The February 28 attack in the southern coastal city of Minab reportedly killed 168 people. According to Iran’s Minister of Education Alireza Kazemi, the overwhelming majority of the slain were schoolgirls aged seven to 12. The strike came on the first day of coordinated US and Israeli airstrikes officially targeting Iranian infrastructure and military facilities.

Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson for the UN Human Rights Office, described the attack as “absolutely horrific,” adding that UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk was “deeply shocked” and has called for a “prompt, impartial and thorough investigation.”

Shamdasani stressed that the “onus is on the forces that carried out the attack to investigate it,” and “make public the findings and to ensure accountability and redress for the victims.” If attacks were found to be directed against civilians or civilian objects or to be indiscriminate, they would constitute “serious violations of international humanitarian law and may amount to war crimes.”

Iran’s ambassador to the UN, Ali Bahreini, accused the US and Israel of deliberately attacking the school. He further stated that similar strikes on civilian targets occurred on the same day in other locations, including eastern Tehran and Abyek in Qazvin province.

Neither the US nor Israel has confirmed responsibility for the school attack. US Secretary of State Marco Rubio stated Monday that US forces “would not deliberately target a school.” Israeli officials said they were reviewing reports of the incident.

The widening conflict began when the US and Israel launched coordinated strikes on Iranian targets Feb. 28, cutting short ongoing negotiations between Washington and Tehran over Iran’s nuclear program. Iran responded with missile and drone attacks against Israel and US allies across the region. Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, was killed in the first day of airstrikes .

According to UN officials, at least 12 countries have been affected, while Iran’s Red Crescent Society has counted 787 deaths since the initial strikes.

The conflict has also spread to Lebanon as Hezbollah fired missiles and drones into Israel, triggering Israeli strikes and the displacement of civilians. The UN Refugee Agency estimatesthat about 30,000 people have sought protection in shelters in Lebanon, while disruptions in key shipping routes and the temporary closure of Gaza crossings are complicating humanitarian aid deliveries.

When the airstrikes began, Türk deplored both the strikes on Iran and subsequent retaliation, urging all parties to respect international humanitarian law. “The protection of civilians is paramount,” he said, calling for immediate de-escalation and a return to the “negotiating table” to prevent “further senseless civilian deaths and destruction on a potentially unimaginable scale.”

Malala Yousafzai, UN Messenger of Peace and Nobel Peace Laureate, also condemned the school attack, likewise calling for all parties to “uphold their obligations under international law to protect civilians and safeguard schools.”

From JURIST, March 4. Used with permission.

Photo: Mehr via Wikimedia Commons

From The New Humanitarian, Feb. 27. Internal links added.

Map: Google

But before the region came under the shadow of the recent violence, public attention was focused on the abduction of a young Baloch student, a case that has reignited simmering anger over enforced disappearances. For more than 6,000 days, activists have maintained a protest camp outside the press club in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, demanding answers for hundreds of missing Baloch citizens who have been allegedly abducted, tortured, and killed by Pakistani security forces.

The history of these abductions, enforced disappearances, and extrajudicial executions targeting political activists, journalists, lawyers, and students dates back to the 1970s, but the July disappearance of a 24-year-old university student in Islamabad brought the longstanding issue back to the fore.

On July 8, Saeed Baloch, a defense and strategic studies student at Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) was dragged off a bus in broad daylight. Saeed’s case moved to the center of the national conversation after a second wave of student-led demonstrations at QAU in late November. The protesters are demanding an end to the ethnic profiling of Baloch students, and to have the university conduct a transparent investigation into Saeed’s disappearance.

Since the accession of Balochistan in 1948—an event Baloch nationalists describe as annexation but Islamabad regards as legal integration—what became Pakistan’s largest and most sparsely populated province has experienced a decades-long insurgency, driven by grievances over political autonomy, resource exploitation, and human rights abuses.

Relations between the Baloch and the Pakistani state have been marked by cycles of conflict and accusations of disenfranchisement. Activists in Balochistan have repeatedly demanded a greater share of the province’s oil and gas revenues, which they say disproportionately benefit other regions. This has led to a series of conflicts, with each wave of armed resistance met by military suppression.

The current phase of the insurgency—starting in the 2000s and led largely by educated, middle-class youth rather than traditional tribal leaders—has been marked by widespread enforced disappearances.

According to activists, around 7,000 people have been forcibly disappeared in Balochistan in the past 12 years. Victims are first identified as being Baloch, then targeted as a result of a specific social or political stance within their community.

One of the earliest known cases involved Asad Mengal, son of former Balochistan Chief Minister Attaullah Mengal, who was abducted in Karachi. More than four decades later, his fate remains unknown. During the 2000s, the practice continued. Thousands were abductedunder the guise of counter-insurgency and national security. Bodies of the disappeared would later resurface in far-off locations, bearing signs of severe torture, a period Baloch activists describe as the “kill and dump” policy.

Prominent activists such as Ghulam Muhammad, Qambar Chakar, Ilyas Nizar, and Sangat Sana were killed. Others, including Zakir Majeed, Deen Muhammad, and Zahid Baloch, remain missing.

“The very existence of the Baloch is perceived as a threat to the state,” said Sabiha Baloch, head of the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC), a women-led organization fighting rights abuses in Balochistan. “The more educated, conscious, and politically aware the Baloch become, the more threatened the state feels.”

The BYC itself came under state scrutiny following a 2023 march led by former head Mahrang Baloch, which went from Turbat to Islamabad to protest what organizers described as genocide. Upon reaching the capital, protesters faced police batons, water cannon, arrests, and accusations of being foreign-funded “extremists.” Last March, Mahrang Baloch was arrested during a protest in Quetta and is now facing charges of terrorism, violence, and anti-state activities.

“Pakistan’s economy remains deeply tied to the exploitation of Balochistan,” Sabiha added. “As long as Baloch and Balochistan exist, this threat perception would translate into increasingly violent responses, which range from the abduction of men and women to the killing of Baloch people.”

— Amir Naeem for The New Humanitarian, Feb. 3, condensed. Read full article here.

Image: BYC

The scale of the disaster reflects a dangerous mix of climate pressures. Warmer oceans are intensifying storms, while a hotter atmosphere is capable of holding and releasing far more moisture. Environmental degradation—particularly deforestation and weak flood-defense systems—has left many communities exposed: rivers once stabilized by forest cover burst their banks with little resistance. Humanitarian groups are urging governments to strengthen early-warning systems, invest in resilient infrastructure, and prioritize long-term adaptation—all of which makes the disappointing outcomes of this year’s UN climate summit even more worrying.

From The New Humanitarian, Dec. 5

See our last reports on UN climate process and the mega-storm phenomenon.

Photo: town in Sri Lanka after Cyclone Ditwah. Credit: UNICEF/InceptChange via UN News

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have been fraught with tension, especially around the disputed Durand Line border. Established in 1893 between British India and Afghanistan, this border has never been officially recognized by any Afghan government since the partition of India in 1947, leading to a persistent territorial dispute. (Jurist)

The fighting came just as the Taliban regime’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi was in New Delhi at the invitation of India’s government. After Muttaqi met with his Indian counterpart Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on Oct. 10, New Delhi said it will reopen its embassy in Kabul. This would make India the second nation to recognize the restored Taliban regime after Russia. (Al Jazeera)

This rapprochement comes as the Taliban regime faces growing international censure. UN human rights experts on Oct. 10 condemned the Taliban’s internet and social media restrictions in Afghanistan, calling them violations of fundamental rights. The social media restrictions, which began on Oct. 7, target major platforms including Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. They follow a two-day nationwide internet blackout from Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. The experts warned that restricting net and telecommunications services worsens Afghanistan’s humanitarian and economic crisis, increasing poverty, unemployment and food insecurity. These measures also hinder the delivery of critical humanitarian aid to vulnerable communities, including those affected by natural disasters and individuals forcibly returned from neighboring countries. (Jurist)

UN human rights experts on Aug. 14 issued a forceful appeal to the international community to reject Taliban rule in Afghanistan, denouncing it as violent, illegitimate and fundamentally oppressive. The appeal especially cited the regime’s systematic discrimination against women. (Jurist)

The US on Sept. 15 decertified Afghanistan as a reliable partner in the War on Drugs (despite a Taliban edict banning opium cultivation), automatically imposing sanctions. However, this has little practical effect, as Washington has no diplomatic relations with the Taliban government.

* These appear to be propaganda terms employed by the Pakistani state. Fitna basically means “destructive factionalism”; Khawarij refers to an early Islamic heresy. Hence Fitna-e-Khawarij can be translated as “heretical faction.” Hindustan of course means India, implying that Delhi is backing the insurgents.

Map: Google

Protests led by the Jammu Kashmir Joint Awami Action Committee (JKJAAC) turned violent, rocking cities across AJK, from capital Muzaffarabad to the district seats of Kotli, Rawalakot and Mirpur. News outlets have reported at least nine people killed, including police officers and civilians, with more than 200 injured in clashes between protesters and law enforcement. These demonstrations paralyzed daily life, raising serious concerns about the governance and the rule of law in the disputed territory.

The unrest began with by a 38-point charter of demands issued by the JKJAAC, a coalition of traders, civil society members, student groups, and political activists. Among their key demands were the restoration of subsidies on electricity and wheat; a reduction in electricity tariffs, which they say are far higher than in other parts of Pakistan despite the region being a major source of hydropower; improved health and education services; downsizing the oversized ministerial cabinet; removal of legislative seats reserved for Kashmiri refugees, which locals argue distort electoral representation; and accountability for police violence during protests.

The movement accuses the AJK government of corruption, inefficiency and subservience to the federal authorities in Islamabad. Protesters have emphasized the apparent disparity between the region’s wealth of natural resources—particularly water and hydropower—and its ongoing struggles with poverty and perceived government neglect.

While the AJK government initially sought to suppress the protests through excessive police force and mass communication blackouts, it eventually—under pressure from Islamabad—agreed to negotiate with the JKJAAC. The talks were strained, stalling in early October, but were later revived following intervention by the federal government.

Eventually, the parties reached a peace agreement that included a rollback of rising electricity costs, continued subsidies for essential items such as wheat, the creation of a judicial commission to investigate injuries and deaths resulting from the protests, and a commitment to reduce government spending, including cuts to the ministerial cabinet.

While the agreement has led to a de-escalation, many activists remain skeptical about its implementation, fearing that the government’s promises may not translate into real change.

Amid the turmoil, legal challenges and constitutional debates have emerged regarding the right to protest and the state’s response. In a notable legal development, the High Court of AJK ruled that citizens have a constitutionally protected right to peaceful protest. This was seen as a significant verdict, given the government’s frequent use of Section 144 to restrict assemblies and communications. According to Dawn newspaper, the court stressed that civil liberties cannot be arbitrarily suspended.

Another major legal issue was the demand to reform or abolish the reserved legislative seats for refugees from Indian-administered Kashmir. These seats are widely viewed as artificially boosting Islamabad’s influence in AJK politics, with critics arguing that they disenfranchize local voters. Modifying this arrangement would require constitutional amendments and is likely to face strong resistance.

The AJK region has also seen an uptick in media censorship and repression of free speech. In early 2025, the AJK government filed criminal cases against journalists under recently amended sections of the penal code for allegedly spreading “fake news.” As reported by the International Federation of Journalists, these amendments criminalize criticism of government officials and impose penalties of up to seven years’ imprisonment. Legal experts warn that such laws risk undermining AJK’s fragile democratic space and may violate Pakistan’s own constitutional protections as well as international human rights obligations.

The current wave of protests is not an isolated occurrence. AJK has long been plagued by grievances related to economic marginalization, lack of autonomy, and what many perceive as neocolonial governance by Islamabad. Although AJK has its own president, prime minister and legislative assembly, many key decisions—from budget allocations to foreign affairs—are effectively controlled by Pakistan’s federal government and military establishment.

This disconnect has fueled deep frustration across the region, where many residents feel they are treated as second-class citizens. The recent protests have reignited debates over AJK’s ambiguous constitutional status and whether genuine self-governance is possible under the current framework.

The unrest in AJK comes at a time when India-Pakistan relations remain strained over the Kashmir issue. India continues to assert that AJK is an integral part of its territory, while Pakistan accuses India of human rights violations in Indian-administered Jammu & Kashmir. The protests in AJK, however, have complicated Islamabad’s narrative of being a responsible caretaker of Kashmiri interests.

International media and observers have taken note that the violent suppression of protests and censorship in AJK have drawn comparisons to conditions in Indian-administered Kashmir, potentially weakening Pakistan’s moral stance on the Kashmir dispute.

As calm returns to the streets of Muzaffarabad and other cities, the question remains: will this peace last? The implementation of the peace agreement will likely determine the movement’s legacy. Protest leaders have warned that if the government fails to follow through, they will resume their agitation, this time with even greater public backing.

— Syeda Aamna Hasan for JURIST, Oct. 10. Used with permission.

Note: Spikes in the price of food and fuel since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 have contributed to popular privation and unrest worldwide.

Photo of Muzaffarabad via Wikimedia Commons

Aakar Patel, chair of the board of Amnesty International India, called for de-escalation and respect for the right to peaceful protest, stating: “Any use of firearms in the context of an assembly must be an absolute last resort… The indiscriminate use of firearms against protesters is always unlawful.”

Local officials and witnesses said the clashes erupted as demonstrators pressed long-standing demands for statehood and constitutional protections for land and jobs. Police said they responded after parts of the crowd turned violent, with vehicles and a ruling Bharatiya Janata Party office set ablaze, and claimed officers fired in self-defense. Authorities imposed a curfew in parts of Leh and temporarily restricted mobile internet services.

The protests follow years of mobilization by Ladakhi groups seeking both statehood for the territory and inclusion under India’s Sixth Schedule, which offers limited self-governance to tribal areas. Organizers say federal control since 2019 has sidelined local decision-making and left the region’s fragile ecosystem and subsistence livelihoods exposed to outside pressures. Civic platforms, including the Leh Apex Body and the Kargil Democratic Alliance, have led marches, sit-ins and hunger strikes. Climate activist Sonam Wangchuk, a prominent face of the movement, ended a 14-day fast after the new violence and was later detained by police.

Ladakh was carved out as a Union Territory on Oct. 31, 2019, when the former state of Jammu & Kashmir was reorganized. While many in Leh initially welcomed separate administration, concerns have grown over land safeguards, demographic change, and limited local autonomy. The region’s strategic location, bordering both China and Pakistan-controlled territory, along with accelerating glacial melt and extreme weather, have added urgency to calls for stronger local say over development and environmental policy.

Amnesty International said any inquiry should determine why less-lethal crowd-management options were not exhausted before live rounds were used, and whether the firing complied with necessity and proportionality standards.

Ladakh representatives and the central government are expected to meet for further talks in early October.

From JURIST, Sept. 27. Used with permission. Internal links added.

See our last report on the struggle in Ladakh

Map via Wikipedia

Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, the International Commission of Jurists and the Asian Forum for Human Rights & Development called for the renewal of the Sri Lanka Accountability Project, led by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). In their statement, the groups accused Sri Lanka’s government of lacking the political will to establish an independent prosecutorial mechanism to ensure accountability for human rights violations and international crimes. The reported failures span across such questions as victim and witness protection, reconciliation between the Tamil and Sinhalese communities, and the repeal of counter-terrorism laws.

The country continues to face a ltany of criticisms from rights observoes. In August, the Committee to Protect Journalists urged the Sri Lankan government to halt its harassment campaign against photojournalist Kanapathipillai Kumanan, apparently for his work in revealing the Chemmani mass grave discovery. UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk concluded that the country has failed to effectively investigate custodial deaths, arbitrary arrests during drug raids, improper surveillance of human rights defenders, and enforced disappearances.

The rights groups also shed light on the government’s lack of effort in achieving the long-awaited reconciliation with the country’s minority communities. During the three-decade-long internal armed conflict between government forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), Tamil civilians suffered human rights violations perpetrated by both sides, according to the UK non-governmental organization Minority Rights Group. Alas, repression against the Tamil community remains an ongoing concern, with the International Truth & Justice Project revealing in May 2024 that the country’s security forces continue to abduct and torture Tamil civilians. Human Rights Watch has also cited repression against Hindus, Muslims and other religious minorities.

Finally, the coalition of rights groups urged the UN Human Rights Council to press Sri Lanka’s government to repeal its Prevention of Terrorism Act. Amnesty International has described the act as “draconian,” while the International Centre for Counter-Terrorism, an independent think tank, has called for the adoption of a “holistic transitional justice” approach that would replace the act and allow for independent review, trust-building initiatives, due process, and effective remedies.

In March 2021, the Council mandated the OHCHR to monitor human rights violations in Sri Lanka, with the mandate subsequently renewed in October 2022 and October 2024. Türk prepared the High Commissioner’s report to extend this mandate, which will expire if the council chooses not to renew it in its 60th session.

From JURIST, Sept. 17. Used with permission.

Photo via JURIST

The severe crackdown also prompted the resignation of Home Minister Ramesh Lekhak of the Nepali Congress coalition party. Protesters set fire to the homes of both Sharma Oli and Communication Minister Prithvi Subba Gurung, apparently causing the death of Oli’s wife. They also threw stones at the residence of Finance Minister Bishnu Paudel, and set fire to the Parliament building.

Demonstrations were triggered by the government’s decision to block access to unregistered social media platforms, a move that was met with widespread disapproval. Young people, who had been mocking political leaders online with hashtags like #NepoKid and #NepoBabies, now poured into the streets by the hundreds of thousands in outrage. Many protesters were students in uniforms and young professionals carrying placards in Nepali, reading “Gen Z mocks the corrupt.” Protests began in Kathmandu, where thousands marched on the federal Parliament. But demonstrations quickly spread to other cities, including Pokhara, Butwal, Bhairahawa, Bharatpur, Itahari and Damak.

Authorities responded with water cannons, tear-gas, rubber bullets and, in several cases, live ammunition. Hospitals reported that most of the deaths were caused by gunshot wounds to the head and chest. At least 347 people remain hospitalized, overwhelming trauma centers in the capital and eastern Nepal. In response, the Kathmandu District Administration imposed curfews in several areas. Before stepping down himself, Prime Minister Oli announced an investigation into the violence.

The government also repealed social media bans that prompted the protests. A government minister reportedly said that the move came after an emergency meeting late on the night Sept. 8 held to “address the demands of Gen Z.”

From JURIST, Sept. 9. Used with permission.

Note: Spikes in the price of food and fuel since the start of the Ukraine war in 2022 have contributed to popular privation and unrest worldwide.

Photo: हिमाल सुवेदी via Wikimedia Commons

Isabelle Lassée, Amnesty International’s deputy regional director for South Asia, stated that the residents of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are suffering due to the escalating number of drone strikes, which disregard civilian safety, hitting homes and even, in one case, a volleyball game. She emphasized that the use of drones in attacks that lead to unlawful civilian casualties violates international law, and called on Pakistani authorities to conduct independent and effective investigations into these attacks and prosecute anyone found responsible.

Furthermore, Lassée asserted that the government must provide victims and their families with effective remedies, including compensation.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan’s northwestern province, has seen an ongoing series of drone strikes this year, with the latest occurring on June 20. These strikes have repeatedly killed civilians, including children. Amnesty International reported that while Pakistani authorities acknowledged the civilian casualties, they have attributed them to attacks by the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistan Taliban.

The TTP is an armed group formed in 2007 from various militant factions opposing the Pakistani military’s operations against al-Qaeda militants in the northwest border region then known as the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). This group has since been involved in an armed conflict with the Pakistani military and carried out numerous terrorist attacks. The United Nations Security Council Committee listed the TTP on its Sanctions List in 2011 and linked it with al-Qaeda.

Although Pakistani military forces successfully pushed back the TTP following a series of offensives in 2014, the armed group regained strength after the Taliban captured Kabul, Afghanistan’s capital, in 2021. According to the UN, Pakistan’s initial military offensives led to the displacement of over 400,000 citizens who fled combat zones in search of refuge in different areas within Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

From JURIST, June 24. Used with permission.

See our last reports on Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the TTP and the drone terror.

Note: The FATA was merged with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in 2018.

Map: Google