A few days before the big event in Tor Vergata, the Archdiocese's Justice and Peace Commission held its Youth Day. Kashif Anthony: ‘I want to see their conditions improve and help them work to contribute to the betterment of society and our country.’
Islamabad has resumed forced repatriations, setting 1 September as the deadline for the departure of 1.4 million Afghans. The decision was taken despite the humanitarian disaster in their homeland, where, according to a recent US State Department report, the Taliban are imposing an ‘institutionalised system of repression’.
A peace jirga, composed of village leaders and Taliban representatives, has initiated a dialogue between Islamabad and Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, which, however, is demanding control of the tribal areas on the border with Afghanistan without leaving the country. The ceasefire agreement reached so far is limited and lacks official guarantees, but above all, the local population's distrust of the government remains high.
The groom, from a Christian family, and the bride, a Muslim, had just been married in a civil ceremony. They were abducted, beaten, and shot to death. For the groom’s father, “Love should not be a death sentence.” According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 405 such murders were reported in the country in 2024.
A detailed report on this long-standing phenomenon was released today: an “impure” job reserved for non-Muslims. Although they make up only 2% of the population, 80% of garbage collectors are Christians, with the rest being Hindus. At least 84 have died in the last five years due to outdated infrastructure and techniques: their lives are not worth the cost of modernization. Amnesty: “Pakistan must recognize caste discrimination as a form of racism.”
Farmers’ association slammed as “unconstitutional” the new agricultural income tax imposed by the International Monetary Fund. Pakistani agriculture is already reeling from the collapse of cotton production, rising costs, and falling market prices. Farmers want alternative crops, demanding tax breaks equal to those for other sectors.
