Commonwealth | Pakistan

Foreign observation mission Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has clarified that the time taken to write and release its reports “varies considerably” with each group and that the report on Pakistan’s 2024 general elections was finalised by the end of that year. The COG report, released to the public on September 30, had been the subject of some controversy after media reports suggested the Commonwealth had buried the report after finding the polls to be riddled with problems. According to the letter of transmittal appended to the report, it was submitted by the COG to the Commonwealth secretary general on Nov 20, 2024. “The length of time taken to write COG reports, and similarly, the finalisation and release of the publication, varies considerably with each COG. Other factors affecting the release dates include legal challenges and disputes. In this case, a comprehensive report of over 160 pages was finalised by the end of 2024,” the Commonwealth said in a statement on Tuesday. It added that its secretariat...

A report published by the Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative (CHRI) on Tuesday found that national laws in many Commonwealth member countries severely impede press freedom and unduly restrict the right to freedom of expression. A press release stated that the CHRI, the Commonwealth Journalists Association (CJA) and the Commonwealth Lawyers Association (CLA) called on member states to urgently repeal “laws that criminalise legitimate public speech” and take decisive action to protect media workers and watchdogs from violence and intimidation. “The report Who Controls the Narrative? Legal Restrictions on Freedom of Expression in the Commonwealth finds that criminal provisions for speech offences, including defamation and sedition, as well as violations of national security laws, are arbitrarily applied to intimidate and silence journalists, human rights defenders, and government critics,” the press release read. “A key objective, the authors argue, must be to decriminalise defamation laws in 41 Commonwealth c...

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in the United Kingdom on Saturday ahead of diplomatic engagements with British and Commonwealth leadership from August 17-19. Pakistan and the UK have been engaged in Enhanced Strategic Dialogue since 2011, which has deepened and broadened the dialogue between the two countries, covering areas such as trade, economic growth and development, cultural cooperation, security, and education. The Foreign Office posted a photo of FM Dar in the UK today with Pakistani High Commissioner Dr Mohammad Faisal. A statement by the FO earlier today said that during his two-day official visit FM Dar would hold meetings with Deputy Prime Minister Angela Rayner and Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Pakistan Hamish Falconer in London, in addition to a breakfast meeting with Commonwealth Secretary-General Shirley Ayorkor Botchwey. He would also inaugurate a Punjab Land Record Authority project, which was piloted at the Pakistan High Commission in London. “The i...