Pakistan Perspective

Making of Climate Refugees amid Ecological Disruption in South Asia

Eric Sharoon Shahzar — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

In the coming decades, the world will be defined by how it tackles the climate crisis. With climate disasters becoming more common and frequent than ever, the making of climate refugees has become a norm – causing economic strains of unprecedented scale and nature. Rising sea levels, droughts, desertification, torrential rains, and melting of the glaciers – will only intensify climate induced displacement all across the globe. However, the region most vulnerable to climate refugees remains South Asia. The region must collaborate as a whole to mitigate the effects of accelerated climate change, and create a robust mechanism to cater climate refugees. The international community has done little to advocate for the rights of climate refugees. These people still do not have legal protection as they are not recognised as refugees. The issue of climate displacement must be at the top agenda on all international forums. Climate change sees no boundaries. Therefore, the world community, especially South Asia, must unite to cope with the effects of ecological disruption on an urgent basis.

Fighting Hybrid: Hybrid Threats to Pakistan’s National Security

Mian Nadir Sulaiman — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

As warfare passes through its fifth generation of evolution, the coming of Hybrid Warfare marks a major mutation of its journey. As geopolitical biases gravitate eastwards and international realignments deepen roots, Pakistan finds itself at the epicenter of the power struggle between the geopolitical poles. Its arch-rival has also swooped in to take advantage of any opportunity afforded herein. Together, Pakistan’s protagonists have subjected the country to a plethora of hybrid onslaughts, cutting through all possible domains of the human experience; diplomatic, economic, military, informational, legal, and social, etc. Through qualitative research within the realism theory domain, this study finds that the responsibility of fighting a hybrid onslaught is not to be relegated to the military prong alone. Instead, a whole-of-the-nation approach has to be adopted to safeguard national security, which may include honing intelligence capabilities, developing and employing diplomatic muscle, nurturing a more
robust economy, educating the nation about the hybrid threat, diversifying the media’s portfolio, leveraging international legal frameworks, establishing Hybrid Warfare Centers of Excellence, eliminating terrorism and subnationalistic sentiments and maintaining a credible deterrent.

The Trend of Claiming Right of Inheritance among Women in Lahore

Humera Malik — Mon, 02 Oct 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Women's rights are essential to all major religions as well as to international and state legal systems. Due to the recent increase in awareness, women are now highly concerned about their rights and status in society. In the pretext of women's empowerment, the dispensation of the right of inheritance always remains significant. In Pakistan, women are not denied their rights, but there is a certain predicament that detains them to claim. The constitution of Pakistan and Islamic sharia laws, though, guarantee women’s rights without any discrimination but few determinants are depriving them of such privilege. Although the denial of this right cuts across the whole country, this paper explores the choices and challenges of women in Lahore. The inferences of this study will help to ascertain the possible reasons among women for surrendering this right.

Socioeconomic Issues Faced by Housemaids in District Hyderabad, Sindh

Ghulam Rashid Memon — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Pakistan’s Safe Abortion Law: An Analytical Perspective based on Public Health Ethics

Sarmad Muhammad Soomar, Rakhshanda Ramzan — Sat, 23 Sep 2023 00:00:00 +0000

Abortion is a subject that is both morally and legally challenging in Pakistan. The legalization and appropriate understanding of legal clauses at any level of the nation will assist in diminishing moral conduct issues and provide a space to talk about sensitive themes. Most low- and middle-income nations continue to have restrictive abortion laws, and many countries have amended their abortion rules, with the majority moving away from absolute prohibition. The relationship of inadequate healthcare consideration with confusion caused by global abortion regulations, so that patients continue to seek hazardous abortions and practitioners avoid proper referrals. Instead of depicting abortion as a 'dilemma, ‘stereotype,' or ‘sin,' medical curriculum and nursing education should utilize terminology or categories like ‘safe' and 'legal' abortion to describe and compare different types of abortions. Public health regulations should be included in conversations for medical and nursing professionals, and raising awareness about legal and policy issues will aid in changing the system and stigma associated with safe abortion. Youth and adolescents who are affected by such actions and policies should be involved in decision-making.

Providers who can facilitate medical and surgical abortions and have additional training should be included in the law and policy reform process or legal and policy debates to make it more contextually appropriate.

This paper is an analytical review perspective considering the Pakistani Law of Safe Abortion and evaluates the understanding of Public Health Ethics.