Collection Items

  • 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
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    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
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    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
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    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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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
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    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: 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: 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: 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: 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: 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
    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: 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: "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; Sri Lanka: Free Trade Agreement Meeting to Be Held (July 11, 2011) Pakistan and Sri Lanka held the tenth session of meetings of their Joint Economic Commission from July 4-5, 2011, in Islamabad, Pakistan. At the meetings, the two nations decided to hold a Free Trade Agreement review session in August in Colombo, Sri Lanka, and to discuss trade matters, including a Comprehensive Economic […]
    • Contributor: Johnson, Constance
    • Date: 2011-07-11
  • Article
    Pakistan: Petition for Contempt of Court Against Chief Election Commissioner (Nov. 2, 2007) On October 17, 2007, Wajihuddin Ahmed, a retired judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan (SCP) and a Presidential candidate for election in opposition to President Pervez Musharraf, filed a petition for contempt of court against the Chief Election Commissioner of Pakistan (CEC) for failing to comply with the October 5, 2007, […]
    • Contributor: Nehra, Krishan
    • Date: 2007-11-02
  • Article
    Pakistan: Federal Government Issues Controversial Rules on Social Media Content (Mar. 3, 2020) On January 21, 2020, the federal government of Pakistan issued through a notification the Citizens Protection (Against Online Harm) Rules, 2020, made in accordance with the Rules’ two parent acts, the Pakistan Telecommunication (Re-organization) Act, 1996 and the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016. These Acts appear to be aimed at “exercising […]
    • Contributor: Ahmad, Tariq
    • Date: 2020-03-03