kidnappings of at least 30 Baloch men during December 2023. The names of the individuals; Balochi singer Diljan Deedar, his brother Shah Hussain, and Cousin Yasir Ghulam; Zulfiqar Baloch, Sakim (student), Salman (student), Amir, Zubair (student), Abdullah Saleh (Baloch Raj leader), Asif Baloch, Miraj Khalid, Jamil Baloch, Maqsood S/O Gheram, Asif S/O Khair Bux, Miraj S/O Nasir, Bazoo S/O Mehran Bugti, Nazar Ali S/O Bazeer, Noorullah S/O Seedan Bugti, Ali Jan S/O Tosho Bugti, Ghulam Mustafa S/O Mehar Ali, Mir Ahmad S/O Nazar Muhammad, Shafi S/O Dreehan Bugti, Qadir Bux S/O Wahid Bux, Iqbal S/O Saeen Bux Bugti, Rasool Bux S/O Ghulam Rasool Bugti, Pasindar S/O Rehmat Bugti, Chitta S/O Sahib Marri, Khair Jan S/O Mehar, Muhammad Aslam Baloch, and Muhammad Jan S/O Peer Jan. Short-term Disappearance: Badeen and Jibran. Returned: Jan Muhammad Kurd returned after nine years. Late Updates: Naqibullah Jamaldini S/O Khairullah, missing since January 7, 2023, from Noshki, Balochistan. Family, friends, and rights activists alleged security forces for enforced disappearances and arbitrary arrests. 
  

CENSORSHIPS | BANS | FINES

• July 09, 2024: ISLAMABAD: The federal cabinet on Monday authorised the Inter-Services Inteligence Agency to intercept calls and message or trace a call in the interest of national security or in apprehension of a crime. According to sources, the cabinet approved the summary through circulation. The gazette notification (S.R.O 1005(I)/2024 said, “In exercise of the powers conferred under section 54 of the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 (the Act), the Federal Government in the interest of national security and in the apprehension of any offence, is pleased to authorize the officers not below the rank of grade 18 to be nominated from time to time by Inter-Services Intelligence (IS!) to intercept calls and messages or to trace calls through any telecommunication system as envisaged under Section 54 of the Act.” The text of the sections: 54. National Security.—(1) Notwithstanding anything contained in any law for the time being in force, in the interest of national security or in the apprehension of any offence, the Federal Government may authorize any person or persons to intercept calls and messages or to trace calls through any telecommunication system. (2) During a war or hostilities against Pakistan by any foreign power or internal aggression or for the defense or security of Pakistan, the Federal Government shall have preference and priority in telecommunication system over any licensee. (3) Upon proclamation of emergency by the President, the Federal Government may suspend or modify all or any order or licences made or issued under this Act or cause suspension of operation, functions or services of any licensee for such time as it may deem necessary.Provided that the Federal Government may compensate any licensee whose facilities or services are affected by any action under this sub-section. thenews.com

• June 08, 2024: ISLAMABAD: Over 44,000 social media accounts and posts were removed or blocked from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube from January 2023 till now by the authorities, The News has learnt. Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) while talking to this correspondent revealed that under the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) 2016, a total of 44,418 unlawful social media accounts and posts were blocked or completely removed from different social media platforms. The data shared with The News reflected that from January 2023 up till now, the highest number of content (post or account) under the PECA law is removed from Facebook which is followed by YouTube and Twitter respectively. A total of 20,829 unlawful facebook posts and accounts have been removed or blocked from the said platform by PTA.From YouTube, a total of 12,776 posts, videos or YouTube accounts have been blocked or removed by PTA during the said period of time. Whereas from Twitter, a total of 10,813 twitter posts or accounts were blocked or completely removed from the platform during January 2023 till this date. In 2016, the National Assembly enacted the PECA law to provide a comprehensive legal framework to define various kinds of electronic crimes, mechanisms for investigation, prosecution and adjudication in relation to electronic crimes. Talking to The News, a source in PTA explained that under PECA 2016, the PTA has been empowered to remove or block online content if it considers it necessary in the interest of the glory of Islam, the integrity, security and defence of Pakistan or any part thereof, public order, decency or morality, or in relation to contempt of any court or commission. Source 

• May 30, 2024: PESHAWAR: In a bid to improve the performance of the cops, Senior Superintendent of Police (Operations) Kashif Zulfiqar has restrained the police personnel from uploading videos on social media platforms including TikTok. An order issued by the SSP operations on Thursday said the police personnel will not share videos on social media platforms even if they are related to any arrest. “TikTok videos affect the performance of the police [officials],” read the order. It also warned that the strict action will be taken against those found violating the instructions. The ban was imposed after opposition and treasury benches members criticised the police officials over the TikTok videos, as per sources. Source and Full Story 

• May 18, 2024: The police and law enforcement agencies (LEAs) banned the Participants, journalists, students, and panelists from entering the Quetta Press Club and locked the doors. Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) has organized a conference titled ‘Fencing Gwadar - From Mega Project to Mega Prison.’ The provincial government of Balochistan is erecting a fence around the 24 square kilometers of Gwadar city with an estimated cost of $ 60 billion, with hundreds of surveillance cameras and foolproof security. The Reason behind fencing is to protect the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) from the Baloch separatists. The Baloch alleged the provincial government of Balochistan is not doing justice to locals in CPEC by not providing jobs in the projects, depriving them of their livelihoods of fishing, and displacing them from their ancestral lands. China is one of Pakistan’s saviors from economic meltdowns, defaults, military needs, and hostile attacks. However, the Baloch separatists, supported by the big Baloch landlords and foreign elements used suicide bombers to kill Chinese citizens and Pakistani forces in intermittent attacks. The terrorists have killed hundreds of Chinese citizens and professional and Pakistani force members on duty to protect the Chinese citizens. In March 2024, the terrorists killed five Chinese engineers and their driver in Besham; The Baloch Liberation Army suicide wing, Majeed Brigade, tried to attack Gwadar Port Authority (GPA) and Pakistan's second largest naval airbase, PNS Siddique, in Balochistan. The security forces thwarted both attacks. The terrorist attacks in Dasu, Tarbela, and several other places in Pakistan over the years have killed dozens of people. In April 2022, a suicide bomber killed three Chinese tutors and a Pakistani driver in a suicide bombing near Karachi University's Confucius Institute. The separatist Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) claimed the attack. NewsDesk

• May 17, 2024: The media was restricted from covering the oath-taking ceremony of the acting Supreme Court (SC) Justice Muneeb Akhtar. President Press Association of Supreme Court and senior journalist Mian Aqeel Afzal reported that the police informed the media that the registrar of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SC) imposed a rigid ban on media from entering the SC. However, the beat reporter of the SC said that "there is no ban on media." 
  

• May 17, 2024: The Supreme Court has issued contempt of court show-cause notices to Senator Faisal Vawda and MNA Mustafa Kamal over their allegedly derogatory speeches against the judiciary. A three-judge bench of the court, headed by Chief Justice of Pakistan Qazi Faez Isa and including Justice Irfan Saadat and Justice Naeem Akhtar Afghan, took up a suo motu case on Faisal Vawda's press conference of May 15 wherein he took a jibe at the judges who alleged interference in judicial matters. The additional attorney general appeared before the bench. The Supreme Court adjourned the contempt of court suo motu hearing till June 5. Contempt notices were issued to both politicians following their press conferences on May 15 and 16, respectively. The court has demanded responses from Vawda and Kamal within two weeks, and has also sought records of their press conferences from the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (Pemra). In retrospect, the court decreed, there had been contempt of court, and summoned both Vawda and Kamal. CJP Isa emphasized that the comments made by the two leaders appeared to undermine the dignity of the judiciary. "We continued to show restraint, but there is a limit," he asserted. "I have taken oath under the Constitution, have you ever heard an insult from me against parliament? Parliament is supreme," the chief justice remarked.  Source and Full Story  June 28, 2024: The Supreme Court accepted Faisal Vawda and Mustafa Kamal formal apologies.  

• April 26, 2024: ISLAMABAD: An Accountability Court Thursday barred former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife Bushra Bibi from making statements in the courtroom against the state institutions and authorities. The court issued a comprehensive order on a petition filed by Imran Khan for a fair trial. Judge Nasir Javed Rana ordered Imran and his spouse to avoid speaking against the state institutions in the courtroom. According to the order, the PTI chief made provocative political statements against the senior officials of state institutions, including the army, judiciary and the army chief. The order added that such statements disrupt judicial decorum and also obstruct judicial functions such as the dispensation of justice. The order further stated that during the jail trial of PTI founder, the media will limit its reporting on the court proceedings and not report statements of the accused. Source & Full Story

• April 5, 2024: The Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) prohibited all its employees from interacting with all forms of media. The FBR has imposed an immediate ban after unauthorized and sometimes misleading media interactions of its staff with the media. NewsDesk
  

• March 26, 2024: Senior Journalist Hamid Mir alleged on his verified X account that the “Prime Minister of Pakistan and Minister of Defense reached the Chinese Embassy to condole the deaths of five Chinese engineers killed in a terrorist attack in Pakistan, and the Foreign Office also condemned the attack. However, the Pakistan media has been ordered to censor the mentions of Chinese Engineers in the headlines. Instead of controlling the terrorists, Pakistan is controlling the country’s weak media, alas!”   
  

• March 12, 2024: ISLAMABAD: The Punjab home department on Tuesday imposed a two-week ban on prisoner visitations as well as media coverage at Rawalpindi's Adiala Jail, which houses high-profile political figures including PTI founding chairman and former premier Imran Khan. In orders issued to the Punjab police chief, the department maintained that the decision was made in light of a 'threat alert' issued for the prison by the law enforcement and intelligence agencies. The department’s Internal Security Wing reported that terrorists – backed by anti-state groups -- wanted to target the prison to spread chaos in the country. Therefore, it added that it was imperative for the department to take the necessary measures to avoid such incidents. Source and Full Story

• March 3, 2024: The state-run Pakistan Television (PTV) censored and muted the speeches of the opposition leaders Mehmood Khan Achakzai, Asad Qaiser, Omar Ayub, and Sardar Akhtar Mengal speech, delivered in the parliament at the ceremony of electing the new Prime Minister of Pakistan. The just-elected speaker, Ayaz Sadiq, affiliated with Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), allegedly ordered the suspension of the National Assembly’s (NA) audio and video system and NA's YouTube channel. The Information Ministry said the PTV Managing Director is the person who makes such decisions. The PTV did not respond to the matter. The opposition, which has taken a temporary name, Sunni Itehad Council (SIC), following the ban on Pakistan Tehreek Insaf's (PTI) signature election symbol, “cricket bat,” was readying to file a privilege motion against state-owned electronic media.  NewsDesk  
  

• February 17, 2024: The Karachi Literature Festival (KLF) canceled the invitation sent to Ronya Othmann, a German author, poet, and journalist, over allegations of her support to Israel and anti-Palestine statements. The pro-Palestine activists had protested and started an online petition against Ms. Othmann's participation. According to a slide at the KLF site, “Ronya Othmann will not be attending KLF, and her sessions, therefore, have been canceled. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.” 
  

• February 8, 2024: Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) had complained that Geo News, ARY News, GNN and Dawn News had violated ECP code of conduct and PEMRA law by conducting exclusive interviews of leaders of various political parties. PEMRA has given the management of the news channels seven days to file a reply in personal hearing after which further action would be taken. Source & Full Story.  NetBlocks, a watchdog organization that monitors Internet freedom, tracking cybersecurity, digital governance of the Internet, connectivity, and democracy, confirmed “Live metrics show a nation-scale disruption to X/Twitter across #Pakistan; the incident comes amid political turmoil after a controversial election held under an internet and mobile network blackout.” 
  

• February 08, 2024: Pakistan blocked mobile phones and disrupted the internet for over 12 hours on Election Day. International watchdogs and rights groups like the United Nations human rights body, Amnesty International, and many other rights organizations have called Pakistan for uninterrupted phone and internet service to ensure the fairness of elections. The communication breakups deprived hundreds of thousands of voter of their rights to the franchise as they struggled to find their names in the voting lists, voting staff lacked the information and failed to contact authorities over intimidations and riggings, and Pakistan came to a standstill. In the past, Pakistani authorities repeatedly blocked the internet to enforce censorship of Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI). Each internet suspension causes colossal damage to the economy. The government of Pakistan said the mobile phone service was suspended due to the loss of the precious lives of people in growing incidents of terrorism and the safety of the citizens. Over forty citizens and law enforcement officers were killed in blasts within a week before Election Day. NewsDesk. 
  

• February 8, 2024: Police officials deployed at a polling station in Lahore barred an Al Jazeera team from entering citing orders from “top management” to not allow any media teams inside the premises. Amid widespread concerns over rigging and manipulation, the Election Commission of Pakistan has issued special passes for observers and journalists granting them permission to “visit polling stations and offices to observe polling and consolidation of results”. Voters are strictly barred from taking mobile phones inside. Source
  

• February 2, 2024: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) blocked Fact Focus, an investigative website focussing on Pakistani affairs. According to Fact Focus, “Eight days ahead of the general elections, Pakistan has blocked the Fact Focus website, an investigative news platform. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) issued a notice to Fact Focus on December 21, 2023, claiming their story on former army General Qamar Javed Bajwa's assets was false and based on hearsay. The notice issued more than one year after the publication of General Qamar Bajwa assets story in November 2022. While referring to General Qamar Bajwa story PTA wrote to Fact Focus, “WHEREAS it has been reported to Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (the “Authority”) that your Website i.e https://factfocus.com (“Platform”) is hosting content with intent to ridicule, defame the Armed Forces of Pakistan, circulated false reports containing rumors or alarming news to promote ill-will in order to provoke anti-state sentiments, cause disharmony, feelings of enmity among masses at large which is prejudicial to the integrity, sovereignty and security of Pakistan.” Fact Focus was in the process of responding to the PTA notice and preparing to release an investigation on the 2024 General Elections on February 03 when the government announced the block. Fact Focus has never propagated anything wrong against Pakistan Army. Fact Focus always reported truth based on facts and documentary evidence. The website came under attack and was taken down. No data or information was compromised. We are making efforts to restore it. However, it will not be available in Pakistan because of the PTA blockade. Undeterred, Fact Focus remains committed to reporting the truth, backed by facts and evidence. Facing censorship, cyberattacks, continuous malicious campaigns by some media houses in Pakistan and legal challenges, Fact Focus vows to fight for freedom of expression and will challenge the PTA's order in courts.”  Source 
  

• January 31, 2024: Multiple online posts claim that authorities have blocked access to the official websites of the political party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), ahead of the parliamentary election on February 8. The claim is true. Source and Full Story
  

• January 20, 2024: NetBlocks, a watchdog organization that monitors Internet freedom, tracking cybersecurity, digital governance of the Internet, connectivity, and democracy, confirmed a nation-scale disruption to social media platforms across Pakistan, including X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube; the incident comes as persecuted opposition leader Imran Khan's political party, PTI, launches its second virtual gathering. This is the third time authorities disrupted the internet and social media to censor Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) public interaction and election campaign. Source  On December 17, 2023: NetBlocks, an internet tracking agency on ‘X’, formerly Twitter said, “Metrics show major social media platforms were restricted in #Pakistan for ~7 hours on Sunday evening during an online political gathering; the incident is consistent with previous instances of internet censorship targeting opposition leader Imran Khan and his party PTI." Source  "Confirmed: Live metrics show a nation-scale disruption to social media platforms across #Pakistan, including X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube; the incident comes just ahead of a major virtual gathering organized by persecuted opposition leader Imran Khan's party, PTI." Source  Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been dismantled by the Pakistani authorities after the May 9, 2023 attacks on military installations. For details, go to Annual Report 2023  ASSAULTS | ARRESTS | HARASSMENT section and check May 9, 2023, and onwards.

• January 19, 2024: Pakistan State-Owned TV, Pakistan Television (PTV) abruptly suspended the live streaming of a Cricket match between Pakistan and New Zealand after the camera captured a fan holding a placard with a picture of the former Prime Minister and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leader, Imran Khan. NewsDesk. Mr. Khan is in jail and Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) has been dismantled by the Pakistani authorities after the May 9, 2023 attacks on military installations. For details, go to our Annual Report 2023 ASSAULTS | ARRESTS | HARASSMENT section and check May 9, 2023, and onwards. 
  

PLIGHT OF MEDIA AND WORKERS 

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• April 30, 2024: Antisemitism and Hate-Speech by a Pakistani media person.
  

• April 30, 2024: A Pakistani media person defended the surveillance in the bedroom.
  

• February 4, 2024: Daily The Nation has not paid wages to its staff for the last three months. The journalists are on strike, and the newspaper printing the news of the other news agencies using byline staff reporters. The newspaper owed 22 months of wages in all.  Source
  

• February 2, 2024: Pakistan's former journalist and media minister, who bitterly criticized opponents before his induction into the Federal Cabinet as a Federal Caretaker Minister for Information, Broadcasting, and Parliamentary Affairs, allotted himself a plot in Islamabad. Source: According to Journalist Waqar Abbasi, “the allotment violated the seniority list.”
  

• January 23, 2024: The National Press Club (NPC) penned a letter to the Islamabad police on Monday requesting the removal of a Baloch rights camp in the federal capital near the club’s premises. Baloch protesters are currently demonstrating in a sit-in organized in front of the NPC by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings. The BYC camp has been established since December 22 and continues to attract more participants despite harsh weather and pressure from law enforcement agencies. Organizers of the Islamabad sit-in have accused the police of harassing their supporters and profiling them as well as registering first information reports against them. Unedited.  Source and Full Story 
  

FREEDOM UNDER ATTACK ON CAMPUSES

• May 2, 2024: LOWER DIR: The Government Postgraduate College, Timergara, has formally directed its female students not to “take part in political gatherings, birthday parties and other extra-curricular activities” on the way to the campus and returning home. The directions issued by the college’s chief proctor, Prof Riaz Mohammad, were circulated the other day. He also asked the parents of girl students to stay in contact with the administration to help improve academic standards. When contacted, chief proctor of the college Prof Riaz Mohammad justified the move, saying it was in the “best interests” of girl students and in line with local customs. He said several unpleasant incidents were reported in some colleges with co-education, so his college took the initiative to prevent them.  Source and Full Story 

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• July 20, 2024: MERGER AND A MANACLED MEDIA
  

• July 17, 2024: FACEBOOK DOWN ON MULTIPLE ISPS IN PAKISTAN, USERS AND OBSERVERS SAY
  

• July 11, 2024: 27 PROMINENT ULEMAS FACE SERMON BAN DURING MUHARRAM 
  

• July 09, 2024: TIKTOK REMOVES 20M VIDEO CLIPS IN PAKISTAN 
  

• July 09, 2024: KENYA COURT RULES POLICE KILLING OF ARSHAD SHARIF UNLAWFUL 
  

• July 07, 2024: KISAN TV TO BE LAUNCHED TO HELP FARMERS COMBAT EFFECTS OF CLIMATE CHANGE 
  

• July 07, 2024: RISE IN MISSING PERSONS’ CASES: PHC SUMMONS KP CM TO EXPLAIN POSITION
  

• July 06, 2024: GOVT GAVE RS16BN ADS TO MEDIA IN FIVE YEARS, SENATE TOLD
  

• July 06, 2024: WHAT IS HAPPENING TO ENCRYPTED DATA FLOWING THROUGH PAKISTAN’S NETWORKS? - THE PRIVACY MYTH
  

• July 05, 2024: CHURCH IN PAKISTAN PLEADS FOR CHRISTIAN SENTENCED TO DEATH FOR BLASPHEMY  - JARANWALA 
  

• July 05, 2024: NA SPEAKER, NAB CHAIRMAN AGREE ON PROTECTING MNAS FROM ARBITRARY ARREST
  

• July 05, 2024:MUHARRAM SECURITY: PUNJAB GOVT SEEKS SUSPENSION OF SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS 
  

• July 04, 2024: CM MARYAM CALLS FOR POLICE ACTION AGAINST BLASPHEMY SUSPECTS INSTEAD OF USING ALLEGATIONS FOR ‘SETTLING SCORES’
  

• July 03, 2024: IMPLEMENTING A SYSTEM TO SPY ON ONE’S OWN PEOPLE IS A PERVERSE ABUSE OF POWER - ORWELLIAN STATE 
  

• July 03, 2024: BILL TO REGULATE SOCIAL MEDIA
  

• July 02, 2024: JOURNALISTS UNDER A CLIMATE SIEGE 
  

• July 02, 2024: THE SURVEILLANCE SYSTEM KEEPING TABS ON MILLIONS 
  

• July 01, 2024: SUPREME COURT ISSUES FRESH SHOW-CAUSE NOTICES TO 34 TV CHANNELS AMID CONTEMPT CASE; ASKED TO SUBMIT EARNING DETAILS 
  

• June 28, 2024: TARAR ASSURES TO FORM COMMITTEE ON JOURNALISTS PROTECTION 
  

• June 26, 2024: PTA PROPOSES LICENSES FOR STREAMING PLATFORMS INLCUDING NETFLIX, YOUTUBE 
  

• June 25, 2024: PAKISTANI JOURNALIST HONOURED: KAMAL SIDDIQI RECEIVES 'JOURNALISTS OF COURAGE & IMPACT AWARD' IN MANILA
  

• June 23, 2024: THE LOST VOICE OF JOURNALISM  
  

• June 23, 2024: RESOLUTION CALLING FOR ACTION OVER VIOLENCE AGAINST MINORITIES PASSED IN NA 
  

• June 21, 2024: SEVERAL AHMADIS DETAINED BY POLICE FOR VIOLATING CONSTITUTION: GUJRANWALA CPO
  

• June 14, 2024: INDIGNITY, DISEASE, DEATH: THE LIFE OF A SEWERAGE WORKER IN PAKISTAN
  

• June 13, 2024: LTN FAMILY GIVEN 30-DAY TIME TO CLEAR JOURNALISTS’ DUES
  

• June 12, 2024: PASSPORTS NOT TO BE ISSUED TO PAKISTANIS SEEKING ASYLUM ABROAD
  

• June 12, 2024: BUDGET 2024-25: GOVT ANNOUNCES HEALTH INSURANCE FOR JOURNALISTS 
  

• June 11, 2024: RELIGIOUS MINORITIES HAVE BEEN MADE INVISIBLE IN OUR ELECTORAL POLITICS - MINORITY RIGHTS
  

• June 09, 2024: FIGHTING FAKE NEWS 
  

• June 08, 2024: ACTING PUNJAB GOVERNOR SIGNS DEFAMATION BILL INTO LAW
  

• June 07, 2024: ADDRESSING CONTEMPT - ERRANT LAWMAKERS MUST PAY A PRICE FOR THEIR AD HOMINEM ATTACKS AGAINST JUDICIARY 
  

• June 07, 2024: FIREWALL BEING INSTALLED TO REIN IN SOCIAL MEDIA 
  

• June 07, 2024: SC HARDENS STANCE OVER CONTEMPT - Observers note CJP Isa's shift on press freedom since taking office 
  

• June 05, 2024: SC ISSUES CONTEMPT NOTICE TO 34 NEWS CHANNELS FOR AIRING FAISAL VAWDA AND MUSTAFA KAMAL’S SPEECHES 
  

• June 05, 2024: CHRISTIAN SANITATION WORKER BRUTALLY TORTURED IN PAKISTAN 
  

• June 03, 2024: GREEN JOURNALIST AWARDS RECOGNITION TO MEDIA SERVICES HIGHLIGHTING CLIMATE ACTION: ROMINA 
  

• June 03, 2024: PAKISTANI MEDIA IN SPOTLIGHT: LIST EXPOSES ALLEGED BAHRIA TOWN PAYMENTS TO JOURNALISTS 
  

• June 02, 2024: BAHRIA TOWN DENIES PAYING JOURNALISTS AFTER ‘FAKE LIST’ SURFACES 
  

• June 01, 2024: ISLAMABAD HIGH COURT QUESTIONS LEGALITY OF TELECOM SURVEILLANCE AMIDST AUDIO LEAK SCANDAL 
  

• June 01, 2024: LABELLING CRITICS AS ‘DIGITAL TERRORISTS’ IS UNLIKELY TO BEAR RESULTS - ANOTHER APPROACH 
  

• May 29, 2024: CHRISTIAN SANITATION WORKER TORTURED IN PAKISTAN
  

• May 27, 2024: OF MOB VIOLENCE AND RELIGIOUS LYNCHING 
  

• May 27, 2024: FACT-CHECK: GOVT COLLEGE IN KP RESTRICTS FEMALE STUDENTS' PARTICIPATION IN EXTRACURRICULAR ACTIVITIES
  

• May 26, 2024: JOURNALIST AND ATHLETE MONA KHAN RELEASED BY GREEK AUTHORITIES, FO CONFIRMS 
  

• May 23, 2024: SINDH GOVT TO BEAR EXPENSES FOR TREATMENT OF INJURED JOURNALIST, SAYS SHARJEEL 
  

• May 22, 2024: ANTI-FAKE NEWS OR ANTI-FREE SPEECH? THE DEBATE OVER PUNJAB’S NEW DEFAMATION LAW
  

• May 21, 2024: MILITARY TRIALS OF CIVILIANS ‘NO-NO’ IN INTERNATIONAL LAW 
  

• May 21, 2024: OUTCRY OVER ‘DRACONIAN’ BILL PASSED BY PUNJAB ASSEMBLY 
  

• May 21, 2024: PAKISTAN’S LEADING RIGHTS BODY EXPRESSES ‘GRAVE CONCERN’ AS PUNJAB PASSES DEFAMATION LAW 
  

• May 20, 2024: MINISTRY, PTA REFUSE TO DISCLOSE DETAILS OF CONTROVERSIAL INTERNET FIREWALL 
  

• May 19, 2024: CLASSROOM OF INJUSTICE - Poverty and lack of facilities has put many children belonging to the Christian community in Punjab out of school
  

• May 19, 2024: SC SAYS AIRING, PUBLISHING CONTEMPT MATERIAL MAY ALSO CONSTITUTE COURT CONTEMPT
  

• May 17, 2024:NEW SECURITY SOPS FOR PARLIAMENT HOUSE: NON-ESSENTIAL PEOPLE, VIDEOS BANNED  
  

• May 17, 2024: PROPOSED SOCIAL MEDIA REGULATORY AUTHORITY: GOVT DECIDES TO CONSULT STAKEHOLDERS 
  

• May 17, 2024: THOSE INVOLVED IN ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES SHOULD BE SENTENCED TO DEATH: IHC JUDGE 
  

• May 17, 2024: MEMON DISTRIBUTES HEALTH CARDS TO JOURNALISTS; PROMISES INCREASE IN GRANTS
  

• May 14, 2024: SC DEEMS INVESTIGATION INTO ATTACKS ON JOURNALISTS ‘UNSATISFACTORY’
  

• May 13, 2024: OFFICIAL SECRET ACT TO BE ENFORCED AGAINST PEOPLE SHARING CLASSIFIED DOCUMENTS’PECA 
  

• May 11, 2024: PAK PRESIDENT ZARDARI GETS IMMUNITY IN TWO CORRUPTION CASES 
  

• May 10, 2024: NAB BARRED FROM ARRESTING MPS 
  

• May 10, 2024: SPYWARE ATTACKS INCREASED BY 300% IN PAKISTAN 
  

• May 09, 2024: BALOCH STUDENTS WANT END TO ‘FORCED DISAPPEARANCE’ 
  

• May 09, 2024: SPECIAL REPORT: MAY 9, MAYHEM AND MILITARY TRIALS — A YEAR ON
  

• May 09, 2024: CITIZENS DEMAND CANCELLATION OF B-FORM CONDITION FOR E-DOMICILES
  

• May 04, 2024: SHARJEEL OFFERS FINANCIAL ASSISTANCE TO JOURNALIST BODIES
  

• May 03, 2024: FEDERAL GOVT ESTABLISHES NEW AGENCY TO TACKLE CYBERCRIME CASES 
  

• May 02, 2024: SURGE IN MILITANT ATTACKS IN APRIL, DECLINE IN HUMAN IMPACT VS MARCH 
  

• May 02, 2024: LEGAL ACTION, ARRESTS, CONTINUED ATTACKS, INTERNET CLOSURES AND REGULATION — A HINDERED AND RESTRICTED MEDIA COVER AN ELECTION YEAR IN PAKISTAN
  

• April 30, 2024: CHANGING TECHNOLOGY AND CHANGING JIHADI STRATEGIES – Urdu Read 
  

• April 23, 2024: WHAT'S BEHIND THE DEADLY SURGE OF VIOLENCE IN PAKISTAN'S BALOCHISTAN?
  

• April 21, 2024: TRANS PERSONS CONTINUE TO FACE OSTRACISATION AFTER DEATH 
  

• April 27, 2024: CENSORSHIP AND DISINFORMATION
  

• April 20, 2024: FAMILY PURSUES JUSTICE FOR CHRISTIAN TEEN KIDNAPPED, FORCED TO CONVERT AND MARRY IN PAKISTAN 
  

• April 17, 2024: X CLOSURE IN PAKISTAN: INTERIOR MINISTRY ORDERED TO REVOKE DIRECTIVES WITHIN WEEK
  

• April 17, 2024: OVER 1.25M URLS BLOCKED OVER OBJECTIONABLE CONTENT, PTA TELLS SHC 
  

• April 16, 2024: GRIEVING FAMILY OF FALLEN SANITARY WORKERS CALLS FOR COMPENSATION AND IMPROVED SAFETY MEASURES
  

• April 11, 2024: PAKISTAN: UN EXPERTS ALARMED BY LACK OF PROTECTION FOR MINORITY GIRLS FROM FORCED RELIGIOUS CONVERSIONS AND FORCED MARRIAGE 
  

• April 09, 2024: ALLEGED CORRUPTION IN JUDICIARY: PHC DIRECTS TI TO REPUBLISH 2023 REPORT BASED ON FACTS 
  

• April 07, 2024: GEO, THE NEWS LONDON REPORTER ON INDIAN RAW'S HIT LIST: REPORT 
  

• April 03, 2024: HRCP RELEASES ANNUAL REPORT ON RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS - June 2022 to July 2023 
  

• April 03, 2024: X CLOSURE: GOVT SAYS CONTENT ON INTERNET THREATENS NATIONAL SECURITY
  

• April 02, 2024:PAKISTAN: CALL ON SUPREME COURT TO DROP CHARGES AGAINST BLASPHEMY ACCUSED ANWAR KENNETH 
  

• April 01, 2024: TIKTOK CRACKS DOWN ON 18.5M REELS FOR VIOLATING ITS GUIDELINES IN PAKISTAN 
  

• April 01, 2024: POLICE LAUNCH PROBE INTO GUJJAR KHAN CHURCH BURNING 
  

• Mar 31, 2024: PUNJAB TO MONITOR ELECTRONIC MEDIA WITH ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE
  

• March 28, 2024: HARASSMENT CASE: SC RESTRAINS FIA FROM ARRESTING JOURNALISTS TILL NEXT HEARING
  

• March 27, 2024: FIA TO WITHDRAW CASES AGAINST JOURNALISTS IMRAN SHAFQAT AND AMIR MIR, AGP ASSURES SUPREME COURT  
  

• March 28. 2024: UNILEVER AND KARACHI PRESS CLUB COLLABORATE FOR CLIMATE JOURNALISM CAPACITY-BUILDING 
  

• March 27, 2024: HRCP ALARMED BY SPY AGENCIES' INTERFERENCE IN JUDICIARY 
  

• March 25, 2024: PAKISTAN: FAMILY OF ABDUCTED 13-YEAR-OLD CHRISTIAN GIRL IN MULTAN CHALLENGES FORCED CONVERSION 
  

• March 24, 2024: 170 WORKERS QUIT ‘NATIONALISTIC’ POLITICS
  

• March 22, 2024: PAKISTAN: ALARMING GENDER INEQUALITY IN ISLAMABAD’S MEDIA ECOSYSTEM STUDY FINDS
  

• March 22, 2024: FACT-CHECK: PAKISTAN TO EXPEL REFUGEES HOLDING AFGHAN CITIZEN CARDS 
  

• March 22, 2024: A WALK THROUGH PAKISTAN’S HALL OF SHAME: ENFORCED DISAPPEARANCES IN BALOCHISTAN
  

• March 21, 2024: X BANNED IN COUNTRY SINCE FEB 17 ON SPY AGENCIES’ REPORTS, SHC TOLD
  

• March 19. 2024: 462 SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS BLOCKED FOR SPREADING RELIGIOUS, ETHNIC HATRED
  

• March 18, 2024: IN PAKISTAN, ARREST OF POPULAR JOURNALIST POSES FRESH THREAT TO VIBRANT MEDIA LANDSCAPE 
  

• March 17, 2024: TARAR VOWS ACTION AGAINST THOSE RUNNING SOCIAL MEDIA CAMPAIGN AGAINST MARTYRS
  

• March 15, 2024: PAKISTAN: CIVIL SOCIETY JOINT STATEMENT RESPONDING TO NETWORK SHUTDOWNS AND PLATFORM BLOCKING
  

• March 13, 2024: PTI’S FAISAL JAVED INDICTED IN JOURNALIST MISBEHAVIOR CASE 
  

• March 08, 2024: X FACTOR: TWITTER BAN HITS BUSINESSES, NEWS IN PAKISTAN
  

• March 07, 2024: CCP WARNS SOCIAL MEDIA INFLUENCERS AGAINST DECEPTIVE MARKETING PRACTICES, VOWS STRICT ACTION
  

• March 07, 2024: OVER 90PC FORM 45 NOT SIGNED BY POLLING AGENTS...IN 2018 ELECTIONS 
  

• March 06, 2024: DODGING CENSORSHIP: VPN DEMAND SURGES ‘6,000% IN PAKISTAN’
  

•  March 06, 2024: IT IS TROUBLING TO NOTE HOW PTV CONTINUES TO CENSOR ‘OTHER’ VOICES - SELECTIVE BROADCASTING
  

• March 05, 2024: GENERAL ELECTION 2024 RECORDS LOWEST FAIRNESS SCORE SINCE 2013: PILDAT 
  

• March 04, 2024:EXPERTS WARN OF ECONOMIC IMPACT AS PAKISTAN SUFFERS SOCIAL MEDIA BAN AMID ELECTION ALLEGATIONS
  

• March 04, 2024: IS TIKTOK’S 'MYSTERY VIRUS' A REAL THREAT OR SOCIAL MEDIA MISINFORMATION FAD? 
  

• March 02, 2024: PAKISTANI BROTHERS ACCUSED OF BLASPHEMY RELEASED
  

• February 26, 2024: SITUATIONER: HOW IS X BEING THROTTLED IN PAKISTAN?
  

• February 21, 2024: CAN PTA REMOVE ‘IMMORAL CONTENT’ FROM SOCIAL MEDIA WEBSITES?
  

• February 20, 2024: RIGGING PETITIONS DROP 340PC
  

• February 20, 2024:POLICE ELEVATES JOURNALIST COLLABORATION FOR PUBLIC TRUST
  

• February 18, 2024: CYBER THREATS SURGE BY 17% IN PAKISTAN IN 2023, GLOBAL RESEARCH REVEALS 
  

• February 18, 2024: FEB 8 POLLS FAILED TO BRING POLITICAL STABILITY NEEDED TO DEAL WITH PAKISTAN’S ECONOMIC CHALLENGES
  

• February 17, 2024:A TAINTED ELECTION PAKISTAN AT THE POLLS 
  

• February 16, 2024: EIU DEMOCRACY INDEX: PAKISTAN DOWNGRADED FURTHER — NOW CLASSIFIED AS 'AUTHORITARIAN REGIME'
  

• February 15, 2024: BUJ TO MOVE COURTS AGAINST WRONGFUL TERMINATION OF JOURNALISTS
  

• February 14, 2024: PAKISTAN PRESS FOUNDATION CONDEMNS SMEAR CAMPAIGN AGAINST JOURNALISTS IN PAKISTAN’S POST-ELECTION TURMOIL
  

• February 13, 2024: PAKISTAN: POLITICAL PARTIES AND SUPPORTERS TARGET JOURNALISTS FOR UNBIASED ELECTION COVERAGE
  

• February 13, 2024S: 27 WOMEN CANDIDATES WON FEBRUARY 8 POLLS — 11 MORE THAN 2018 
  

• February 12, 2024: PML(N) CYBERBULLYING TARGETS FEMALE JOURNALISTS 
  

• February 12, 2024: WHY NAWAZ SHARIF FAILED TO WIN PAKISTAN ELECTION DESPITE TACIT ARMY SUPPORT
  

• February 10, 2024: FAFEN PRELIMINARY ELECTION OBSERVATION REPORT OF GENERAL ELECTION 2024
  

• February 11, 2024: WHAT THE INTERNATIONAL MEDIA HAD TO SAY ABOUT THE ELECTIONS THAT WERE EVERYTHING BUT PREDICTABLE
  

• February 11, 2024: U.S. LAWMAKERS TELL BIDEN NOT TO ACCEPT PAKISTAN ELECTION RESULTS
  

• February 9, 2024: JOURNALISTS CENSURE ECP FOR ‘FARCICAL FAILURE’ IN DELIVERING RESULTS, LAUD PTI FOR DEMONSTRATING ‘POWER OF VOTE’
  

• February 9, 2024: GOVT SAYS 56 INCIDENTS REPORTED ON ELECTION DAY DESPITE SUSPENSION OF CELLULAR SERVICES
  

• February 9, 2024: ELECTIONS IN PAKISTAN
  

• February 9, 2024: PAKISTAN: STATEMENT BY THE HIGH REPRESENTATIVE ON BEHALF OF THE EUROPEAN UNION ON THE GENERAL ELECTIONS 
  

• February 9, 2024: CELLPHONE, INTERNET SERVICES SHUTDOWN DENT PAKISTAN'S MOST EXPENSIVE ELECTION 
  

• February 8, 2024: PAKISTAN: ELECTION-DAY INTERNET SHUTDOWN IS A RECKLESS ATTACK ON PEOPLE’S RIGHTS
  

• February 7, 2024: SOCIAL MEDIA ELECTION: DIGITAL PLATFORMS TAKE CENTERSTAGE IN CAMPAIGN STRATEGY FOR PAKISTAN 2024 POLLS
  

• February 7, 2024: RANKING THE 5 ‘DIRTIEST’ ELECTIONS IN PAKISTAN HISTORY 
  

• February 7, 2024: MEDIA AND MENTAL HEALTH
  

• February 7, 2024:HOW RELIGIOUS DOES YOUR PARTY HAVE TO BE TO WIN AN ELECTION IN PAKISTAN?
  

• February 6, 2024: HOW IMRAN KHAN IS CAMPAIGNING FROM JAIL IN PAKISTAN: AI AND COVERT CANVASSING 
  

• February 6, 2024: UN BODY, AMNESTY CALL FOR INTERNET ACCESS, FAIR PAKISTAN POLLS AS KHAN PARTY BEMOANS ‘HARASSMENT’
  

• February 6, 2024: MEDIA HELPLINE LAUNCHED FOR QUICK REDRESSAL OF JOURNALISTS’ COMPLAINTS: SOLANGI
  

• February 3, 2024: EFFECTS OF SOCIAL MEDIA ON ELECTIONS 
  

• February 2, 2024: GENEVA ENGAGE AWARDS: PAKISTANI MISSION RANKED FIRST FOR SOCIAL MEDIA ENGAGEMENT
  

•  February 1, 2024: ECP PREPARES ELECTION CODE OF CONDUCT DRAFT FOR SOCIAL MEDIA
  

• February 1, 2024: PAKISTAN IS VIOLATING ITS INTERNATIONAL OBLIGATIONS BY EXCLUDING AHMADIS FROM ELECTIONS 
  

• February 1, 2024: 37 BRITISH JOURNALISTS ISSUED VISAS TO COVER PAKISTAN ELECTIONS
  

• January 31, 2024: FACT-CHECK: YES, PTI’S WEBSITES BLOCKED IN PAKISTAN AHEAD OF POLLS
  

• January 29, 2024: CJP DIRECTS GOVT TO STOP ACTION AGAINST JOURNALISTS CRITICISING SC
  

• January 29, 2024: ECP DISPELS FALSE FATWA AGAINST WOMEN VOTING
  

• January 29, 2024: PAKISTAN’S UNTOLD WAR: NO JUSTICE FOR BALOCHISTAN’S DISAPPEARED 
  

• January 29, 2024: ANCHORPERSON ASHFAQ ISHAQ SATTI BOOKED OVER ALLEGATION OF DOMESTIC VIOLENCE AGAINST WIFE 
  

• January 24, 2024: A FIRST-HAND RUN-IN WITH PAKISTAN’S DANGEROUS BLASPHEMY OBSESSION
  

• January 23, 2024:TIKTOK ANNOUNCES MEASURES TO COMBAT MISINFORMATION, HATE SPEECH AHEAD OF PAKISTAN ELECTIONS
  

• January 23, 2024: PAKISTAN GRANTS SPECIAL PERMITS TO INTERNATIONAL MEDIA FOR ELECTION COVERAGE 
  

• January 22, 2024: EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTES CLOSED IN ISLAMABAD AMID TERROR THREAT: SOURCES 
  

• January 21, 2024:REPRESENTATIVES OF PRESS CLUBS, UNIONS FORM ALLIANCE TO RESIST RESTRICTIONS ON MEDIA IN PAKISTAN 
  

• January 21, 2024: COALITION FORMED TO ENSURE FREE MEDIA  
  

• January 21, 2024: FIVE MORE BODIES FOUND IN NORTH WAZIRISTAN
  

• January 17, 2024:MEDIA IN PAKISTAN MORE ‘FREER’ THAN IN WEST: PM KAKAR
  

• January 15, 2024:ARE SOCIAL MEDIA PLATFORMS READY TO COUNTER MISINFORMATION?
  

• January 14, 2024:REGRESSION OF MEDIA IN PAKISTAN
  

• January 12, 2024: JOURNALIST AZIZ MEMON’S KILLER ARRESTED IN KHAIRPUR 
  

• January 9, 2024: HIGHEST NUMBER OF 3,485 MISSING PERSONS REPORTED FROM KP: REPORT 
  

• January 4, 2024: AUTHORITIES REARRESTED MANZOOR PASHTEEN AFTER A COURT GRANTED HIM BAIL
  

• January 03, 2024:PFUJ DECRIES PEMRA FOR BANNING ELECTION SURVEYS 
  

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