Pakistan: National Assembly Extends Ordinance on Protection of Pakistan
(Feb. 11, 2014) On February 7, 2014, the National Assembly of Pakistan, the lower house of the country’s legislature, passed a resolution to extend three anti-terrorism ordinances for a 120-day period, including the controversial anti-terrorism law, The Protection of Pakistan Ordinance (PPO). Among other measures, the PPO grants extensive arrest and detention powers to security […]
Contributor:
Ahmad, Tariq
Date:2014-02-11
Article
Bangladesh; Pakistan: Bilateral Consultations Conducted
(Dec. 3, 2010) On November 1, 2010, Bangladesh and Pakistan conducted consultations at the foreign secretary level concerning a number of longstanding bilateral issues. The two nations established diplomatic relations in 1976. Outstanding issues between the countries include Bangladesh's demands for: an apology from Pakistan for the killing of Bangladeshis by Pakistani forces in 1971; […]
Contributor:
Rahman, Shameema
Date:2010-12-03
Article
Pakistan: Electronic Crimes Prevention
(Mar. 6, 2009) Pakistan's Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance, No. 9 of 2008, became effective on September 29, 2008. The objective of the Ordinance is to prevent any action directed against the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of electronic systems, networks, and data as well as the misuse of such systems. It provides punishments for such […]
Contributor:
Nehra, Krishan
Date:2009-03-06
Article
Pakistan: “Smart Lockdown” Imposed across Cities of Pakistan as Covid-19 Cases Grow Rapidly
(June 25, 2020) On June 13, 2020, the prime minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, announced in a televised address to the nation that a “smart lockdown” strategy would be imposed on certain hot spots across the country “as people’s indifference to the pandemic was jeopardising the lives of old and chronically ill people.” He emphasized […]
Contributor:
Ahmad, Tariq
Date:2020-06-25
Article
Pakistan: Loans to Politicians Waived
(Apr. 2, 2008) On January 21, 2008, the Supreme Court of Pakistan issued a suo moto notice to the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP). The notice was in response to a press report stating that the SBP had approved a scheme in October 2002 (during the military regime of President General Pervez Musharraf) to quietly […]
Contributor:
Nehra, Krishan
Date:2008-04-02
Article
Pakistan: Settlement of Investment Disputes
(Dec. 2, 2007) On July 21, 2007, Pakistan promulgated the Arbitration (International Investment Disputes) Ordinance, 2007, in implementation of the International Convention on the Settlement of Investment Disputes Between States and Nationals of Other States. The new law requires a person seeking recognition or enforcement of an award rendered pursuant to the Convention to register […]
Contributor:
Nehra, Krishan
Date:2007-12-02
Article
Pakistan: Earthquake Damage Reconstruction Authority
(Dec. 2, 2007) On July 12, 2007, the Government of Pakistan issued the Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority Ordinance, 2007, establishing the autonomous Earthquake Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Authority (ERRA). The authority will be responsible for carrying out surveys to assess damage and implement future planning in the affected areas. It will also formulate comprehensive development […]
Contributor:
Nehra, Krishan
Date:2007-12-02
Article
Pakistan: Child Marriage Bill Withdrawn
(Jan. 25, 2016) On January 14, 2016, Pakistan’s National Assembly Standing Committee on Religious Affairs and Interfaith Harmony met to discuss the Child Marriage Restraint (Amendment) Bill 2014. According to a press release, the bill, which was moved by National Assembly Member Marvi Memon, was withdrawn at the end of the discussion. (Press Release, National […]
Contributor:
Ahmad, Tariq
Date:2016-01-25
Article
Pakistan: Order Curtails Supreme Court Powers
(Jan. 2, 2008) On December 4, 2007, the Supreme Court of Pakistan refused to entertain a petition against amendments made to the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority Ordinance (PEMRA), on the grounds that the scope of article 184(3) of the Constitution, under which the plea had been filed, had been curtailed under the Provisional Constitution […]
Contributor:
Nehra, Krishan
Date:2008-01-02
Article
Pakistan: Amendments to Anti-Terrorism Laws
(Apr. 16, 2013) In advance of the dissolution of Pakistan’s Parliament at the end of its five-year term, the Parliament recently passed a series of amendments to and new laws for its existing anti-terrorism legal framework. Anti-Terrorism Financing On March 5, 2013, the Senate of Pakistan passed the Anti-Terrorism Bill 2013, to help bolster and […]
Contributor:
Ahmad, Tariq
Date:2013-04-16
Article
Pakistan: Sharif Brothers Disqualified from Contesting Election
(Mar. 4, 2009) Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan and now head of the nation's largest opposition party in the parliament, and his brother, Shahbaz Sharif, the Chief Minister of Pakistan's most populous province, Punjab, were disqualified from being candidates in elections. The disqualification resulted from the Supreme Court's dismissal of the Pakistani Government […]
Contributor:
Nehra, Krishan
Date:2009-03-04
Article
Pakistan: Penalty for “Cyber-Crime” Enhanced
(Nov. 24, 2008) Cyber-terrorism will be subject to the death penalty in Pakistan, according to a decree issued by the President of the country on November 6, 2008. The Prevention of Electronic Crimes Ordinance will be applicable to anyone who commits a crime detrimental to national security through the use of a computer or any […]
Contributor:
Nehra, Krishan
Date:2008-11-24
Article
Uganda: Terror Charges Against Pakistanis Dismissed
(Sept. 29, 2010) On September 23, 2010, in Uganda, the Nakawa Chief Magistrates Court released two men from Pakistan who had been in custody in the case of the July 11, 2010, bombings in Kampala. Seventy-six people died and many others were injured in the bombing during a World Cup soccer match. The two men […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2010-09-29
Article
Pakistan: Death Sentence for Cyber Crimes
(Apr. 2, 2008) The death sentence may be awarded under Pakistan's new Cyber Crimes Ordinance, 2007, which took effect on December 31, 2007. Crimes set forth in the Ordinance include serious cyber crimes, such as damaging nuclear assets by hacking; cyber terrorism; and swindling and commission of other offenses through cellular phones. A cyber crimes […]
Contributor:
Nehra, Krishan
Date:2008-04-02
Article
Pakistan: Judicial Inquiry into Prison Attack
(Apr. 30, 2012) The Peshawar High Court of Pakistan has ordered a judicial inquiry into a prison attack by armed militants that resulted in the release of 384 inmates, including one prisoner jailed for the attempted assassination of former President Pervez Musharraf. On April 15, 2012, at around 1:15 a.m., hundreds of armed militants attacked […]
Contributor:
Rahman, Shameema
Date:2012-04-30
Article
Pakistan: Court Order Bans Access to Facebook
(May 21, 2010) Based on a petition lodged by the Islamic Lawyers' Movement (ILM), Judge Ejaz Ahmed Chaudhry of the Lahore High Court in Pakistan issued a court order mandating that the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) block access to the Facebook website until May 31, 2010, the date on which a hearing is scheduled, and […]
Contributor:
Zeldin, Wendy
Date:2010-05-21
Article
Pakistan: National Assembly Passes Hindu Marriage Bill
(Nov. 15, 2016) On September 26, 2016, the Hindu Marriage Bill was unanimously passed in Pakistan’s National Assembly, after three previous failed attempts to pass the bill in 2008, 2011, and 2012. (Kalbe Ali, NA Finally Passes Hindu Marriage Bill, DAWN (Sept. 27, 2016); Hamza Ameer, Why Is Pakistan Afraid of Passing the Hindu Marriage […]
Contributor:
Ahmad, Tariq
Date:2016-11-15
Article
Pakistan: National Assembly Passes New Cybercrime Law
(Sept. 21, 2016) On August 11, 2016, Pakistan’s lower house, the National Assembly, passed a controversial cybercrime law called the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016. The Senate had unanimously passed the law, with a number of amendments, in July. (Raza Khan, Cyber Crime Bill Passed by NA: 13 Reasons Pakistanis Should Be Worried, DAWN […]
Contributor:
Ahmad, Tariq
Date:2016-09-21
Article
Pakistan: Balochistan Government Drafts Bill Outlawing Child Marriage
On March 22, 2023, the government of Balochistan province in Pakistan reportedly informed Pakistan’s Federal Shariat Court (FSC) that it had finalized a bill outlawing child marriage and would be submitting it to the provincial assembly for approval soon.Background to the BillThe province of Sindh enacted Pakistan’s first law prohibiting child marriages, called the Sindh … Continue reading “Pakistan: Balochistan Government Drafts Bill Outlawing…
Contributor:
Ahmad, Tariq
Date:2023-04-19
Article
Pakistan: Amendment to Constitution Reduces Presidential Power
(June 15, 2010) Pakistan has amended its Constitution in a manner that shifts power from the President to the Parliament. A bill enacting the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution passed the National Assembly on April 8, 2010, and the Senate on April 15, 2010, and became law when the President signed the bill on April […]
Contributor:
Rahman, Shameema
Date:2010-06-15
Article
Pakistan: YouTube Banned, Other Sites Restricted
(June 29, 2010) On June 23, 2010, after being presented at a hearing with evidence of the reappearance of website content on the Prophet Muhammad and the Koran, a Pakistani court re-imposed a ban on the video-sharing network YouTube and also restricted access to Yahoo, MSN, Hotmail, Google, Islam Exposed, In the Name of Allah, […]
Contributor:
Zeldin, Wendy
Date:2010-06-29
Article
Pakistan: Bill to Reorganize Nuclear, Space Authorities
(Nov. 17, 2009) According to a report in the Lahore newspaper THE DAILY TIMES, on November 11, 2009, Azra Fazal Pechuho, chairperson of the Standing Committee on Defence of Pakistan's National Assembly, proposed a bill in the National Assembly for the establishment of a National Command Authority (NCA). This authority would control the research, development, […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2009-11-17
Article
Pakistan: Bill to Reorganize Nuclear, Space Authorities
(Nov. 17, 2009) On November 11, 2009, Azra Fazal Pechuho, chairperson the Standing Committee on Defence of Pakistan's National Assembly, proposed a bill in the National Assembly for the establishment of a National Command Authority (NCA). This authority would control the research, development, production, and use of nuclear and space technologies. It would also be […]
Contributor:
Johnson, Constance
Date:2009-11-17
Article
Pakistan: Regulatory Authority Bans Two Ramadan Programs
(June 29, 2016) On June 17, 2016, the Pakistan Electronic Media Regulatory Authority (PEMRA), an independent television and radio regulator, banned the transmission of two Ramadan TV specials, as one news report notes, for violating PEMRA’s Electronic Media Code of Conduct rules by “promoting controversial and sectarian views.” (Following Threats, PEMRA Puts a Lid on […]
Contributor:
Ahmad, Tariq
Date:2016-06-29
Article
Pakistan: Hindu Marriage Bill Passed in Sindh Legislature
(Feb. 25, 2016) On February 15, 2016, the Provincial Assembly of Sindh passed the Hindu Marriage Bill 2016, applicable to Hindus and other non-Muslim citizens. It is reportedly the first of its kind in Pakistan. (Hafeez Tunio, Sindh Assembly Becomes First in Pakistan to Pass Hindu Marriage Bill, EXPRESS TRIBUNE (Feb. 15, 2016).) Similar draft […]
