23/03/2026

MONDAY | MAR 23, 2026

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Critical Pakistani voices silenced by arrests

Vietnam ruling party keeps majority MANILA: Vietnam’s Communist Party won nearly 97% of the 500 seats in the National Assembly, according to results released by the parliament on March 22, confirming its overwhelming dominance after a vote in which almost all candidates were fielded by the ruling party. The party’s 482-seat haul was roughly in line with the number it held in the outgoing parliament. Turnout at the five-yearly elections for members of the parliament and for local councils exceeded 99%, authorities have said, in line with past elections. The unicameral parliament has virtually no power to challenge the party’s key decisions, including on personnel, but it has occasionally amended proposed laws. The National Assembly is scheduled to hold its first weeks-long session from April 6. During that plenary, lawmakers are due to confirm new state leaders to be named by the party, including the prime minister and the president. To Lam, who was confirmed as general secretary at the party’s January congress, is widely expected to be chosen as president as well. Lam’s expected elevation would further align Vietnam’s political structure with that of China, where Xi Jinping also serves as general secretary of the Communist Party and president. Though the two neighbours have a long history of mistrust and territorial disputes, including over islands and waters in the South China Sea, their Communist parties remain officially close. – Reuters Mekong dolphin calf spotted PHNOM PENH: Another newborn Mekong Irrawaddy dolphin has been spotted, raising the number of newborn dolphins in Cambodia to three so far this year, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries said in a news release. The calf was sighted on Wednesday at the Kampi dolphin pool in northeast Kratie province’s Chetr Borei district by a research team of the Fisheries Administration and the World Wide Fund for Nature. “This two-day-old new calf was healthy and seen swimming alongside a pod of five adult dolphins,” the news release said. “It is the third baby dolphin born this year.” The Mekong Irrawaddy dolphins have been listed as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species since 2004. It’s estimated that there are about 115 Irrawaddy dolphins living along a 120km main channel of the Mekong River in northeast Kratie and Stung Treng provinces. – Bernama

o Shrinking space for dissent, warns Amnesty

The Committee to Protect Journalists said Pakistan remains among countries where journalists face significant risks. At least seven journalists were killed in 2024, the CPJ said, while others faced harassment and alleged enforced disappearances. New laws regulating mainstream and social media have been criticised as restrictive and excessive, limiting freedom of expression and independent reporting. As a result, voices critical of the state have been muted or silenced in newspapers, online or in broadcast. Sehrish Qureshi was one of three journalists held at the Women’s Day rally. “I went to the police station that day to find out why other journalists were held,” she said. “I was allowed inside the police station but later detained without any reason.” Press freedom groups such as Reporters Without Borders have similarly pointed to increasing state control over information and pressure on independent media outlets. Harris Khalique, secretary-general of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, called those restrictions “draconian”. A few days after her release, Bari told her friends: “It was scary. We didn’t know why we were arrested or what they would do to us.” Police told them afterwards that they were violating a law banning gatherings of more than four people. – AFP

“Today, we celebrate their strength, resilience, leadership, and the invaluable contributions they make to our families, our communities and our nation,” he wrote. Human rights monitors, however, have repeatedly voiced concern about the increasing use of arrest to stifle free speech and peaceful assembly. Amnesty International has warned that there is a “shrinking space for dissent”, with the authorities using arbitrary detention, force and restrictions. Those who find themselves detained are rarely told why. “Anything and everything is a national security issue, anyone can be punished,” said Usama Khilji, a digital rights activist. Khilji pointed to the case of human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari, who has taken on sensitive cases. Mazari and her husband Hadi Ali Chattha, a fellow lawyer, are both serving lengthy jail terms for “anti-state” social media posts. Sohrab Barkat, a digital journalist and YouTube host, has been held without trial since late last year on suspicion of spreading “derogatory remarks” and misinformation about state institutions. A Pakistani-origin doctoral student from Canada also disappeared for several days last month, reportedly for “anti-state” social media posts, Khilji said.

ISLAMABAD: Mavra Bari had intended to take part in a march for International Women’s Day in the Pakistani capital Islamabad, but spent it in a cramped prison cell. What was meant to be a celebration was instead a terrifying 12-hour ordeal in a suffocating space, with a broken toilet and the smell of damp concrete and sweat. Over 30 others – women, men and children – were also held. “We were in a horrible prison,” said Bari, a 36-year-old sociologist and activist. “We were beaten.” An AFP journalist saw detainees when they were released. All looked shaken and some had bruises and swelling. Outside the police station, one man said tearfully: “My daughter came here just to observe the march.” On the face of it, the Women’s Day march, like those elsewhere in the world, should have posed little concern for authorities. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif posted on X on March 8 that women’s empowerment was “central to our government’s vision for Pakistan’s development”.

A woman holds a placard during a protest against the arrest of human rights lawyer Imaan Mazari and her husband, fellow lawyer Hadi Ali Chattha, in Karachi on Jan 26. – AFPFILEPIC

India blocks release of Gaza film NEW DELHI: India has blocked the release of The Voice of Hind Rajab, a film about the killing of a five-year-old Palestinian girl by Israeli forces. “After screening it for the board it was clear to me that they would not clear it for release in India,” Nandwana said, adding that he was not officially notified of the denial. “The film has been released all over the world including in Israel.

expression and has nothing to do with government to government relations,” he said on X. “This practice of banning films or books because of the offence they might cause to foreign countries must stop immediately. It’s unworthy of a mature democracy.” The Voice of Hind Rajab was nominated for Best International Feature at this year’s Oscars but lost to the Norwegian family drama Sentimental Value. Last year, the film won the Silver Lion grand jury prize at the Venice Film Festival. – AFP

technology and cybersecurity while balancing diplomatic interests in the Middle East and historically supporting Palestinian statehood. Last month, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Israel for two days, his second trip since 2017, just days before Israel and the United States began a campaign of airstrikes on Iran. Parliamentarian Shashi Tharoor from the opposition Congress party said blocking the film was “disgraceful”. “In a democracy, screening a film is a reflection of our society’s freedom of

The Oscar-nominated docudrama by French-Tunisian director Kaouther Ben Hania (pic) recounts the real-life death of Hind Rajab in Gaza last year as her family attempted to flee during Israel’s war with Hamas. Manoj Nandwana of Jai Viratra Entertainment, the film’s Indian distributor, said a member of the Central Board of Film Certification told him that the film’s release would “hamper India’s relations with Israel”.

“Why is it bad or sensitive for Indians?” Nandwana asked. “It’s strange.” The film was, however, screened at an international film festival in the eastern Indian city of Kolkata in November last year, Nandwana said. New Delhi has expanded ties with Israel in defence, agriculture,