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Wednesday, May 13, 2026
News and Views from the Global South
RIGHTS: Pakistani Christians Under Increasing Threat
Forty-seven-year-old Gulsher Masih has been living in constant fear since fleeing his native village of Chuk Jhumra, near Faisalabad, a year ago.
PAKISTAN: Militancy Takes On a Female Face
On December 25, a female suicide bomber, not more than 18 years of age, blew herself up killing at least 47 people and injuring 105 others.
PAKISTAN: Blasphemy Law Carries Over Into New Year
In the face of protests and a nationwide strike called by hardline religious parties against any changes to the blasphemy law, Pakistani Christians have had little to cheer about over the Christmas and New Year season.
PAKISTAN: When Men Fear Telling Their Wives About HIV
As a peer educator at a local HIV/AIDS organisation, Ahmad (not his real name) has taken care to teach his own wife anything and everything he knows about the disease.
PAKISTAN: Scientists Turn Sights on Childhood Meningitis
She is already eight months old, but Aiman Azam can neither sit up nor clutch anything with her tiny hands. She cannot even hold her neck up or roll on her back. All she does is moan.PAKISTAN: Locals Rue Price to Pay for Role in U.S. Intervention
Kareem Khan probably expected his wife to break down once he brought their 18-year-old son’s body to the women’s section. But when she saw their dead boy, she just smiled and wished him farewell.ENERGY: Cleaner Coal Technology Heats Up in Pakistan
As a dutiful new bride, Rubina Ikram moved into her in-laws’ home lugging a huge dowry that consisted not only of clothes, furniture and linen, but also a wide array of electric appliances – from a DVD player to a washing machine.
PAKISTAN: Too Many Nets, Too Little Fish
The last time Moazzam Khan saw sawfish in the Arabian Sea was in 1984. "At one time, salted and dried fish formed a large part of our exports," recalls Khan, director general of the Karachi Fisheries Department. "In the last 30 years, there may be other marine life that may have vanished of which we may not be aware."PAKISTAN: Death Sentence Revives Calls to Scrap Blasphemy Laws
What began as altercation among farm workers has become a full-blown nightmare for Pakistani mother Asia Bibi, one that points to her being led to the gallows.
RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: For Women, Cyber Crimes Are All Too Real
The Grade 10 student was first drugged, and then four men raped her. The group then apparently tried to extort money from her family. When the family filed a complaint with the police instead, the extortionists in October then posted a cellphone video of her whole ordeal on the Internet.
RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Educated, Glamorous and Wearing A Hijab
They are young, educated, urban women who frequent cafes, shop at ritzy fashion outlets, and go to yoga classes whenever they have time off work.
PAKISTAN: Pneumonia Season Takes Toll on Poor Children
Asleep in her mother’s lap, three-year-old Amna Ghafoor looks at peace with the world. But mother and child are at Karachi’s National Institute of Child Health (NICH), and a plastic cannula inserted in the child’s tiny left wrist is a sure sign that all is not well.
PAKISTAN: Behind Bars, Music and Art Free Prisoners
It’s an odd group of 30 men, all of different ages, crammed together in one room. There’s a man who used to run a computer shop. Another is an ex-car dealer. There’s a tailor and beside him is a truck driver.
RIGHTS-PAKISTAN: Death Row Convicts Bear Brunt of Torture
As if being sentenced to death is not enough punishment, those on death row in Pakistan are also among those being singled out for abuse by jail personnel.
PAKISTAN: After the Bitterness of the Floods Comes ‘Sweet Water’
Pakistan’s recent catastrophic floods has had many alternately worried and depressed, but the indigenous community that calls the mudflats between the creeks of the Indus delta home has been having a decidedly far different reaction.
PAKISTAN: Truck Art Makes For Moving Canvasses on Highways
For Karachi-based event manager Shabnam Abdullah, it is a "primary representation of Pakistan". Quite enamoured with the unique art form, Abdullah has even used it for a few workshops she arranged for her corporate clients.
DEVELOPMENT-PAKISTAN: Torrents of Criticism Greet Flood Tax Proposal
It was meant as an appeal to generous souls, but a suggestion for a one-time tax to help raise funds for Pakistan’s millions of flood victims has instead reminded many Pakistanis of their country’s faulty tax system.
PAKISTAN: When the Doors Are Open, But Women Choose to Stay Away
For five years, Sana Yasir toiled through medical school and then was awarded at the end with a diploma and a bright future. After completing the required year-long clinical practice, however, Yasir got married and quit the workplace.ECONOMY-PAKISTAN: As Floods Recede, Hope Emerges in Next Crop
"The Indus (River) showed us who this country belongs to – and that is, to the Indus," declares economist Haris Gazdar, referring to the recent deluge that wrought untold devastation to Pakistan. "We must respect rivers and not treat them with the contempt we show towards everything else."
PAKISTAN: Floods Bring Out Another Crisis – Maternal Risks
The floods that have submerged one-fifth of Pakistan have begun to recede, but the crisis has brought to light one of the country’s hidden miseries: the plight of mothers, who are dying in tens of thousands each year.
SOUTH ASIA: Fishers’ Release A Good Catch for India-Pakistan Ties
It took almost two hours before Jeenti Deva, 16, could board the bus that would bring him home to India, but the long wait did not stop him from smiling.« Previous Page — Next Page »
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