PAKISTAN: The ransacked university hostel room of slain Pakistani student Mashal Khan has posters of Karl Marx and Che Guevara still hanging on the walls, along with scribbled quotes including one that reads: “Be curious, crazy and mad.”
The day before, a heated debate over religion with fellow students broke out at the dorm and led to people accusing Khan of blasphemy against Islam. That attracted a crowd that grew to several hundred people, according to witnesses.
The mob kicked in the door, dragged Khan from his room and beat him to death, witnesses and police said.
The death in the northwestern city of Mardan is the latest violence linked to accusations of blasphemy in Pakistan.
Those who knew Khan described him as an intellectually curious student who openly professed devotion to Islam but asked many questions.
“Whatever he had to say, he would say it openly, but he didn’t understand the environment he was living in,” said one of Khan’s teachers at Abdul Wali Khan University, who declined to be named for fear of retribution.
Aziz ur Rehman, a caretaker at the hostel who witnessed Khan’s debate with his fellow students, said he brought up arcane subjects such as whether the offspring of Adam and Eve — the original humans in Islamic texts as well as Judeo-Christian ones — would have married each other, raising the issue of incest.
Crimes related to blasphemy are a serious offense in Muslim-majority Pakistan, and penalties range from small fines to the death sentence.
At least 65 people have been murdered over blasphemy allegations since 1990, according to figures from a Center for Research and Security Studies report and local media, and dozens more convicted of the crime are currently on death row in Pakistani jails.
The Pakistani government has yet to comment publicly on Khan’s killing.
In March, Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued an order for the removal of blasphemous content online, and said anyone who posted such content should face “strict punishment under the law.”
Police say they have arrested 20 suspects involved in Khan’s murder and have found no evidence to substantiate blasphemy allegations.
IMAM REFUSES LAST RIGHTS
Rehman, the caretaker, said Khan was alive when the police arrived, but that they did not approach the hostel until it was too late.
“They could have easily saved his life but they stood away from the mob ... I heard one officer say it’s good that they sent this non-believer to hell,” he said.
Mardan police chief Mohammad Alam Shinwari denied the allegation that officers did not do enough to save Khan.
“When we entered the campus, he had already been killed and the mob was trying to burn his body,” he said.
In Khan’s home town of Swabi, around 60 km south of Mardan, his father, Iqbal Shaer, said the accusations of blasphemy were unfounded. “First they killed my son and now they are adding salt to our wounds,” he told Reuters.
Shaer, who runs a small business selling biscuits and chocolates to local retailers, said he had always been a lover of poetry and literature and encouraged his children to express themselves and appreciate the arts.
He added: “My wife told me this morning that she spent her life taking care of her son, but those who killed him have wasted that long struggle.”
At Khan’s funeral, the imam at the local mosque refused to read the last rights, according to Swabi resident Salman Ahmed. A technician who was asked to do so in the cleric’s place was confronted by several people afterwards.
Khan has since been buried.
Dorm debate led to death in Pakistan ‘blasphemy killing’
Dorm debate led to death in Pakistan ‘blasphemy killing’
Saudi Arabia’s transformation attracting rising number of students in India
- India’s Education Ministry sponsored a university program on the Kingdom’s development programs
- Sessions in New Delhi also garnered interest from students in other parts of India, coordinator says
NEW DELHI: Saudi Arabia’s transformation programs and Vision 2030 are gaining interest among university students in India, as one of the country’s most prestigious educational institutions hosts a special course on the topic this week.
The five-day course — organized by Jawaharlal Nehru University in New Delhi in cooperation with the Ministry of Education — is part of the Indian government’s Global Initiative of Academic Networks program aimed at encouraging exchanges with the world’s top faculty members and scientists.
The special course that will conclude on Friday has been led by Prof. Joseph Albert Kechichian, senior fellow at the King Faisal Center for Research and Islamic Studies in Riyadh, who specializes in West Asian politics and foreign policy, especially of the Gulf region.
The sessions have attracted students from different parts of India, said Prof. Sameena Hameed from the JNU’s Centre for West Asian Studies, who coordinates the course.
“It’s a very niche course focused on one country and a specific region but to our surprise it has gained traction,” Hameed told Arab News, adding that the number of registered participants was double the initial expectation of 50 students.
“I’m still receiving the request from students … down south in Kerala and other states as well, so it means these kind of subjects are gaining traction because it moves in tandem with India’s increasing bilateral interest and relations in the region.”
The rising interest among Indian students was also evident for Kechichian, who was visiting India for a third time after previous speaking engagements at JNU in 2006 and 2016.
“In 2025, I’m beginning to notice sharp improvements, sharp interests in terms of young scholars who are looking at Saudi Arabia in very different eyes; no longer looking at it only as the mere oil producer, but also as a dynamic society with which Indian communities must come to terms (with), and that’s a positive development,” Kechichian told Arab News on the sidelines of the sessions on Tuesday.
The course, which was also livestreamed to registered participants, aims to provide people with “a comprehensive understanding of the changes that are taking place in the Kingdom,” he added.
“Saudi Arabia is is a young country; the majority of the population is relatively young and they are in the process of acquiring new skills, opening new opportunities in terms of entrepreneurship and others, and, obviously, all of these young people need to have contacts with the rest of the world, among whom India, of course, plays an important role as well.”
Saudi-Indian ties have steadily gained prominence over the past three decades, and reached a new level of engagement in 2019, following Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman’s visit to New Delhi and the establishment of the Strategic Partnership Council.
These aspects set the stage for further collaboration, which gained momentum when Saudi Arabia presided over the Group of 20 largest economies in 2020, followed by India’s presidency of the bloc in 2023.
The evolving relationship has not only deepened strategic ties, but also fostered cooperation in trade, security, new technologies and regional stability.
Amid “tremendous interest” to improve ties between Saudi and Indian business communities, Kechichian said that such courses will help both sides to get to know each other better and pave the way for future cooperation.
“All indications are, in fact, that both sides are trying to encourage business leaders to create entrepreneurship and to do as much as possible to benefit both sides,” he said.
For Aarya R. Sardesai, a political science student at the Janki Devi Memorial College in the University of Delhi, understanding Saudi Arabia better was integral to her education.
“Obviously, it will benefit me to know in terms of how my country and Saudi Arabia can have better relations and stronger ties in future,” Sardesai told Arab News.
“I think Saudi Arabia is trying to set a new trend; it is trying to incline itself with the fast-paced globalized world and the attempts that they are making to bring these shifts … are quite commendable.”
The changes happening in Saudi Arabia were a point of attraction for many of the participants.
“This is more about the future parts of Gulf countries and how they are going to go about diversifying their economies … it is very close to my research,” said Ph.D. student Deepika Matangi.
Kelvin Benny, a Ph.D. candidate at JNU, said that he took part in the course because of Saudi Arabia’s importance in India’s Act West Policy, a government strategy aimed at strengthening relations with Arab countries.
“So, for our academic input we need deep research on Saudi, and especially Saudi is a country undergoing a huge transformation from a typical oil-based economy to a modern economy,” Benny told Arab News. “So, in this context, Saudi is very essential.”
UK delaying reversal on Israeli arms export ban: Report
- British PM expects ‘sustained’ aid deliveries to Gaza before reversing partial weapons freeze
- Israeli counterpart raised the matter during phone call on Tuesday
LONDON: The UK is delaying lifting its partial ban on arms exports to Israel until “sustained” humanitarian aid shipments arrive in Gaza, The Times reported.
Prime Minister Keir Starmer, who spoke to his Israeli counterpart Benjamin Netanyahu by telephone on Tuesday, is believed to be resisting pressure from Tel Aviv on the matter.
Starmer is expected to wait for formal legal advice that Israel’s policy on aid deliveries has improved before reversing the ban.
A source told The Times: “There are signs that the trucks are getting through. But we have told the Israelis we need that to be sustained and to see numbers increased.”
Last September, UK Foreign Secretary David Lammy suspended 30 of 350 export licenses to Israel due to fears that the weapons could be used to commit violations of international law, implicating Britain in the process. Licenses are reviewed every six weeks as per government policy.
The government’s existing legal position on the banned export licenses cites credible claims of Israeli mistreatment of Palestinian prisoners of war, as well as insufficient aid deliveries to Gaza. Israel could “reasonably do more to facilitate humanitarian access and distribution,” it says.
During Tuesday’s phone call, Netanyahu “raised the issue of the weapons export licenses to Israel that have been frozen in the UK,” according to an Israeli government report.
There are concerns that an Israeli law set to take effect next week designating the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees as a terrorist group could prevent it from helping with urgent aid deliveries.
UNRWA is the largest aid organization in Gaza, with about 13,000 staff in the Palestinian enclave.
Daesh claims responsibility for killing Chinese national in Afghanistan
- Daesh said it had targeted a vehicle carrying the Chinese citizen, which led to his death and damage to his vehicle
- China said it was “deeply shocked” by the attack and demanded the Afghan side thoroughly investigate the incident
KABUL: Daesh (Islamic State) has claimed responsibility for the killing of a Chinese national in Afghanistan’s northern Takhar province, it said in a post on its Telegram channel late on Wednesday.
Afghan police in the province had said on Wednesday that a Chinese citizen was murdered and a preliminary investigation had been launched, but it was not clear who was behind the attack.
Daesh said it had targeted a vehicle carrying the Chinese citizen, which led to his death and damage to his vehicle.
China’s foreign ministry said on Thursday it was “deeply shocked” by the attack and had demanded that the Afghan side thoroughly investigate the incident and severely punish the perpetrators.
“We urge the Afghan interim government to take resolute and effective measures to ensure the security of Chinese civil institutions and projects in Afghanistan,” ministry spokesperson Mao Ning said at a regular press briefing.
China was the first country to appoint an ambassador to Afghanistan under the Taliban and has said it wants to boost trade and investment ties.
The Taliban took over in 2021, vowing to restore security to the war-torn nation.
Attacks have continued, including an assault in 2022 on a Kabul hotel popular with Chinese investors. Daesh has claimed responsibility for many of them.
NATO allies must pay ‘fair share’ before adding members: US envoy
- NATO allies must pay their “fair share” on defense before considering enlarging the alliance, a US presidential envoy said Thursday, as NATO’s chief said members will need to ramp up defense spending
DAVOS: NATO allies must pay their “fair share” on defense before considering enlarging the alliance, a US presidential envoy said Thursday, as NATO’s chief said members will need to ramp up defense spending.
“You cannot ask the American people to expand the umbrella of NATO when the current members aren’t paying their fair share, and that includes the Dutch who need to step up,” US envoy Richard Grenell said by video link at an event on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum in response to NATO chief Mark Rutte, the former Dutch prime minister.
“We have collectively to move up and we will decide on the exact number later this year, but it will be considerably more than two (percent),” Rutte said, referring to the alliance’s target of defense spending of two percent of GDP.
Balkan air pollution crisis threatens public health, EU membership goals
- Old coal plants, cars keep Balkan pollution high
- Economic hardship hinders progress toward reducing emissions
OBILIC: For 30 years, Shemsi Gara operated a giant digger in a Kosovo coal mine, churning up toxic dust that covered his face and got into his airways. Home life wasn’t much better: the power plants that the mine supplies constantly spew fumes over his village.
Gara died on Sunday aged 55 after three years of treatment failed to contain his lung cancer. In his final days, unable to walk, he lay on a couch at home, gaunt and in pain, as a machine pumped oxygen into his dying body.
“I kept telling him I wanted to help, but I couldn’t,” said his wife Xhejlane, who mourned in her living room with friends on Wednesday. “He would say ‘Only God knows the pain I have’.”
As much of the world moves to reduce the use of fossil fuels, pollution in Western Balkan countries remains stubbornly high due to household heating, outdated coal plants, old cars, and a lack of money to tackle the problem.
Relatively small cities such as Serbia’s capital Belgrade and Bosnia’s capital Sarajevo have frequently topped daily global pollution charts, according to websites that track air quality worldwide.
This has costly health impacts, and could also jeopardize such countries’ prospects of joining the European Union, which has stricter emissions standards.
“There are no resources in the region for the reduction of air pollution,” said Mirko Popovic, a director with the Renewables and Environmental Regulatory Institute think-tank in Belgrade.
In the EU, net greenhouse gas emissions have dropped by about 40 percent since 1990, driven by the embrace of renewable energy, a European Commission report said in November.
Western Balkan nations have pledged to reduce carbon emissions but economic hardship has slowed progress.
Kosovo, one of Europe’s poorest countries, generates more than 90 percent of its power from coal. The World Bank estimates that a transition to a coal-free economy will cost 4.5 billion euros.
SMOG
The impact of pollution is clear across the region, especially in winter.
Smog has cloaked Belgrade this week, while Sarajevo sits in a valley that acts as a pollution trap. The Bosnian capital’s air quality was classed as “hazardous” on Tuesday, the worst in the world, according to IQAir, which tracks pollution levels.
In North Macedonia’s capital Skopje, mask-wearing locals often lose sight of nearby snow-capped mountains for days.
The rate of deaths attributable to ambient pollution is relatively high — 114 per 100,000 people in Bosnia and around 100 in Serbia and Montenegro, World Health Organization data show, compared with just 45 in Germany and 29 in France.
Gara was buried on Monday in a cemetery in Obilic, outside Kosovo’s capital Pristina. From the graveside, mourners could hear the chug of a nearby conveyor belt transporting coal from the mine to the power plants.
Gara’s doctor, Haki Jashari, blamed Gara’s cancer on his years at the coal mine, and on the polluting power plants.
Cancer rates more than doubled in Obilic over the last two years, Jashari said — the result, he added, of a generation of exposure to pollutants. He expects it will get worse.
Kosovo’s energy ministry told Reuters it was committed to reducing emissions and was investing in renewable energy projects and upgrading existing plants.
Jashari only wishes more could have been done sooner.
“They would have shut the plants down if we were part of the EU. It is unacceptable.”
