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Tag: Pakistan News

  • Man Shot Down In Pakistan After He Resists Robbers From Looting His Bike |

    Karachi: A man was allegedly shot down in Karachi, Pakistan after he refused to hand over his bike to the robbers, Geo News reported citing the police. The incident happened in Sarjani Sector 36 area of ​​Karachi. The victim, identified as Faisal, along with his brother, resisted the robbers, who tried to steal their motorcycle before the robbers opened fire, the police said.

    Faisal was immediately rushed to the hospital, where he succumbed to his injuries. The victim’s brother said that he and Faisal were robbed of their belongings, including their salaries, at gunpoint by two gunmen on a motorcycle, as reported by Geo News. He added that the robbers fled after shooting down his brother.

    “We work in a factory and were going home after receiving the salary. They [robbers] told my brother to hand over his bike but he refused,” the victim’s brother told Geo News. Faisal’s father, Shabbir, claimed that the robbers stole Pakistani Rupees (PKR) 80,000 from the two brothers.

    “Robbery incidents are a daily routine in the area,” the victim’s father said. Notably, street crimes in Karachi have been on the rise, with more than 50,000 incidents documented by the Citizens-Police Liaison Committee (CPLC) between January and August of 2024, according to Geo News.

    According to the figure, 208 cases are reported daily in the city, with crimes like snatching and stealing of mobile phones, cars and motorcycles being the most common. Around 100 people have lost their lives in these incidents. Nearly 500 others have also been wounded due to the gunshots fired by the robbers.

  • Pakistan Court Awards Death Sentence To Christian Woman In Blasphemy Case |

    Islamabad: A court here in Pakistan on Thursday sentenced a Christian woman to death in a blasphemy case.

    A case was filed under Blasphemy laws against Shaughta Karan, accused of sharing derogatory material about the Prophet of Islam in a WhatsApp group in September 2020.

    Judge Afzal Majuka of the Special Court in Islamabad after the trial found her guilty under Section 295 C of the Pakistan Penal Code, which carries a death sentence.

    The court also imposed a fine of Rs 300,000 on Karan.

    Apart from this, the court also sentenced her to seven years imprisonment and imposed a fine of Rs 100,000 under Section 11 of the Pakistan Electronic Crime Act (PECA).

    The judge in a brief order said the convict has the right to file an appeal in a high court within 30 days of the decision.

    Judge Majuka added the execution of the sentence would not take place until the high court approved the decision.

    Karan is the second Christian woman sentenced to death in a case of insulting the Prophet and the religion of Islam.

    Earlier, Asia Bibi, who was sentenced to death for blasphemy, was kept in prison for eight years, but a bench headed by Asif Saeed Khosa, the former Chief Justice of Pakistan Supreme Court, acquitted her in October 2018.

    After her acquittal, Bibi moved to Canada with her family.

    Blasphemy laws were enacted in the 1980s by former military ruler Ziaul Haq. Those charged with blasphemy are often targeted by the extremists.

    According to the think tank Center for Social Justice (CSJ), nearly 3,000 persons have been accused of blasphemy since 1987.

    At least seven persons accused of blasphemy have been killed by individuals or mobs across Pakistan since January this year, the CSJ said.

    A total of 94 people accused of blasphemy have been killed in mob attacks between 1994 and 2023.

  • Pakistan Election Crisis Deepens As Top Official Confesses Rigging, Claims CEC, Chief Justice Involved |

    New Delhi: A shocking scandal has rocked the political landscape of Pakistan, as a former commissioner of Rawalpindi accused the chief election commissioner and the chief justice of being involved in rigging the recent elections. Liaquat Ali Chattha, who resigned from his post on Saturday, claimed that he was under immense pressure to manipulate the poll results in favor of the candidates who were losing. He said he was taking the responsibility for the wrongdoing and demanded that he and others who were part of the injustice should be punished.

    Chattha’s Explosive Allegations

    Chattha made his explosive allegations at a press conference at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, where he said he could not sleep after stabbing the country in its back. He said he even contemplated suicide, but decided to expose the truth before the public. He appealed to the bureaucracy to not do anything wrong for the politicians, and said that the chief election commissioner and the chief justice were completely involved in the rigging.

    His remarks came amid nationwide protests by the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, led by jailed former prime minister Imran Khan, who alleged that their mandate was stolen in the February 8 elections.

    ECP, CM Reject Claims

    The Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) strongly rejected Chattha’s claims, and said that no official of the commission ever issued any instructions to change the election results. It also said that the commissioner of any division had no direct role in the conduct of elections, and that the matter would be investigated.

    Punjab’s caretaker Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi also ordered an impartial probe into the allegations, and formed a high-level committee to conduct an inquiry. He said that an independent inquiry would be held and the facts would be brought forward.

    Chattha Arrested, Shifted

    Following Chattha’s press conference, police arrived at the venue and arrested him. He was shifted to an unknown location by the security officials. The reason for his arrest and his current whereabouts are not clear.

    PTI Demands Re-Election

    PTI senior leader and Khan’s close aide Zulfi Bokhari reacted to Chattha’s revelation on X, and said that it was shocking and unacceptable. He blamed the chief election commissioner and the chief justice for being part of the crime, and said that Chattha was pushed close to suicide by the unbearable pressure to rig the elections.

    He also said that the entire Pindi Division’s elections were rigged and null and void, and that the situation in other divisions could be worse. He demanded that the elections should be re-held and that the people’s will should be respected.

  • India Slams Pakistan’s ‘False, Malicious Propaganda’ Of Killing Two Terrorists On Pak Soil

    India on Thursday rubbished Pakistan’s allegations of Indian involvement in the killing of two Pakistani terrorists in Sialkot and Rawalkot last year.

  • China refuses to develop cooperation with Pakistan in vitality, water, local weather

    China has refused to additional develop cooperation within the areas of vitality, water administration, and local weather change underneath the multi-billion greenback China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), it emerged on Tuesday, signalling a pressure within the ‘ironclad’ friendship between the 2 all-weather allies.

    Cash-strapped Pakistan additionally gave up its opposition to establishing a brand new imported coal-fired energy plant in Gwadar in Balochistan province and agreed to various Chinese calls for to deal with Beijing’s issues, The Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing the signed minutes of the eleventh Joint Cooperation Committee (JCC) of the CPEC.

    The JCC is a strategic decision-making physique of the CPEC and its eleventh assembly was held just about on October 27 final yr on the insistence of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N)-led authorities that needed to showcase some progress.

    However, the minutes of the assembly had been signed nearly a yr afterward July 31 throughout the go to of Chinese vice premier He Lifeng, highlighting the distinction of opinions on either side that led to such an enormous delay in reaching a consensus, the report stated.

    When contacted, the Ministry of Planning said that it was a world apply for the minutes of conferences between two nations to be signed by either side solely after due session and evolving consensus.

    Interestingly, the ultimate draft shared with Beijing by Pakistan and the ultimate minutes signed by either side had been completely different in some ways, the report stated.

    China’s disagreement to additional develop cooperation in areas of vitality, water administration, and local weather change underneath the CPEC underscores “the challenges that both the sides are facing in deepening the economic ties”, it stated.

    The USD 60 billion CPEC, which connects Gwadar Port in Pakistan’s Balochistan with China’s Xinjiang province, is the flagship venture of China’s formidable multi-billion-dollar Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). The BRI is seen as an try by China to additional its affect overseas with infrastructure tasks funded by Chinese investments all around the world.

    The CPEC is a set of infrastructure and different tasks underneath building all through Pakistan since 2013. India has protested to China over the CPEC as it’s being laid by means of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK).

    The particulars of the ultimate minutes of the eleventh JCC confirmed that China didn’t comply with a number of measures that Pakistan had proposed within the areas of vitality, water administration, local weather change and tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, PoK and the coastal areas.

    China excluded cooperation within the areas of cross-border tourism in Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, PoK and cooperation for the promotion of coastal tourism from the ultimate minutes, the small print confirmed.

    China additionally didn’t comply with Pakistan’s proposal for the inclusion of Water Resources Management and Climate Change and Urban Infrastructure Development within the CPEC framework. The proposal for establishing a brand new joint working group on water assets administration and local weather change was additionally rejected by China.

    China excluded the problem of economic challenges being confronted by the facility firms from the ultimate minutes.

    Beijing additionally didn’t comply with a proposal to incorporate a 500kv transmission line from Hub to Gwadar to hyperlink the seaport metropolis with the nationwide grid within the CPEC framework.

    China didn’t comply with “perform joint research for future growth of Thar coal blocks, together with growth of mega energy parks and energy evacuation infrastructure, with a view to fulfill Pakistan’s vitality wants from indigenous assets, conversion of coal into different merchandise for home demand in addition to exports”, the report stated.

    Similarly, there is no such thing as a point out of the South-North fuel pipeline venture within the ultimate minutes. The draft minutes talked about the examination of a feasibility examine and Chinese cooperation for the aim.

    Pakistan had proposed Chinese participation in a strategic underground fuel storage venture however there is no such thing as a point out of this mega venture within the ultimate minutes.

    Islamabad had additionally proposed the participation of China within the nationwide seismic examine for sedimentary areas and sought Chinese gear. But this concept can be shelved on the bilateral stage.

    Pakistan proposed joint exploration, growth, and advertising of metallic minerals and sought Chinese know-how, however the ultimate minutes had been silent on this concern too, in accordance with the Express Tribune report.

    China additionally didn’t comply with Pakistan’s proposal of creating a coverage framework for coal gasification to fertiliser tasks primarily based on Thar coal.

    Meanwhile, Pakistan has given important concessions to China on the problem of establishing the 300MW Gwadar Power Plant.

    Islamabad needed to both shelve the 300MW venture or change its location to Thar to make use of the native coal. However, China didn’t comply with it, the report stated.

    Pakistan additionally needed the conversion of the imported fuel-based Gwadar plant to Thar coal to deal with vitality safety and liquidity points to which China didn’t agree.

    Pakistan additionally dedicated that it might observe the consensus reached by two sides, and can direct the Pakistani energy buy firms to cease deducting the capability energy price and return the deducted energy price.

    To guarantee the conventional operations of CPEC energy tasks, the Pakistani aspect promised to take needed measures to make sure well timed trade to US {dollars} for CPEC energy tasks to purchase needed fuels, the report stated.

    Published On:

    Sep 26, 2023

  • Islam is a faith of peace, no house for intolerance: Pakistan Army chief

    Pakistan’s highly effective Army chief General Asim Munir stated on Monday that there is no such thing as a house for intolerance and extremism in Islam and society as he met members of the minority Christian neighborhood and lauded their companies for the welfare and defence of the nation.

    His feedback assume significance within the backdrop of the “Jaranwala incident” the place a mob vandalised 22 church buildings and set scores of Christian homes on fireplace over allegations of blasphemy. There have been no casualties however it was one of the crucial harmful assaults on Christians within the Muslim-majority nation.

    “Islam is a religion of peace and there is no space for intolerance and extremism in Islam and society. No one can be allowed to take law in his own hands in a civilised society,” Gen Munir said during an interaction with a 14-member Christian community delegation led by Dr Azad Marshall — Moderator and President Bishops (Church of Pakistan and Bishop of Raiwind) at General Headquarters, Rawalpindi.

    The army said in a statement that during the meeting matters of mutual interest, religious and inter-faith harmony were discussed.

    Gen Munir “lauded the contributions of the Pakistani Christian Community in nationwide improvement, together with promotion of high quality training, healthcare and philanthropic companies and the excellent function performed by them for the defence of the motherland.”

    He also expressed deep respect for Christian community and stressed upon the need for promoting greater interfaith harmony in society in order to follow Pakistan’s founder M A Jinnah’s true vision of a united and progressive Pakistan.

    The delegation acknowledged Pakistan Army’s efforts in combating terrorism and providing a secure environment to the minorities in the country, and appreciated the Army chief’s gesture as an inspiration for Pakistani minorities to take greater and more active part in nation building and in restoring their faith in a cohesive and tolerant society, according to the statement.

    Authorities have so far restored nine churches out of 22 burnt down by the violent mob over blasphemy allegations.

    According to the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan fact-finding mission’s report, at least 24 churches and several dozen smaller chapels as well as scores of houses were torched and looted in a series of brutal mob-led attacks against the Christian community on August 16 in Jaranwala town, a city in Punjab province, on allegations of blasphemy against a Christian man.

    It said the mob attack on Christian worship places, their residences, and the cemetery was part of a “bigger hate marketing campaign towards native Christians” and questioned the open involvement of radical Islamists and the complicity of police within the incident.

    Published On:

    Sep 25, 2023

  • 31 injured as passenger practice collides with items practice in Pakistan

    At least 31 individuals have been injured when a passenger practice collided on Sunday with a freight practice parked on the primary railway line in Pakistan’s Punjab province, in line with media report.

    The accident occurred close to the Qila Sattar Shah Station in Sheikhupura district.

    The Lahore-bound passenger practice coming from Mianwali was travelling on the identical monitor the place a freight practice was already parked, ensuing within the crash, Geo News reported.

    The practice driver tried to keep away from the crash however to no avail, it stated.

    According to the rescue personnel, 31 passengers have been injured within the accident. Five injured passengers have been transferred to the district headquarters hospital, they added.

    The railway officers stated an investigation into the crash had been launched.

    A railways spokesperson stated in an announcement that practice operations are operating easily within the Lahore division following the crash.

    The monitor was cleared after the accident, the spokesperson added.

    According to the spokesperson, 4 railways officers together with practice driver Imran Sarwar and his assistant Muhammad Bilal have been suspended.

    An enquiry fee led by a deputy principal officer has been shaped, which can submit its report on the incident in 24 hours, the spokesperson added.

    The railways chairman stated authorized motion will probably be taken in opposition to these answerable for the incident.

    Railways CEO Shahid Aziz stated no compromise will probably be made on the security of passengers.

    Former prime minister and Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz (PML-N) President Shehbaz Sharif expressed sorrow over the incident and demanded motion in opposition to these answerable for the crash.

    Accidents on Pakistan’s decaying rail system are frequent. In the previous decade, the nation has witnessed various lethal practice accidents.

    In August this yr, at the very least 56 individuals have been killed, and a dozen others injured after as many as 10 bogies of Havelian-bound Hazara Express derailed close to Sahara Railway Station in Sindh province’s Nawabshah district, 275 kilometres away from Karachi.

    Published On:

    Sep 24, 2023

  • Pakistan President unilaterally proposes November 6 as date for common elections

    Pakistan President Arif Alvi on Wednesday unilaterally proposed November 6 because the date for the final elections in a letter written to the chief election commissioner, amidst controversy over polling dates within the cash-strapped nation.

    In his letter to CEC Sikandar Sultan Raja, President Alvi cited Article 48(5) of Pakistan’s Constitution, which he mentioned: “empowers and mandates the president ‘to appoint a date not later than 90 days from the date of the dissolution, for the holding of a general election to the Assembly’”.

    Hence, “in terms of Article 48(5), the general election to the National Assembly should be held by the 89th day of the date of dissolution of the National Assembly, i.e. Monday, 6th day of November 2023”, wrote Alvi, who was a founding member of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party.

    Alvi wrote that “in an endeavour to fulfil the constitutional obligations, the chief election commissioner was invited for a gathering to plan the modalities of implementing the constitutional intent and mandate”.

    However, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) chief turned down the invitation by saying that the president had nothing to do with the election date.

    Alvi in his letter alluded to Raja’s response, saying that the CEC “took a contrary view that as per the scheme of the Constitution and framework of electoral laws, it was the domain of the Election Commission, and following the publication of last preceding census on August 7, duly notified delimitation of constituencies was in progress, a mandatory requirement stipulated by Article 51(5) of the Constitution and section 17 of the Elections Act, 2017”.

    Interestingly, President Alvi’s five-year time period ended final week. Under the Constitution, he’ll proceed to function head of state till the subsequent presidential elections, which can happen after common polls within the nation.

    The growth comes two days after President Alvi met with the caretaker Law Minister Ahmed Irfan Aslam on Monday to debate the elections.

    The National Assembly was dissolved on August 9 making it necessary to carry elections inside 90 days. However, the earlier authorities, simply days earlier than the top of its time period, endorsed the outcomes of the countrywide census.

    The choice made it necessary for the election fee to plan new electoral districts earlier than elections for which it has been offered 120 days by the structure of the nation.

    The ECP has introduced to finish the delimitation course of by November 30 after which announce election schedules that are anticipated to be held in January. However, the president and a few political events insist that the elections ought to be held inside 90 days.

    There is one other controversy because the president insists that he acquired the powers below the Constitution to set a date for elections which is disputed by many together with the ECP. The counterargument is that he misplaced energy to set a date after tweaks in election legal guidelines by the earlier authorities and now the ECP is empowered to set a date.

    Published On:

    Sep 13, 2023

  • Lahore Police’s anti-narcotics chief heads gang smuggling medication into India

    Pakistan’s Anti-Narcotics Force (ANF) busted a large community smuggling medication to India and with it discovered an underworld don in uniform. The drug-smuggling community was being operated by none aside from the top of Lahore Police’s anti-narcotics wing, Mazhar Iqbal.

    The community, headed by Mazhar Iqbal, used to smuggle medication, particularly heroin, to India utilizing drones, authorities instructed Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper.

    Iqbal, a former deputy superintendent of police, was heading the Anti-Narcotics Investigation Unit of Lahore Police when the ANF unearthed the drug-smuggling racket.

    Since 1994, Iqbal has been dismissed from service six instances and suspended 45 instances for his involvement in unlawful actions. Most of the circumstances towards him are associated to drug trafficking. What is astounding is that Iqbal was given the important thing put up of anti-narcotics division of Lahore Police regardless of such a doubtful observe file.

    According to senior police officers in Pakistan, Mazhar Iqbal has amassed substantial wealth by these unlawful actions.

    The announcement of the community being busted was made by Pakistani Rangers final week. The Rangers claimed to have arrested six Indians inside Pakistani territory for allegedly attempting to smuggle “narcotics, weapons and ammunition”.

    Four of the arrested smugglers — Gurmeet Singh, Shinder Singh, Juginder Singh, and Vishal Jagga — are from Firozpur in Punjab. While Rattan Pal Singh and Garvender Singh are from Jalandhar and Ludhiana, respectively.

    ACTION AGAINST MAZHAR IQBAL

    Action towards Mazhar Iqbal was initiated after the interrogation of the arrested Indians, officers mentioned. However, authorities weren’t in a position to arrest him as he had secured a pre-arrest bail.

    “An FIR has been registered against Lahore Police anti-narcotics wing head Mazhar Iqbal for his alleged involvement in the cross-border (India) smuggling of drugs through drones. We could not arrest him as he has secured a pre-arrest bail,” Lahore Deputy Inspector General (Investigation) Imran Kishwar instructed Dawn. The police case towards Mazhar Iqbal was registered within the final week of August.

    “We have constituted a high-powered committee of senior police officers to further expand the scope of the investigation into the illegal cross-border smuggling of drugs,” he mentioned.

    Initial investigations counsel that Iqbal and his community facilitated drug transportation from the Pakistani metropolis of Kasur to India utilizing drones. The investigation reveals that Mazhar Iqbal was concerned in transporting over 30kg of heroin to India by drones and he used to obtain cost for his providers in Dubai.

    The ANF additionally instructed Dawn that the ex-police officer had recovered 35kg of medicine and three vehicles from the residence of drug smuggler Ahmad, however launched him after lodging a case of 450 grams of medicine solely. Mazhar has reportedly been by the ANF for allegedly taking Rs 75 million from the drug smuggler.

    MAZHAR IQBAL’S WEALTH

    Mazhar Iqbal has reportedly amassed billions of rupees in property. According to Dawn, he additionally has a fleet of luxurious vehicles and lives in a four-kanal home in posh Defence Housing Authority Lahore. He can be keen on amassing weapons from totally different nations, particularly the US.

    Many senior officers had been conscious of Mazhar Iqbal’s long-standing involvement in cross-border terrorism, however he allegedly used monetary incentives to safe their complicity. He additionally loved the backing of some key political figures in Pakistan.

    THE DRUG NETWORK

    According to the police investigation, a drone utilized by Mazhar Iqbal’s community would carry as much as 6 kg of medicine and ship the consignment in Punjab after flying throughout the border.

    Pakistan Police mentioned it was hopeful of searching down different members of Iqbal’s community in Lahore.

    Published On:

    Sep 13, 2023

  • Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan on October 21: Ex-Pak PM Shehbaz Sharif

    Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N) supremo Nawaz Sharif will return to the nation from London on October 21 to steer the celebration’s political marketing campaign within the upcoming elections, ending his over 4 years of self-imposed exile within the UK.

    “Nawaz Sharif will return to Pakistan on October 21,” his youthful brother and former prime minister Shehbaz Sharif, who’s at the moment in London, stated on Tuesday.

    The celebration founder can be given a grand welcome upon return, Shehbaz stated in a press release after a gathering of the PML-N’s prime management chaired by Nawaz in London.

    Nawaz, 73, had left for London in November 2019 after the Lahore High Court granted him four-week permission permitting him to go overseas for his remedy. But he by no means returned to Pakistan the place he was convicted of corruption and jailed.

    He was convicted within the Al-Azizia Mills and Avenfield corruption instances in 2018. He was serving a seven-year imprisonment at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail within the Al-Azizia Mills case earlier than he was allowed to proceed to London in 2019 on “medical grounds”.

    Shehbaz, 71, has beforehand stated that Nawaz would be the subsequent prime minister if the celebration returns to energy within the basic elections.

    In August, Shehbaz stated that his elder brother would return to Pakistan in September to face his pending courtroom instances and lead the celebration’s marketing campaign for the overall election.

    However, the plan was modified after the Election Commission of Pakistan determined to conduct a recent delimitation of Constituencies on the premise of the brand new census, delaying the overall elections, which have been scheduled to be held throughout the 90-day constitutional interval for the reason that August 9 dissolution of Parliament.

    According to Geo News, the three-time prime minister’s return was delayed until mid-October, not due to the ECP announcement however over the recommendation of celebration loyalists that September is simply too scorching and extreme for large-scale political gatherings, making mid-October a greater time for return.

    The choice to return round mid-October was taken after Shehbaz held conferences with the PML-N supremo when the previous visited London in August.

    In 2016, Nawaz stepped down because the prime minister after the Supreme Court disqualified him for all times for concealing belongings. His appeals in opposition to the conviction are at the moment pending within the related courts.

    He was disqualified by the Supreme Court in 2017. In 2018, he grew to become ineligible to carry public workplace for all times after a Supreme Court verdict within the Panama Papers case.

    He was anticipated to come back again when his celebration got here to energy after Imran Khan was toppled in April final yr however the expectation was not fulfilled.

    However, his PML-N celebration maintained that he would come again earlier than the election and lead the celebration. Sharif is taken into account a crowd-puller and a serious pressure to deliver voters to the polling stations.

    Published On:

    Sep 12, 2023