International law & Indus wars
ON April 23, India unilaterally declared the Indus Waters Treaty to be “in abeyance” — a term neither recognised in treaty law nor found in the IWT itself. The Vienna…
Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025: Ill-advised, confiscatory & undemocratic
The President of Pakistan issued Tax Laws (Amendment) Ordinance, 2025, published in The Gazette of Pakistan on May 2, 2025, made effective at once. Presidential Ordinance No. IV of 2025…
IWT and lawfare in South Asia
Immediately after the terrorist incident at Pahalgam, India proceeded to a series of illegal, unlawful and unethical acts. First, it chose to indict a ‘country’ for a criminal act, which…
Autism and the law
THE UNDP Disability and Development Report 2024 is mind-boggling. Given Pakistan’s slide into ignominy, the country itself seems to be falling through the gaps of strange-sounding global developmental indices such…
Getting the law to work
A recent conviction under the Sindh Domestic Violence Act of 2013 is both a cause for celebration and reflection. Celebration as it shows that justice for domestic violence victims in…
Trump plans to invoke obscure 18th century wartime law in bid for mass deportations
President Donald Trump is set to test the limits of his immigration crackdown by invoking a wartime law to deport immigrants alleged to be gang members without court hearings, a…
‘Draconian’ law to control social media
The digital age has revolutionized the life of human beings, their means of communication and ways of conducting business. Among the most significant advancements is rise of social media platforms,…
Criminalising hate
THERE is a Stephen Spielberg movie called Minority Report, based on a Philip K. Dick science fiction novella set in the year 2054. Tom Cruise plays a police officer who…
Criminalised rights
TO be a member of a political party and taking part in politics is a fundamental right the Constitution confers on all citizens. However, there are legal restrictions on the…
Suicide decriminalisation
IN August, a 16-year-old girl from Rahim Yar Khan died by suicide. After battling with depression, and fearing criticism from her family, she took her life after locking herself in…
