Non-violence

As South Asia grapples with climate vulnerabilities, economic disparities, and historical animosities, initiatives like COVA’s video competition offer a beacon of hope.

In a sobering assessment released this week, the United Nations has painted a complex portrait of Afghanistan under Taliban governance, where a dramatic increase in security incidents coincides with fragile stability, devastating cross-border violence with Pakistan, and a deepening humanitarian and human rights crisis.

For the disarmament community, this moment underscores the urgency of revitalizing the NPT. Without genuine steps toward Article VI commitments (disarmament), the treaty risks becoming a hollow shell, inviting withdrawals or parallel regimes that favour proliferation.

Nepal's National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has explicitly implicated former prime minister KP Sharma Oli, along with his key cabinet members and senior security chiefs, for gross human rights violations during the deadly Gen Z protests in September 2025.

Experts suggest the Eid address serves multiple purposes: rallying domestic support, discouraging dissent, and messaging the international community ahead of potential future talks. With Akhundzada rarely appearing publicly and operating primarily from Kandahar, his sermons remain key vehicles for policy direction.

Civil society groups and Sufi organisations have urged the government to treat shrine attacks as a national security issue rather than isolated law-and-order problems.

The federal and provincial governments have swiftly condemned the massacre, vowing to bring the perpetrators to justice. High-ranking officials have reiterated their commitment to eradicating terrorism and ensuring the safety of industrial workers in Balochistan.

The rating places Pakistan among nations where freedoms of association, peaceful assembly and expression are systematically curtailed, despite constitutional guarantees and the country’s ratification of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) in 2010.