Azwar Shakeel

Contributor at Freelance

Lawyer at RIAA BG | Research Fellow and Consultant at HRCP | Consultant at IOM - UN Migration

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Articles

Immigrants’ woes

1 day ago | dawn.com | Azwar Shakeel

IMMIGRATION policy can have serious rights implications for vulnerable individuals and must be addressed sensitively. Yet, the global immigration discourse indicates that the issue is being seen mainly from a law-enforcement perspective, instead of a human rights one. The Trump administration’s mass deportation drive against illegal immigrants in the US and Pakistan’s Afghan expatriation policy reflect this shifting attitude.
What went wrong/ right in US election?

Nov 23, 2024 | thenews.com.pk | Azwar Shakeel

hen election results started pouring in, in 2016, I was an undergraduate student in the US in my sophomore year. On election night, I was surrounded by a group of like-minded friends. We were studying at a university where the student body mostly had uniform liberal views on social and cultural issues, in a state that leaned heavily towards the Democratic Party.
Perilous passages out of Pakistan

Sep 1, 2024 | asianews.network | Azwar Shakeel |Azwar Shakeel Dawn

September 2, 2024 ISLAMABAD – In 2018, Mahmood was an 18-year-old based in Hafizabad [Punjab]. Although he struggled in school, he was good at sports. Because of family pressure, he did not have the option of making a career out of sports. Mahmood began to feel hopeless. His heart was no longer in his daily activities. One day, a group of friends floated the idea of migrating, to escape his family and life in Pakistan. One of them said he knew a local agent who could help.
PERILOUS PASSAGES OUT OF PAKISTAN

Aug 31, 2024 | dawn.com | Azwar Shakeel |Abbas Nasir |Muhammad Amir Rana

In 2018, Mahmood was an 18-year-old based in Hafizabad [Punjab]. Although he struggled in school, he was good at sports. Because of family pressure, he did not have the option of making a career out of sports. Mahmood began to feel hopeless. His heart was no longer in his daily activities. One day, a group of friends floated the idea of migrating, to escape his family and life in Pakistan. One of them said he knew a local agent who could help.
Anti-fake news or anti-free speech? The debate over Punjab’s new defamation law

May 21, 2024 | dawn.com | Azwar Shakeel

On May 20, the Punjab Assembly passed the Defamation Bill, 2024, with the stated aim to provide “protection from false, misleading and defamatory claims via print, electronic and social media against public officials and private citizens”. Critics believe, however, that the law’s real purpose is much more nefarious — that it actually aims to muzzle free speech and inhibit dissenting voices.
Can Pakistan’s judiciary be truly independent?

May 12, 2024 | dawn.com | Azwar Shakeel

Not too long ago, calls emerged from various quarters for a probe into allegations by six Islamabad High Court (IHC) judges, who decried interference in judicial affairs by the country’s intelligence apparatus. This isn’t the first time that allegations of such a nature have been aired, yet it is a good time as any to contemplate what judicial independence actually means, how it is threatened and the means to truly attain it.
On life, love, and struggle

Feb 25, 2024 | medium.com | Azwar Shakeel

A young man set off from his village in search for a partner. He was told as a child that he was destined to end up with the person that he was meant to be with. He held that belief firmly. So, he went from village to village, town to town, country to country until he had roamed the entire world. He was unable to find love. One night, tired and resigned, he sat under the open sky and looking up at the stars proclaimed with tears rolling down his face, “God, I have looked everywhere.
Human smuggling

Jan 23, 2024 | dawn.com | Azwar Shakeel

THOUGH rampant, human smuggling in Pakistan remains poorly documented. Only when a tragedy occurs does the issue take centre stage. A nationwide crackdown was announced after a fishing boat carrying hundreds of Pakistani migrants capsized off the southern coast of Greece last June. Yet, interest in the issue and sympathy with the victims waned just as fast as it rose.
A closer look: Pakistan’s climate strategy beyond conferences

Dec 21, 2023 | dawn.com | Azwar Shakeel

The devastation that Pakistan faced from the floods in 2022 is still firmly etched in people’s minds. Almost a third of the country was under water. Loss of lives, livelihood, and homes took place at a scale most of us had never seen before. The total damage was estimated at $14.9 billion, the loss to GDP at $15.2bn, and rehabilitation needs at $16.3bn.
Should state institutions be subject to public criticism?

Aug 29, 2023 | dawn.com | Azwar Shakeel

On May 24, earlier this year, in response to protests outside the Supreme Court premises in Islamabad, during the pendency of a review petition filed by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial told AGP Mansoor Usman Awan to ask the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) coalition to restrain from criticising the court. PDM leaders had staged a sit-in outside the SC, accusing it of granting unprecedented relief to Imran Khan.