The Congress on Tuesday said that the party's stand on the resolution seeking amnesty for Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru will be decided by its legislators.
Painting a gloomy picture of the human rights situation in India, Amnesty International on Wednesday alleged that there had been gross violation of human rights, including in Nandigram in West Bengal, and sought abolition of capital punishment.
The Pakistan government is close to bringing an ordinance which is expected to grant amnesty to former prime minister Benazir Bhutto and other important political leaders in corruption cases against them. However, Bhutto, who lives in self-imposed exile, said in London on Thursday that reports of amnesty to her were a 'disinformation campaign' and that her talks with Musharraf were totally stalled.
'The situation with Sharapova could be resolved after April 21 when we meet with the head of the international federation. After that all should be become clear. It is too early to talk about Sharapova competing at the Olympic Games'
'Death penalty is a violation of the right to life and the ultimate cruel, inhuman and degrading punishment,' it said.
The United States has carried out "unlawful killings" in Pakistan through drone attacks, some of which could even amount to war crimes, a human rights group said on Tuesday.
Within days of a resolution introduced in the United States Congress seeking the right to self-determination for Balochistan, Pakistan has offered amnesty to Baloch nationalist leaders in exile, announcing that cases against them would be closed.
High airfares have forced several expatriate workers, including Indians, wanting to leave the UAE under an amnesty announced by the government, to take the risky sea route by traveling in boats.
Pakistan's plan to execute 500 militants who have been given death sentences is deeply disturbing and would do nothing to protect civilians from the conflict with Taliban, a leading rights group has said.
The watchdog said human rights violations continued to surge in different parts of India, including Jammu and Kashmir and North Eastern states.
Ministers have promised to clear the 450,000 so-called 'legacy' cases, some of which date back to the 1990s, by 2011.
Patel said that he was prevented from travelling to the US despite a Gujarat court order granting him permission "specifically" for the said trip.
The human rights organisation highlighted that over 10,000 organisations had been 'de-registered' over the last year in India.
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As of September, account for bulk of applications for availing of the government's amnesty scheme.
Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Thursday announced a Rs 11.11 lakh crore spending on infrastructure and vowed to continue reforms as she resisted resorting to populist measures in Modi government's last Budget before general elections, instead choosing to stay on the path of cutting deficit while bolstering measures for focus groups.
'Laws have been used in a way to serve the needs of the current regime and its authoritarian ideology.'
'When there was no crime committed, everything had to be fabricated. They see it as a war, and everything is fair in love and war.'
Succumbing to the demands of a radical Islamist party, the Pakistan government has agreed to try blasphemy suspects under terrorism charges in addition to the other sections of the country's penal code.
Arrested in September 2019 by the Delhi police for making 'provocative statements' when Donald J Trump was on his visit to India, Dr Umar Khalid has now spent three years in jail without being convicted of an offence, points out Aakar Patel.
The 15-nation Council met on Friday to vote on the resolution tabled by the United Arab Emirates and backed by over 90 member states. The resolution got the backing of 13 Council members who voted in its favour while the United Kingdom abstained.
'How can you shoot somebody raising a white flag, even if he's a fighter, when he's surrendered?'
Uttam Ghosh offers his take on why writer Aakar Patel -- who is also chairman of the Amnesty International India board -- is being prevented from traveling abroad.
Scores of churches and homes belonging to Christians in Jaranwala tehsil of Faisalabad district, some 130 km from the provincial capital, were burnt down on Wednesday by a mob enraged over reports that two Christians had desecrated the Quran.
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought data on the beneficiaries of Section 6A of the Citizenship Act in Assam, saying there was no material before it which could indicate that the effect of granting Indian citizenship to Bangladeshi immigrants between 1966 and 1971 was so great that it impacted the demographic and cultural identity of the border state.
The Wagner forces also shot down several Russian aircraft, leading to the deaths of an undisclosed number of airmen whom Putin has praised as "fallen hero pilots."
Youth lodged in prisons for stone-pelting in Kashmir are likely to be granted amnesty on the occasion of Eid with the state government initiating the process of reviewing their cases before the festival.
'If you talk about any kind of equality, you are under attack.'
Dominic Xavier wonders whether the desi version of the Keystone Cops are in charge and if they take these terrifying, strange, decisions.
'My boss was a woman. Not any woman, she was a demanding, rude and foul-mouthed creature whom I liked immediately,' says Aakar Patel.
After years of pressure from human rights groups, Qatar changed its labour laws to dismantle much of its "kafala" sponsorship system, absolving workers of the need to get the permission of the employer who sponsored their visa in order to change jobs or leave the country.
'The group commands 85 per cent of the global GDP, and if you are able to convey your point of view effectively to this group then you have reached more or less all the important players that matter.'
Gianni Infantino wants the world to 'focus on the football'
In Tokyo, hundreds of Japanese citizens came out on the streets to express solidarity with the oppressed people of Tibet, Xinjiang, Mongolia, Hong Kong and Taiwan.
The Union home ministry on Thursday recommended a Central Bureau of Investigation probe into the affairs of the Indian arm of the global NGO Oxfam for alleged violation of the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act, sources said.
The mixed narratives emerging from Russia undermine Mr Putin's position and authority even more than the actual facts, observes Mihir S Sharma.
'Where you change the law and then say, we are following the law.' 'The fact is, the law is not meeting any international standards.' 'How can you call UAPA or PMLA a law when you are guilty until proven innocent?'
Qatar's treatment of migrant workers has come under enormous scrutiny during the build-up to the tournament but Deschamps chose not to wade into the topic even as he expressed his "sincere condolences" to the family.
Indonesians gathered for Friday prayers mourned 131 people killed in a soccer stampede six days ago, amid calls for a prompt investigation into one of the world's most deadly stadium disasters to enable its victims to rest in peace.
Citing sources within the Federal Investigation Authority (FIA), the Geo News reported that the names of the PTI leaders and its party chief have been added for their involvement in the May 9 violence and desecration of martyrs' monuments.
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