Monday, April 6, 2026

Ailia Zehra

The writer is a journalist and the Founding Editor of Dissent Today. She covers politics, human rights, and religious extremism. She tweets at @AiliaZehra.

A Year After Elections, Ex-Waziristan Parliamentarian Unable to Find Justice for...

This report is part of Dissent Today's special series documenting violence and alleged irregularities during Pakistan's 2024 general elections.  When Mohsin Dawar narrowly escaped an elaborate assassination attempt in which his vehicle was sprayed with more than 60 bullets about a month before the 2024...

Inside the Ongoing Racial Profiling in Islamabad

Islamabad, Pakistan -- Lawyer Imaan Mazari had just got home after getting journalist Matiullah Jan released from the custody of Islamabad police on Nov. 30 when she received a panicked call from the Street Vendors Association of Islamabad, informing her that several vendors had...

‘Self-Censorship Shapes My New Identity’: Exiled Russian Activist Reflects on Leaving...

Russian President Vladimir Putin's onslaught on dissent intensified after his invasion of Ukraine in 2022. This article is part of Dissent Today’s special series documenting the past and present struggles of exiled Russian dissidents who sought political asylum in the U.S. in recent years. Mikhail...

Pro-Palestine DNC Delegate Assaulted For Disrupting Biden’s Speech Vows To Keep...

A pro-Palestine elected member of the Democratic National Committee (DNC) from Florida, Nadia Ahmad, was hit in the head repeatedly with vertical signs that read "We love Joe" by a group of DNC guests when she disrupted President Joe Biden’s speech on the first...

Unfazed By Police Violence, Mahrang Baloch Continues To Lead Islamabad Protest...

Mahrang Baloch, the activist leading the ongoing sit-in in Islamabad against enforced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in Balochistan, has stated that the whereabouts of over 100 protestors picked up by the authorities are still unknown. This contradicts the Islamabad police's claim that all protestors...

Extremist Groups Back In Action As Blasphemy-Convict Junaid Hafeez’s Appeal Against...

LAHORE After blasphemy-convict Junaid Hafeez’s appeal against his death sentence was finally fixed before the Lahore High Court (LHC) earlier this month, his new lawyer, Saif ul Malook, appears to be mishandling the case, Dissent Today has learnt. Hafeez, a progressive academic who served as a...

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Waziristan Judge Reportedly Abducted...

Shakirullah Marwat, a district and sessions judge of South Waziristan, Khyber Pakhtnkhwa, who had been kidnapped reportedly by the...

Pakistan’s Oldest Broadcasting Station...

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters protesting the arrest of former prime minister Imran Khan stormed the office of Radio Pakistan...

Protests Not Necessary To...

President Arif Alvi has said that protests are not necessary to raise awareness regarding women's rights while responding to...

Lahore High Court Declares...

In a landmark judgement, the Lahore High Court (LHC) has declared the sedition law  (Section 124-A of the Pakistan...

Sindh CM Takes Notice...

Sindh Chief Minister Murad Ali Shah has taken notice of the abduction of lawyer and human rights activist Jibran...

Minister Urges PM To...

Human Rights Minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada has urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to review the amended blasphemy law, saying...

Latest articles

Pakistan’s Civic Freedoms Deteriorate Amid Crackdown on Dissent: Report

ISLAMABAD - Civic freedoms in Pakistan have deteriorated amid a widening crackdown on activists,...

Pakistan Police Arrest 17 at Islamabad Aurat March on Women’s Day

Police arrested 17 organizers and participants of the annual Aurat March in Islamabad on...

Overlooking Homegrown Hate, Pakistan Hesitates to Call Islamabad Blast Anti-Shia Violence

ISLAMABAD - Just hours before a suicide bomber struck the Khadija Tul Kubra Shia...

How Imaan-Hadi Conviction Marks the Death of Fair Trial in Pakistan

Last week, a trial court in Islamabad convicted human rights lawyers Imaan Zainab Mazari-Hazir...