KARACHI: A married couple were shot dead by “unidentified gunmen” on the outskirts of Karachi on Wednesday, police officials said. A Sindh Industrial Trading Estate (SITE) official said that the victims, Amir, 32, and Mukhtiba, 24, were residents of Orangi Town who had wed about two years ago against the will of their families.
While this particular “honor killing” crime was reported to the police and investigations are underway, many similar cases go unreported in this part of Karachi.
One incident that initially went unreported, in the spring of 2013, involved the decision of a makeshift jirga, an alternative method of dispute resolution by the local community that is adopted in Pashtun-dominated areas of the country. A local militant commander convened the gathering at a house in Qaimkhani Colony Ittehad Town, a Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) stronghold and a no-go area for law-enforcement agencies. The issue the commander was asked to “settle” was a dispute involving a couple and the “honor” of their family.
After a brief, one-sided hearing, the commander handed down his judgment: the couple were condemned to death by stoning. Fazlur Rehman, an eyewitness and relative of the woman who was killed, said the couple was taken into the yard, buried up to their chests and stoned to death.
“It is the responsibility of the state to look after the women who suffer after members of their family are thrown behind bars for committing such gruesome killings,” said Mahnaz Rehman, the resident director of Aurat Foundation, pointing out that that most of these women are housewives who rarely leave their homes. “We have seen how women suffer when male members of their family are arrested in cases of honor killing.”
She added: “Jirgas should not be allowed to function.”
An operation began in Karachi on September 5, 2013, in which officers from law-enforcement agency the Pakistan Rangers conducted targeted raids in Sultanabad, Manghopir, Ittehad Town, Sohrab Goth, Janjal Goth, Gulshan-e-Buner and other areas where the Taliban had taken refuge. Saqib Sagheer, a journalist who covers crime and militancy for a leading Urdu daily, said the Taliban was swiftly and successfully weeded out in these regions.
Despite the Taliban being driven out, the menace of honor killing persists.
On August 14, 2017, 15-year-old Bakhtaj tried to elope with 17-year-old Ghani Rehman. When the families found out, they decided to reach a peaceful settlement and allow the couple to marry quickly. This was unacceptable to Sartaj Khan, a close relative of the TTP’s Khalid Omar Khorasani. Khan assembled a jirga in the eastern Landhi area of Karachi, attended by nearly 40 people. The aim of the meeting was to foil the settlement reached by the families.
Aslam Shah, a neighbor of Bakhtaj, said: “The families, after tracing the teenage couple, decided to get them married, but Sartaj Khan, when informed, gathered elders from Safi tribe, a sub-tribe hailing from Mohmand Agency.”
The male relatives of the girl were the first to implement the jirga’s death sentence and electrocuted her. The boy’s father resisted the decision but, said Shah, “he was threatened by Sartaj Khan, who told him that he would ask Khorasani to blow their houses.”
Fighting back tears, Rehman’s sister told of the family’s ordeal and the final moments she spent with her brother.
“Da Jee [one of the several titles used for father in Pashto] asked the boy to dine with him one last time,” she said. “But Ghani Lala [a title used for older brother] said he was not hungry. Da Jee had his dinner after the night-time prayer. Meanwhile, Lala turned to us, he dug his hands into his pockets and pulled out a few packets of Tasty Gold Supari [areca nuts] and gave one to each of us. He also left one for our older sister, who was not present at the time.”
A few hours later Rehman was electrocuted.
According to the First Information Report (FIR) filed by police on the killings, a copy of which was made available to Arab News, the jirga head, the fathers and uncles of the couple, and 30 to 35 other people were present at the time of the executions.
Shah alleged that the Shah Latif Town Station House Officer, Amanullah Marwat, took a bribe to free the jirga members. Marwat denies this claim and said that the FIR was only an initial report. After investigations, he said he found out that only five people took part in the jirga.
While the court voiced its dismay over the police report in the Landhi honor killing case, another incident emerged. According to reports, the police arrested nine people accused of involvement in the killing of a couple from Kohistan in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The pair, Husna and Hadi, had fled to Karachi from Kohistan after they willingly married each other.
Experts said the levels of honor killings in Pashtun and Sindhi areas is higher than in other communities mainly because of the low rate of literacy.
“Convening a jirga in Sindh is illegal,” said Asad Iqbal Butt, vice chairperson of Human Rights Commission of Pakistan’s Sindh chapter. However, a jirga gives added clout to its participants, making it a very lucrative business in the southern province, he added. Landlords, who are political leaders, use them to acquire votes, and those who are not politicians provide those political leaders with votes in return for money, he said.
“The government has shown zero tolerance toward jirgas in Sindh after the High Court banned all trials conducted under the jirga system throughout Sindh in April, 2004,” said Rasheed Channa, a spokesman for the chief minister Sindh.
Butt said that in 2016, 103 honor killings were reported in Sindh, of which 90 occurred in Karachi during the first three quarters of the year.
“While this may be seen as an increase in number, I see it as an increase in the reporting of such incidents,” he said. “In the past, most cases of honor killing would go unreported. Now the trend is changing. It is changing for the better.
“An informed society and better laws can help us prevent the menace in the future.”
Karachi’s deadly dishonorable secret
Karachi’s deadly dishonorable secret
- Experts say the incidence of honor killing in Pashtun and Sindhi areas is higher than in other communities, mainly because of the low literacy rate
- An informed society and better laws can help curb the practice
Children’s wellbeing ‘under threat’ in 2050, warns UNICEF
- The unchecked proliferation of new technologies poses threats to children and their personal data, making them vulnerable to online predators
UNITED NATIONS, United States: Demographic shifts, worsening climate change and rapid technological transformation risk creating a bleak future for youth in the mid-21st century, the United Nations agency for children warned Tuesday in an annual report.
“Children are experiencing a myriad of crises, from climate shocks to online dangers, and these are set to intensify in the years to come,” Catherine Russell, executive director of UNICEF, wrote in a statement marking the release of the agency’s annual report.
“Decades of progress, particularly for girls, are under threat.”
This year, UNICEF uses its report to project forward to 2050 identifying three “major trends” that in addition to unpredictable conflicts pose threats to children unless policymakers make changes.
The first risk is demographic change, with the number of children expected to remain similar to current figures of 2.3 billion, but they will represent a smaller share of the larger and aging global population of around 10 billion.
While the proportion of children will decline across all regions, their numbers will explode in some of the poorest areas, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa.
This offers the potential to boost economic growth, but only if the new young population has access to quality education, health care, and jobs, UNICEF notes.
In some developed countries, children could make up less than 10 percent of the population by 2050, raising concerns about their “visibility” and rights in societies focused on aging populations.
The second threat is climate change.
If current greenhouse gas emission trends continue, by 2050 children could face eight times more heatwaves than in 2000, three times more extreme flooding, and 1.7 times more wildfires, UNICEF projects.
New technology, particularly artificial intelligence, has the potential to power new innovation and progress but could also widen existing inequalities between rich and poor countries.
An estimated 95 percent of people in developed nations have Internet access, compared to just 26 percent in the least developed, often due to a lack of electricity, connectivity, or devices.
“Failure to remove barriers for children in these countries, especially for those living in the poorest households, means letting an already disadvantaged generation fall even further behind,” according to UNICEF.
Being connected also carries risks. The unchecked proliferation of new technologies poses threats to children and their personal data, making them vulnerable to online predators.
“Children of the future face many risks, but what we wanted to demonstrate is that the solutions are in the hands of todays decision-makers,” Cecile Aptel, deputy director of UNICEF’s research division, told AFP.
Australia, Turkiye in 2026 UN climate summit hosting standoff
- The COP summit is the centerpiece of global climate diplomacy, where nearly 200 countries gather to negotiate joint plans and funding to avert the worst impacts of rising temperatures
BAKU: Australia and Turkiye are in a standoff over which country is better suited to host United Nations climate change talks in 2026, with neither willing to give up on their bid.
Both countries have been in the running since 2022, but matters have come to a head at this year’s COP29 summit being held this week in Baku, Azerbaijan.
Australia’s climate minister made a last-minute stop in Turkiye on Friday, his office confirmed, hoping to reach a deal on the Australian bid. However, Turkish officials declined to drop their bid and the two remain in talks.
The host has a central role in brokering compromises at the annual summit and steering the final phase of negotiations. This can deliver both diplomatic prestige and a global platform to promote the country’s green industries.
The COP summit is the centerpiece of global climate diplomacy, where nearly 200 countries gather to negotiate joint plans and funding to avert the worst impacts of rising temperatures.
Every country has a shot at hosting, if they want to, as a member of one of five regional groups to take it in turns.
That system has drawn criticism as fossil fuel producers including the United Arab Emirates have played host — raising concerns among campaigners over whether countries which are deeply invested in polluting industries can be honest brokers of climate talks.
Fatma Varank, Turkiye’s deputy environment minister, told Reuters that the country’s Mediterranean location would help reduce emissions from flights bringing delegates to the conference, and highlighted its smaller oil and gas industry compared with Australia.
Australia is among the world’s largest exporters of fossil fuels.
“We don’t deny the fact that we have traditionally been a fossil fuel exporter, but we’re in the middle of a transition to changing to export renewable energy,” Australia’s climate minister Chris Bowen told Reuters at COP29.
“We have a story to tell,” he said, explaining that Australia was pitching a ‘Pacific COP’ to elevate issues affecting the region’s vulnerable island states.
Turkiye, which has a small oil and gas industry, gets around 80 percent of its energy from fossil fuels and was Europe’s second-largest producer of coal-fired electricity in 2023.
It offered to host the COP26 talks in 2021 but withdrew its bid, allowing Britain to preside over the summit. Varank said Turkiye was reluctant to step aside again.
Whoever wins would need unanimous backing from the 28 countries in the UN’s Western Europe and Others regional group. There is no firm deadline, although hosts are often confirmed years in advance to give them time to prepare.
Members including Germany, Canada and Britain have publicly backed Australia. Pacific leaders have backed Australia on the condition that it elevates the climate issues they suffer such as coastal erosion and rising seas.
Fiji’s climate secretary Sivendra Michael told Reuters the country backed Australia’s bid.
“But we are also cautiously reminding them of the national efforts that they need to make to transition away from fossil fuels,” Michael said.
Turkiye declined to say which members of the regional group had offered it support.
Ukraine, Middle East conflicts eating into US air defense stocks, US admiral says
- Paparo said the expenditure of US air defenses “imposes costs on the readiness” of the United States to respond in the Asia-Pacific, particularly given that China is the most capable adversary in the world
WASHINGTON: Conflicts in Ukraine and the Middle East are eating into US stockpiles of air defenses, the top US admiral overseeing American forces in the Asia-Pacific region said on Tuesday.
The admission by Admiral Sam Paparo could draw the attention of members of President-elect Donald Trump’s incoming administration, who are more skeptical of the war in Ukraine and who argue that President Joe Biden has failed to prepare for a potential conflict with China.
“With some of the Patriots that have been employed, some of the air-to-air missiles that have been employed, it’s now eating into stocks and to say otherwise would be dishonest,” Paparo, head of the US Indo-Pacific Command, said during an event.
Paparo said the expenditure of US air defenses “imposes costs on the readiness” of the United States to respond in the Asia-Pacific, particularly given that China is the most capable adversary in the world.
Biden’s administration has been steadily arming Ukraine and Israel with its most sophisticated air defenses. The US Navy has been directly defending shipping in the Red Sea in the face of missile and drone attacks from Houthi rebels in Yemen.
In the case of Ukraine, Biden has given Kyiv a full array of defenses, including Patriot missiles and National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile systems.
The United States last month deployed to Israel a THAAD, or the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system, and about 100 US troops to operate it. The THAAD is a critical part of the US military’s layered air defense systems.
Progressive senators call to block US arms sales to Israel
- The Vermont representative told reporters that “what is happening in Gaza today is unspeakable,” pointing in particular to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Palestinian territory, as well as large-scale destruction of buildings
- The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the death toll from the ongoing war has reached 43,972 people, the majority civilians
WASHINGTON: A handful of left-leaning senators on Tuesday called on the Biden administration to halt arms sales to Israel, accusing the United States of playing a key role in the “atrocities” of the war in Gaza.
The four senators gave the media conference ahead of a Wednesday vote on resolutions condemning the US weapons sales — measures that are expected to fail given the large number of lawmakers who support Israel, a historic American ally.
The resolutions were put forth by progressive Senator Bernie Sanders, alongside several other Democrats.
The Vermont representative told reporters that “what is happening in Gaza today is unspeakable,” pointing in particular to the deaths of tens of thousands of civilians in the Palestinian territory, as well as large-scale destruction of buildings and infrastructure.
“What makes it even more painful is that much of what is happening there has been done with US weapons and with American taxpayer support,” he said.
The health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza says the death toll from the ongoing war has reached 43,972 people, the majority civilians. The United Nations considers the figures reliable.
The war began first began when Hamas militants attacked Israel on October 7, 2023, resulting in the deaths of 1,206 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.
The administration of President Joe Biden has steadfastly backed Israel while counseling restraint for more than a year.
“The United States of America is complicit in these atrocities,” Sanders said. “That complicity must end and that is what these resolutions are about.”
Democratic Senator Chris Van Hollen, also speaking at the media conference, questioned whether America’s foreign policy and commitment to Israel had forced the United States to “be blind to the suffering before our very eyes?“
French president urges Putin to ‘listen to reason’ on Ukraine
- Emmanuel Macron said he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping to "use all his influence" with Putin to try to achieve a de-escalation.
RIO DE JANEIRO: French President Emmanuel Macron urged his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin to “listen to reason” on Ukraine, accusing Moscow of becoming “a force of global destabilization” after it loosened its rules on using nuclear arms.
Speaking to journalists after the G20 summit in Rio de Janeiro, the French leader said: “I want truly to call here on Russia to listen to reason. As a permanent member of the United Nations Security Council it has responsibilities.”
He said he had asked Chinese President Xi Jinping during a meeting at the G20 to “use all his influence” with Putin to try to achieve a de-escalation.
Macron said Russia ally China had “the capacity to negotiate with President Putin so that he halts his attacks” on Ukraine.
Macron also cited the alleged involvement of another China ally, North Korea, which has reportedly deployed thousands of troops to fight alongside Russia, as a reason for Beijing to intercede.
Russia has reacted furiously to a decision by US President Joe Biden to change policy on Ukraine and allow Kyiv to use US-supplied long-range missiles to strike Russian territory for the first time.
The tensions spiralled further on Tuesday after Russia said Ukraine used the missiles against a facility in Russia’s Bryansk region.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, who was at the G20, said the escalation had brought the United States and Russia to “the brink of direct military conflict.”
