Humanitarian law in an Islamic context: Internally displaced persons in Pakistan

The headcount of IDPs in the world is currently 40 million, and armed conflict in Pakistan has resulted in repeated displacements for a decade, with an estimated 1.4 million IDPs needing protection from the national government, within an Islamic social and cultural context. This research explores the protection of internally displaced persons (IDPs) under International Humanitarian Law (IHL) in an Islamic context, with a case study of IDPs in Pakistan. This research applies a mixed method approach combining legal interpretation and application of the international legal framework applicable to IDPs and the relevance of Islamic Law in the context of the domestic legal structure of Pakistan. An empirical/socio-legal case study of IDPs in Pakistan uses qualitative field interviews to investigate the implementation of the legal framework applicable to IDPs. This research analyses the applicability of IHL in the presence of Sharia Laws in the domestic legal structure of Pakistan, especially on IDPs affected by non-international armed conflict. It has found a poor domestic legal framework, and poor implementation of IHL, leading to inadequate protection to IDPs. Sharia Law in the legal structure of Pakistan does not hinder IHL from providing protection to IDPs. The government of Pakistan should do more to ensure the applicability of IDPs legal framework, especially the implementation of the rules of IHL, but this is hindered by continuing armed conflict and a lack of review mechanism for the current status and number of IDPs

Isolated bidirectional DC-DC Converter: A topological review

Bidirectional DC-DC converters (BDCs) are certainly an important power electronic converter for managing bidirectional power flow in various applications. It offers the ability to flow power in both directions, which is useful in systems with renewable energy sources and energy storage. BDCs are becoming increasingly important in various applications, including renewable energy systems, electric vehicles, and energy storage. The development of new BDC topologies and control strategies is expected to further improve their efficiency and performance. Non-Isolated Bidirectional DC-DC Converters (NBDCs) and Isolated Bidirectional DC-DC Converters (IBDCs) are the two main types of BDCs with different isolation properties and trade-offs in terms of size, cost and performance. Topological classification of BDCs further distinguishes various BDC types based on their configurations and voltage-boosting techniques. IBDCs are preferred over NBDCs due to high-power applications, and wide voltage range with higher efficiency; the performance of IBDCs is improving day by day. To provide a framework for comparison in implementing novel configurations or identifying the best converter for a given application, this study is concentrated on each topology and its usual applications. Soft switching converters are also discussed pointed to Resonant Power Converters (RPCs) for the application into Electric Vehicles (EVs). It is worth noting that the choice of BDC depends on the specific requirements of the application, such as power level, voltage range, efficiency, and cost. A detailed comparison, application, advantage and disadvantage table can be useful in comparing the characteristics of different BDCs and selecting the most suitable one

Adjustment of Due Diligence Doctrine in International Humanitarian Law: Constructing an Unobstructed Road

Adjustment of due diligence doctrine in International Humanitarian Law (IHL) is primarily focused to highlight that the principles of IHL need the meticulous implementation of due diligence. With the spectacles of the qualitative research approaches, the article not only overviews the scope and basic concept of due diligence in IHL but also pinpoints the necessity of this doctrine in international law. This article scrutinizes the significance of obligations of due diligence to highlight the respect and ensure respect for IHL. This research article inspects the application of due diligence in non-international armed conflicts and pinpoints the influence of due diligence on IHL

Registration of Second FIR (First Information Report) in Sughran Bibi Case: A Landmark Judgement of the Supreme Court of Pakistan

The registration of First Information Report (FIR) has remained a challenging area for the judicial system of Pakistan; the multiplicity of the FIRs means separate investigation and separate police report. Precedents were available far and against the second FIR which had been creating perplexity and nuisance for law enforcement agencies. First Information Report is contaminated by the inclusion of exaggerated facts by the aggrieved parties. Moreover, there are several allegations on the working of police in Pakistan for drafting the FIR arbitrarily. Although FIR is a mere document to report the incident, however, it has gained a significant role in deciding the fate of a criminal trial in Pakistan. Therefore, it is imperative to examine the status of FIR in criminal-trail framework of Pakistan. To do this, Sughran Bibi Case is very significant in interpreting the status of multiplicity of FIRs in the criminal trail framework. Seven judges of esteemed Supreme Court decided the fate of second FIR in this human rights case. The study investigates the doctrinal aspects of the judgement by presenting a theoretical examination of the status of FIR, its evidentiary value, and effectiveness in the criminal trial framework. &nbsp

Research Handbook on Islam and International Law

In Islamic jurisprudence, there are ethical and legal principles set out a variety of rules akin to those existing in international law. Topics such as human rights, humanitarian law, environmental law, migration law, arbitration, maritime law, security law or international private law are all matched under Islam. Therefore, the aim of the handbook will be to highlight such principles in Islam and examine their relation to international law. The handbook will select some of those Muslim principles embedded in the scriptures and resulting from human interpretation to compare them to the same international law rules, seeking to explore the similarities and differences between them. It will also explore how those principles have evolved in the Muslim majority states and offer a critical analysis of how Islamic and international law view them as a body of principles. Several themes will be examined, including the divine origin of international legal and ethical principles in Islam; the evolution of these principles by Muslims in a nation-state setting; the legitimacy of international law in the Muslim world; the impact of liberal thinking on Islamic principles of international law; and the impact of colonialism. Together, the themes will provide an overview of the evolution of Islam and international law since the time of the Prophet up to the era of cyber and artificial intelligence

SIGNIFICANCE OF THE KARTARPUR CORRIDOR: PAKISTAN’S COMPLIENCE WITH INTERNATIONAL STANDARDS RELATING PROTECTION OF THE RIGHTS OF RELIGIOUS MINORITIES : Dr Faiz Bakhsh, Muhammad Asif Safdar, Jibran Jamshed, Dr Waheed Ahmed Abbasi

Historically, Pakistan has remained on the list of countries failing to meet international standards relating freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief. Although, the constitutional and domestic legal structure of Pakistan provide rights to religious minorities, yet government remains less interested in the implementation of such rights. Moreover, restrictions on the rights of religious minorities and social pressure of the religiously dominance society have been forcing the religious minorities to step back from claiming their constitutional rights. Despite, being signatory to many international instruments relating rights of minorities, Pakistan has never reached to a level to claim obligation of those international standards. Kartarpur corridor for Sikh pilgrims which has been widely acknowledged for giving a new dimension and a positive development towards the protection of the rights of minorities, as well as improved Indo-Pak relations. Keeping in view the positive response it is expected that it would lead to provide minorities a good-will gesture and pave the way for better diplomatic relations and increased trade between India and Pakistan. This paper investigates the significance of the Kartarpur Corridor in the context of Pakistan’s Efforts to Oblige International Standards Relating Protection of the Rights of Religious Minorities. This paper explores the expected outcomes of the project in the context of the protection of the rights of religious minorities and symbolic significance of the project by employing religious diplomacy as a mean to develop improved trade and diplomatic relations

Rapid and efficient in vitro regeneration of transplastomic potato (Solanum tuberosum L.) plants after particle bombardment

In contrast with traditional nuclear gene transformation, transplastomic technology has opened a new horizon for the transgenic plant research that offers several beneficial aspects including the convenient use of transgene stacking and the generation of high expression levels of foreign proteins. However, this technology has been well adopted and established in tobacco, the introduction and adoption of cost-effective, swift, and reproducible protocol for in vitro regeneration of transplastomic potato is challenging and laborious. The present research aimed to develop such prompt and efficient protocol to instigate and revive the regeneration potential with the combinations of different plant growth regulators (PGRs). Leaves and internodal explants from four potato cultivars were transformed with chloroplast transformation vector via particle bombardment and cultured on MS media supplemented with suitable PGRs and selection agents. Leaf explants of cultivar Kuroda induced highest (92%) number of calli where cultivar Sante produced the highest (85.7%) transplastomic shoots. Thidiazuron was found more proficient (41%) for shoot regeneration. Finally, within only seven weeks, we got 21 spectinomycin resistant shoot, and 16 of those showed integration of target genes into the plastome in PCR screening