Confirmed coronavirus cases above 179,000 : WHO

At the 61st session of the United Nations Human Rights Council, the organisation Global Human Rights Defence (GHRD) raised concerns over the continued misuse of blasphemy laws in Pakistan and their impact on religious minorities.

Gobind Gurbani, speaking through video conference, drew attention to the growing gap between the number of patients requiring organ transplants and the limited availability of donated organs.

Pakistan faces a severe shortage of life-saving medicines, including cancer drugs and vaccines, due to government delays in notifying official prices. While global supply remains stable, regulatory hurdles have stalled legal imports, raising concerns over patient survival and the potential rise of unregulated, counterfeit medicines.

Pakistan's fruit and vegetable supply remains dominated by traditional middlemen and the "mandi" system, with digital platforms handling only 2-3% of trade. Restrictive provincial laws and lack of infrastructure force farmers into dependency on commission agents, stalling modern technological transformation in the agricultural sector.

An Indian crew member was killed after the US-owned tanker Safesea Vishnu was attacked near Basra, Iraq, on March 11. The Indian Embassy in Baghdad confirmed that 15 other Indian sailors were successfully evacuated and are receiving assistance as regional maritime tensions continue to escalate.