KARACHI: With less than a month left until Pakistan’s general elections, political parties have been unable to start their campaigning in one of the city’s most politicized towns, Lyari — not, for once, due to warring gangs — but due to FIFA World Cup-inspired football fever.
Lyari, the oldest town in Karachi, is known for its love for football and boxing. Warring gangs, however, had made it no-go area for many, law enforcement officials included.
It was reported that in March 2013, Sardar Uzair Jan Baloch, a gang leader now being detained by the government, and his associates, played football using the severed head of rival gang leader Arshad Pappu, in one of the town’s main football grounds.
After the deterioration of law and order in Lyari, area was finally freed from gang violence after a third clean-up attempt.
Football and boxing, however, were always refuges for those trying to steer away from becoming gang members.
But now it is the FIFA World Cup, not gang violence, that has halted political activities in the area, local activists have reported.
Shahid Shehenshai, a worker for the Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP), a former security guard to the assassinated former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, confirmed that political parties have been unable to start their election drive in the town.
“Political activists are clueless as how to conduct their campaigns here. When we call someone telling them about our proposed visit plan, we are told not to come or to come the next day – a tomorrow that never comes,” said Shehenshai.
Maula Bux Baloch, general secretary of the Azad Muslim Football club, who has fought for election as an independent candidate, said: “I wouldn’t be surprised if, God forbid, someone dies and fans ask the deceased’s family to postpone the funeral until after the match. Many fans who are invited to wedding receptions never even bother showing up.”
He asked: “Do you really think the people of Lyari will listen to political leaders at a time when their favorite teams are playing?”
“Lyariites are political people and they don’t love politics less, they just love football more, and if you ask them to choose between the two – they will pick football,” Arshad Ameer, a local leader of the the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), told Arab News.
Ameer added that peace has returned to Lyari and the town will witness great political activities, but not until after July 15, when the World Cup is over.
“Gangs never stopped anyone from political campaigning during the previous general polls, but people were so scared that they could hardly run their campaigns,” he said.
Raheem Baloch, another local resident, said that the only the PPP ran a campaign in 2013. “Now when the gangs are not around, the field is open for all,” he said.
“Muttahida Majlis Amal (MMA) was the first to hold a jalsa (rally) in the area, but it was before the start of the World Cup. When Shehbaz Sharif held a public gathering most of those present were outsiders who rallied here along with other PML-N leaders from other localities of the city,” said Abu-Bakr Baloch, a local journalist.
“No party has started its political campaign yet; there are no corner meetings and no door-to-door campaigns have taken place either, let alone the big public gatherings in which political parties show their muscle,” he said.
Abu-Bakr added that approximately 300 screens have been installed in the area, where nearly 500 residents turn up to watch the matches.
Maula Bux Bloch claimed that of the 153 football clubs in Karachi’s district south, well over 100 in Lyari, and every major club fixed a huge screen. Bux added that women as well as men of all ages were following the World Cup.
“When matches are being played, my wife and other women of our family are all glued to the TV sets at home,” Bux told Arab News.
“Brazil, Argentina, Germany, Portugal and France are favorites for Lyariites. A number of people also support Saudi Arabia,” said Ibrahim Gulab, a former football player from the Moosa Lane area. He said that when a match ends, the winning team’s supporters take to the streets to celebrate the victory.
“Earlier, if a street in Lyari was dark, people would turn back for fear of entering a gang area. Now, when all the street lights are switched off and there is complete darkness, it means football fans have setup a big screen to watch the World Cup matches,” Baloch said.
Political campaigning comes to a halt as football fever engulfs Lyari
Political campaigning comes to a halt as football fever engulfs Lyari
- Lyari, the oldest town in Karachi inhabited by 2.5 million people, has more than 100 football clubs
- Around 300 big screens have been set up in the town, where hundreds of fans come to watch their favorite teams play
Princess Kate joins husband William on visit to English town hit by killings, riot
- Disinformation spread on social media in the aftermath of the July attack wrongly identified the assailant as an Islamist migrant, and led to violent clashes
LONDON: Prince William was accompanied by wife Kate on Thursday for their first joint public engagement since she ended chemotherapy treatment, meeting bereaved families of three young girls murdered at a Taylor Swift-themed dance event in Southport.
Southport, a quiet seaside town in northwest England, drew a global spotlight on July 29 when three girls were stabbed to death and other children were seriously hurt in an attack on the summer vacation event. Rioting then broke out days later.
On their visit on Thursday, William and Kate, the Prince and Princess of Wales, spoke privately with families of the victims and a dance teacher who was present at the time of the attack, and later met representatives from local emergency services who had responded to the incident.
“We continue to stand with everyone in Southport,” the pair said in a statement through their office, Kensington Palace, signed with their initials.
“Meeting the community today has been a powerful reminder of the importance of supporting one another in the wake of unimaginable tragedy. You will remain in our thoughts and prayers.”
It was one of the first engagements Kate has carried out since she began to slowly return to work after ending her course of preventative chemotherapy for cancer, and it was her first in public since then.
Kate’s unexpected appearance came because the couple wanted to visit to show their support to the families and community, and let them know they had not been forgotten.
The visit echoes one made by William’s father King Charles who went to Southport in August where he met some of the surviving children and their families.
Disinformation spread on social media in the aftermath of the July attack wrongly identified the assailant as an Islamist migrant, and led to violent clashes between protesters and police in Southport, and an attempt to attack the town’s mosque.
A teenager, who was 17 at the time of the incident, has been charged with carrying out the murders.
Days of similar rioting followed across the country which police and the government blamed on far-right thuggery, leading to about 1,500 arrests and almost 400 people being jailed as the authorities sought to stamp out the trouble.
Zelensky denies ceasefire with Russia under discussion on trip
- Zelensky was seeking a military and financial boost during a 48-hour trip to London, Paris, Rome and Berlin
- “This is not the topic of our discussions,” he said. “It’s not right. Russia works a lot with media disinformation, so it (such reports) is understandable”
PARIS: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Thursday a ceasefire with Russia was not under discussion with European allies and urged more Western support ahead of a tough winter during his lightning tour of four capitals.
Zelensky was seeking a military and financial boost during a 48-hour trip to London, Paris, Rome and Berlin, amid fears of dwindling support if Donald Trump becomes US president next month.
Speaking to reporters after talks with President Emmanuel Macron in Paris, Zelensky denied media reports that he was discussing the terms of a ceasefire with Russia.
“This is not the topic of our discussions,” he said. “It’s not right. Russia works a lot with media disinformation so it (such reports) is understandable,” he added.
Zelensky has rejected any peace plan that involves ceding land to Russia, arguing Moscow must first withdraw all troops from Ukrainian territory.
Zelensky also said he and Macron had discussed Kyiv’s “victory plan” to defeat Russia, expressing gratitude to the French president for all his support.
“Before winter we need your support,” he added, acknowledging “a difficult situation in the east” and a “big deficit” in terms of some equipment.
Without elaborating, Macron said Zelensky had outlined Ukraine’s “plan for the next weeks” and the pair had discussed strategy for the “next weeks and months.”
Macron emphasized he had reaffirmed France’s support “for the Ukrainian resistance against the Russian invasion.”
Ukraine is facing its toughest winter since the full-scale invasion started in February 2022, as Russia launches strikes on the country’s power grid and advances across the eastern frontline.
The talks came after Macron on Wednesday made a highly unusual visit to a military camp in eastern France, the precise location of which was not disclosed, to meet part of a brigade of Ukrainian troops France is training.
Zelensky arrived in Paris from London where he had had talks with UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and NATO chief Mark Rutte.
Speaking after his Downing Street meeting, Zelensky said he had “outlined the details of our victory plan,” adding that it “aims to create the right conditions for a just end to the war.”
The meeting, Starmer said, had been a chance to “go through the plan, to talk in more detail.”
Zelensky maintains that Ukraine desperately needs more aid to fight back after Russia captured dozens of small towns and villages in the east.
He is also pushing for clearance to use long-range weapons supplied by allies, including British-supplied Storm Shadow missiles, to strike military targets deep inside Russia.
Washington and London have stalled on giving approval over fears it could draw NATO allies into direct conflict with Russia.
Zelensky said he had raised the subject at the Downing Street meeting.
Rutte told reporters “legally, that is possible because legally, Ukraine is allowed to use its weapons, if they can hit targets in Russia, if these targets present a threat to Ukraine.”
But he added: “Whether individual allies do, that’s in the end, always up to individual allies.”
Rutte and Britain cautioned against placing too much focus on long-range missiles.
“No war has ever been won by a single weapon,” Starmer’s spokesman said. The talks were instead about “the range of support” for Ukraine.
A planned meeting of Ukraine’s allies in Germany on Saturday was postponed after US President Joe Biden called off his visit to focus on the threat from Hurricane Milton.
On the ground, questions are growing about the long-term strategy of an offensive into Russia’s Kursk region, given Moscow’s push in the east of Ukraine.
On Thursday, the Kremlin said its missiles had struck two launchers of a US-made Patriot air-defense system, which Ukraine uses against Russian missiles.
“If this is a short-term operation, it will strengthen us,” Bogdan, one serviceman sitting at a cafe in Druzhkivka, near Kramatorsk, told AFP.
“If it’s a long-term operation and we plan to stay in Kursk, it will deplete our main resources.”
Ukraine relies on billions of dollars worth of US aid to fight Russia’s invasion, and the US presidential election in November could prove pivotal.
The German-based Kiel Institute warned Thursday Western military and financial aid to Kyiv could halve to about 29 billion euros ($31 billion) in 2025 if Trump wins the November 5 election.
Trump has promised to end the war “in 24 hours” if he is elected — a prospect Kyiv fears means being forced to make massive compromises to achieve peace.
Pressure grows in Philippines to stop sending migrant workers to Israel
- About 27,000 Filipinos, mostly caregivers, are living and working in Israel
- Worker deployment to neighboring Lebanon banned over security situation
MANILA: The Philippine government is facing pressure to stop sending workers to Israel, with labor rights advocates and politicians raising security concerns amid the escalating conflicts in Gaza and Lebanon.
The Philippines does not allow the sending of workers to Lebanon, which is on its alert level 3 that carries a deployment ban. For the past few weeks, it has been also calling on nationals to return home in the wake of Israel’s increasing bombardment of civilian sites.
But no such measures are in place for Israel, which remains on the Philippine government’s alert level 2 despite facing retaliatory attacks amid growing hostilities with most neighboring countries.
“It’s time to review the policy,” said Raymond Palatino, former congressman and current secretary general of BAYAN, the Philippines’ largest alliance of grassroots groups.
“Given the worsening situation today, the government should at least consider suspending the deployment of workers to Israel.”
He told Arab News that while the Philippines was already repatriating its nationals from Israel, it was still allowing new batches of workers to go there and “face the same risks in their destination.”
Marissa Magsino, lawmaker representing overseas Filipino workers in Congress, also pressed for the deployment to be suspended.
“The Philippines should not continue to send its workforce to Israel due to the ongoing conflict and security risks,” she said. “The safety of the workers must come first.”
There are about 27,000 Filipinos in Israel, mostly caregivers, according to data from the Middle East chapter of Migrante, a global alliance of overseas Filipino workers. Some 900 of them have returned to the Philippines since October last year, when Israel began its deadly war on Gaza, which this month expanded to Lebanon as well.
“OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) in Israel are not really safe because Israel is at war and is continually fanning the flames of conflict against Iran, Lebanon, Palestine and other countries in the region. In fact, its so-called Iron Dome defense system was already breached,” Migrante told Arab News, referring to the recent Iranian strikes on Tel Aviv, where missiles penetrated the system designed to intercept rockets.
Migrante said its call to stop worker deployment was not only driven by security considerations, but also Israel’s ongoing destruction and indiscriminate killing of civilians in Gaza, over which it is a defendant in a genocide case at the International Court of Justice.
It said the Philippine government should ban sending workers to Israel “as a matter of expressing its discontent with the government of Israel for illegally occupying Palestinian lands and for its war crimes against the people of Palestine.”
Since the deadly onslaught on Gaza began on Oct. 7, Israeli forces have killed more than 42,000 Palestinians and wounded in excess of 97,000 others, according to estimates from the enclave’s Health Ministry.
However, the real toll is feared to be much higher. A study published by the medical journal The Lancet estimated earlier this year that the true number of those killed could be more than 186,000, taking into consideration indirect deaths as a result of starvation, injury and lack of access to medical aid as Israeli forces have destroyed most of Gaza’s infrastructure and continued to block the entry of aid.
Indonesian volunteers report Israeli strikes on Palestinians fleeing assault on north Gaza
- About 400,000 Palestinians trapped in north Gaza as Israeli military launches new strikes
- Workers at Indonesian hospital choose to stay with patients despite Israel’s evacuation orders
JAKARTA: Palestinians fleeing northern Gaza after being ordered to do so by the Israeli military are being shot at as they evacuate, Indonesian hospital volunteers report, as hundreds of thousands of civilians are trapped in the area.
The Israeli forces issued evacuation orders on Sunday morning for large parts of northern Gaza and instructed residents to seek refuge in the overcrowded “safe zone” in the southern area of Al-Mawasi, ahead of new ground and air attacks.
The Indonesia Hospital in north Gaza, which is funded by the Indonesian NGO Medical Emergency Rescue Committee, or MER-C, was among the medical centers ordered to evacuate.
MER-C volunteers said the people who tried to flee were targeted by Israeli forces on the routes designated as humanitarian zones.
“We have Indonesian volunteers there, and when they reported to us we could hear the sound of guns being fired sporadically as people started to evacuate to the south,” Sarbini Abdul Murad, chairman of MER-C’s board of trustees in Jakarta, told Arab News.
“What Israel is doing is just like the beginning of their war on Gaza, asking residents to evacuate according to the military’s orders, but shooting them while they are evacuating,” he said. “Now it’s the same, they issue the designated routes for evacuation but shoot people on their journey.”
The Indonesia Hospital was functioning partially before Sunday’s evacuation orders. More than two dozen patients remained under the care of about 40 medical workers who chose to stay.
“Health workers are still there even though they are also ordered to leave the hospital. They are doing so for the sake of humanity, because many residents are also staying, refusing to evacuate,” Murad said.
“Many people are also in critical condition, so the health workers are staying because they are very needed by the people. All the patients being treated are victims of Israeli attacks.”
Dozens of people were reported to have been killed and wounded in north Gaza this week, as Israel launched new strikes, which it said were aimed at preventing Palestinian fighters from regrouping in the area.
“Israel didn’t keep its promise. When they issued the orders for evacuation, it was also written that there will be humanitarian routes … but in reality, Israel shot and bombed the refugees who are evacuating,” Fikri Rofiul Haq, a MER-C volunteer at the Indonesian hospital, said in an audio message shared on social media.
“Israel also threatened that anyone who stays in the hospital will be killed or captured … Israel is destroying all health facilities in northern Gaza, because there are only three functioning hospitals left.”
About 400,000 people are trapped in north Gaza, Philippe Lazzarini, the head of the UN relief agency for Palestine, UNRWA, wrote on X on Wednesday.
He said many refused to leave “because they know too well that no place anywhere in Gaza is safe.”
More than a year since Israel launched its war on Gaza, its military has killed at least 42,000 people and injured more than 97,000. The real death toll is feared to be much higher, with estimates published by the medical journal The Lancet indicating that as of July it could be more than 186,000.
Human Rights Watch tells NATO members to take in former Afghan policewomen
- Thousands are in hiding and face persecution from the Taliban for supporting former government
- HRW report documents cases of sexual abuse, harassment including from before the Taliban took power
LONDON: Human Rights Watch has urged NATO member states to evacuate and house Afghan policewomen threatened by the Taliban.
About 3,800 former policewomen face persecution in Afghanistan, including sexual abuse and harassment, for their past roles working alongside NATO forces. Many feel betrayed by NATO for failing to transport them out of the country following the collapse of the government and the coalition withdrawal in August 2021.
HRW has published a report, titled “Double Betrayal: Abuses against Afghan Policewomen Past and Present,” which documents how thousands live in hiding in Afghanistan, with others having fled to Pakistan and Iran.
The report calls on the US, UK, EU member states, Canada and Japan to resettle the former Afghan policewomen as a priority, to put a stop to their suffering and recognize their contributions assisting the coalition in Afghanistan in maintaining law and order.
Fereshta Abbasi, HRW’s Afghanistan researcher, told The Independent about the experience of one female former police officer she spoke to for the report.
“The district police chief came to her house at night and raped her. Her husband was away that day. She cried in front of me. She said she couldn’t file a complaint because she feared her husband would divorce her and she would lose custody of her children,” Abbasi said.
Another former officer told her: “The head of intelligence for my station really harassed me. He told me that he could do whatever he wanted to me.”
Abbasi added: “Almost all of them (the former officers) have received threatening calls from the Taliban; their houses have been raided. They are being threatened by the Taliban but also by their families because being a policewoman was never accepted in the Afghan society.”
Many women who worked in the police fear reprisals from the government — but also from broader Afghan society — if they are identified.
One told HRW that the Taliban contacted her to demand she return to work, but she was concerned it was an attempt to trap her.
“I got scared and cut the phone call,” she said. “Again I received a phone call and this time I was asked, ‘will you come by yourself or shall we come and drag you by the hair?’”
She now disguises herself in public to avoid being persecuted, telling HRW: “If people find out, they might rat me out to the Taliban that I used to work for police.”
The report said that cases of poor mental health among former Afghan policewomen, including anxiety, depression and panic attacks, are common as a result of abuse.
This is compounded by the ill-treatment they faced before the Taliban took control of the country, with male police superiors frequently abusing their power over female subordinates.
“I spoke to one of the former policewomen who said she served the government in the same job role for 20 years because she rejected demands of sexual favors,” Abbasi told The Independent.
“Now, they are asked to come back by the Taliban to do menial jobs as sweepers, prison guards or clerks, but nobody can ensure their safety.”
She added: “The conditions under the Taliban are abysmal and horrifying but that doesn’t mean these policewomen who served alongside the UK and the US, among other nations, don’t get to hold those who harassed them accountable.”
