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Iran's sprawling southeastern Sistan-Baluchistan Province is notorious for insecurity, poverty, drug trafficking, and deadly clashes between security forces and militants.More recently, however, it made headlines this month for sweeping a record number...

Pakistan Army Sector Commander (North) Brigadier Amir Kiani says Frontier Crops is playing tremendous role in maintaining peace in the tribal areas.Speaking at the passing out parade of 24th batch of Frontier Crops in Khar, he lauded the role of Fronti...

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN � Taha Siddiqui was relaxing in his living room with his son after work when he received a telephone call. On the other end of the line was a man claiming to be with the counterterrorism department of Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency. The man, who Siddiqui said identified himself as Nadeem Bodla, a deputy director of the counterterrorism wing in the FIA, told Siddiqui to "drop everything" and immediately report to his office.

"It wasn't a courteous call," Siddiqui recalled. "It was actually a call where he was talking from a point of authority. The tone was intimidating."

As a freelance journalist working with several international outlets, Siddiqui had been covering military affairs.

His work had drawn attention in the past. Journalists who did not know him would sometimes call and urge him to rethink what he was filing, telling him authorities thought he was overstepping a boundary.

This was the first time, though, that a government entity had officially approached him. The move concerned Siddiqui, who feared an arrest over "illegal charges" or the seizure of his equipment that could compromise his work and sources.

Others questioned, too

Others, namely political activists and opposition figures, had been called in for questioning based solely on their social media activity.

One of them, Salar Sultanzai, tweeted from his handle @MeFixer that the FIA had told him to submit his cellphone and laptop for inspection.

Siddiqui decided to file a petition of harassment in the Islamabad High Court.

Interior Minister Ali Khan, in a news conference this week, maintained that the steps taken by the FIA were legal. The constitution, Khan said, barred anyone from demeaning the country's armed forces, its judiciary or its national religion, Islam.

"I assure you no one is putting any restrictions on social media," Khan said, "but a free-for-all social media is also unacceptable for a democracy."

He also said that only 27 social media identities and eight individuals had been identified for questioning and that no one had been arrested or harassed.

Party activists feel targeted

Opposition leader Imran Khan, whose PTI party held protests across the country this week, disagreed. He said the government was using excuses to crack down against activists from his party. Others from the party concurred.

"This is all political," said Faisal Javed Khan of PTI. "It's political victimization. They're picking our guys because they have been highlighting [Prime Minister] Nawaz Sharif's corruption."

Another PTI activist, Shahzad Waseem, said the crackdown went against the norms of freedom of expression. "Unfortunately, the government in Pakistan is trying to curb the voice of civil society of Pakistan," he added.

The current crackdown has revived memories of the disappearances this year of at least five bloggers. Many in the country blamed the intelligence agency ISI for picking them up for having criticized the military in their social media posts.

A countrywide uproar led to their return, but they were afraid to speak up about what happened. Most of them and their families reportedly left the country soon afterward. At least one of them told the BBC he had been tortured for pleasure by a government institution linked to the military.

Rules for social media use

On Wednesday, Interior Minister Khan directed the relevant government departments to formulate a framework "which ensures that social media is used as a medium to facilitate positive, constructive and healthy interactions and not as a tool to propagate false information, pass defamatory comments, ridicule or humiliate sacred personalities, national institutions or jeopardizing social, religious and cultural values of any community."

He has also requested that the national assembly speaker reach out to all political parties over this issue.

Meanwhile, Siddiqui is waiting for his hearing next week to find out why he was approached over his journalistic work.

Source: Voice of America

GENEVA �

Ethiopian official Tedros Adhanom Gheybreysus has been elected director-general of the World Health Organization. Tedros won the post in two rounds of balloting Tuesday, defeating Dr. David Nabarro of Britain and Dr. Sania Nishtar, a Pakistani cardiologist. The vote by 185 member states took place by secret ballot after the candidates made last minute pitches.

The candidates have been campaigning for this fiercely contested post for the past year-and-a-half. As they approached the final stretch, each in turn presented his or her most persuasive arguments for becoming the new director-general of the World Health Organization.

Tedros, a former Ethiopian health minister, told the assembly that he has dedicated his whole life to improving health, reducing inequalities, and helping people everywhere to lead more productive lives.

He noted that while the WHO has never had a director-general from Africa, no one should elect him just because he's from Africa.

But, there is a real value in electing a leader who has worked in one of the toughest health environments and transformed the health system. I bring a fresh perspective, an angle with which the world has never seen before, Tedros said.

Others in the running

Not to be outdone, the second candidate, David Nabarro of Britain, put in a vigorous performance. He touted his long experience in global health and described the work he has done in tackling infectious outbreaks and emergencies, such as the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. He said he was the best person to lead the fight against newly emerging diseases and ongoing old diseases, including tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS.

Governments and other investors rightly expect value for money in everything that WHO does. As director-general, I will make sure that the organization's goals are results-focused, transparent and measurable. All staff, myself included, will be held to account for delivering, said Nabarro.

The third candidate, Pakistani physician Sania Nishtar, said she had a proven record of dealing with hard issues and would make constructive changes to the WHO if elected.

I promise to run WHO in the same manner in which I ran my campaign - cost-effectively, with full transparency, with a global outlook, with integrity, and respect for all . I have the ability to accelerate the reforms that you have championed.

Ethiopia's Tedros takes over as new WHO director-general, on July 1.

Source: Voice of America

GENEVA � Margaret Chan, the outgoing Director General of the World Health Organization (WHO), has opened this year's World Health Assembly (WHA) by staunchly defending the organization against critics who say it has lost its relevance.

Chan's tenure as head of WHO will soon end and after 10 years of service, she appears intent on handing her successor, who will be elected Tuesday, an organization that is viable and remains the essential leader in global health.

In addressing the WHA for the last time, Chan presented 3,500 delegates from WHO's 194 member states with, what could be seen, as a report card of her work by presenting some highlights from a report issued this month tracking the evolution of public health during her 10-year administration.

The report sets out the facts and assesses the trends, but makes no effort to promote my administration. The report goes some way towards dispelling criticism that WHO has lost its relevance. The facts tell a different story, Chan said.

Drug costs

The report covers setbacks as well as successes and some landmark events. Among the successes, she cited WHO's decade-long fight to get the prices for antiretroviral treatments for HIV down.

In contrast, she said prices for the new drugs that cure hepatitis-C plummeted within two years.

The results in both cases have been dramatic in making life-saving drugs affordable for millions of people. During the past 10 years, antiretroviral treatments have fallen from $10,000 to less than $100 a year and Hepatitis C drugs, which cost a prohibitive $80,000 just two years ago can now be had for less than $200.

Chan noted for most of her tenure she has been faced with shrinking health budgets resulting from the 2008 global financial crisis.

Despite the austerity measures forced upon the organization, she said WHO has made significant progress in many areas. These include the elimination or reduction of neglected tropical diseases, bringing mental health out of the shadows and into the spotlight, and bringing polio and guinea worm closer to eradication.

Ebola epidemic

Along with these successes, Chan accepted responsibility for mistakes and bad decisions, including the WHO failure to recognize the magnitude of the Ebola outbreak in West Africa.

She acknowledged the devastating consequences of this lapse for the people of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, 11,315 of whom died from the deadly Ebola virus before the epidemic was declared as an end in January 2016.

But, WHO made quick course corrections, said Chan, and brought the three outbreaks under control through team work and partnerships and gave the world its first Ebola vaccine that confers substantial protection.

This happened on my watch, and I am personally accountable, she said.

New leader competition

The World Health Assembly, which runs through May 31, has an exceptionally heavy and important agenda, with the election of a new Director-General topping the list.

On Tuesday, delegates will choose the new head by secret ballot. The three nominees include the first African candidate Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus of Ethiopia; David Nabarro of Britain, and Sanja Nishtar of Pakistan.

This is the first time that there has been more than one candidate. Whoever wins this fiercely contested post will take office on July 1.

During the coming nine days, delegates will approve WHO's program budget for 2018-19, which has risen to $4.7 billion. The Assembly also will discuss a wide-range of health-related issues, including polio eradication, antimicrobial resistance, access to medicines and vaccines, health emergencies and the health of refugees and migrants.

This forum offers an opportunity for health ministers and other officials to present their views.

Newly appointed U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Tom Price took the floor Monday to express the Trump Administration's commitment to work with the new director general on an agenda for ongoing improvements including changes to ensure a rapid and focused response to potential global health crises.

Price stressed the need for reform and said Washington expected the next director-general to prioritize threats to global health, including influenza.

He said we will work to enable all countries around the world to prevent, detect, respond to, mitigate, and control these outbreaks.

Looking ahead

In closing her remarks to the WHA, Margaret Chan urged governments to maintain investments in health development, which, she said brings dramatic results, also as a poverty reduction strategy.

She said behind every number and every statistic is a person who defines our common humanity and deserves our compassion, especially when suffering or premature death can be prevented.

Judging from the thunderous applause at the end of her speech, the delegates appeared to have given Margaret Chan a good report card for her work during the past 10 years.

Source: Voice of America

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ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN � A Pakistani government crackdown on social media to deter anti-military content has prompted accusations of curbing freedom of expression and victimizing political activists.

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif's government last Sunday ordered the cybercrime department of the Federal Investigation Agency to proceed against activists "dishonoring" the national armed forces through social media.

Authorities have since detained and interrogated an unspecified number of activists and seized their computers and cellphones. Most of the detainees belong to the opposition Pakistan Tehrik-e-Insaf (PTI) party, headed by Imran Khan.

'Hostility' toward free speech

"We hope the authorities realize how the prevailing situation demonstrates their hostility towards freedom of expression," the HRCP said.

Khan has also accused the government of abusing the cybercrime law to "politically victimize" PTI's social media activists. The opposition politician has been organizing street protests to pressure Sharif to resign, accusing him of corruption.

"Do not force PTI to come out on to the streets. We will never let you muzzle public dissent against you," Khan warned the Sharif government while addressing a party rally in the southwestern city of Quetta on Friday.

He alleged that the ruling party through fake accounts had unleashed an anti-army campaign in order to provoke the crackdown on social media activists of PTI. Khan's party has been good at using social media to mobilize public support and highlight alleged corruption cases against government leaders.

The Sharif government has defended the punitive proceedings against social media activists, saying the constitution does not allow citizens to criticize the national armed forces.

'Serious offense'

"Ridiculing the Pakistan army or its officers on social media in the name of freedom of speech is unacceptable" and "a serious offense" under the law, the federal interior minister warned while ordering authorities to arrest and take "severe" action against those involved in such "condemnable" activities.

In its statement, HRCP dismissed those assertions and reminded authorities that the constitution also says any restriction with regard to freedom of speech "must be reasonable and shall not take effect if provided by law."

The powerful military has ruled Pakistan at three different times, for a total of more than three decades, through direct coups against civilian governments. Critics say it continues to influence political affairs, particularly foreign policy.

The military, particularly its spy agency, also has long faced foreign criticism for allegedly harboring militants involved in cross-border attacks in Afghanistan and India.

Analysts say that despite the controversies surrounding the military, the institution has benefited from constitutional provisions that curtail criticism of it.

An independent watchdog group, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), has harshly criticized the crackdown. In a statement Friday, it demanded an end to "arbitrary curbs" on freedom of expression and a "climate of intimidation" of political activists, bloggers, journalists and other civil society activists.

Source: Voice of America