ISLAMABAD: Pakistan removed a radical Sunni Muslim leader from a terrorist list on Thursday, in a surprise twist that paves the way for his candidates to contest next month’s election even as another key ally of ousted leader Nawaz Sharif was disqualified.
The clearing of Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, head of the Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ) group, by the caretaker government that is running Pakistan during the two months of campaigning ahead of the July 25 general election was called “a shocking development” by the local Express-Tribune newspaper.
ASWJ has in the past been accused of inciting violence against Pakistan’s minority Shiite Muslims as the political face of the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi (LeJ) militant group. It denies links with LeJ.
The Election Commission of Pakistan was due to release a final candidates list by Friday, one that could include dozens of ASWJ candidates as well as others supported by Hafiz Saeed, an anti-India cleric labelled by the United States and India as the mastermind behind the 2008 attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people.
Missing from the final list of candidates, however, will be some of the country’s most established politicians from the outgoing ruling party, the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), whose founder, Nawaz Sharif, says elements of the powerful army and the judiciary are seeking to keep it from winning.
The Supreme Court, which removed Sharif as prime minister last year, on Thursday barred his former privatization minister, Daniyal Aziz, from contesting the election.
“Pakistan’s history in terms of using state institutions to manage political processes are well known,” Aziz told Reuters. “The hope and prayer was that we had moved beyond that, and the facts are before you.”
LEGAL CASES
Since his removal, Sharif has argued that the Pakistani military establishment, aided by top members of the judiciary, is using a series of cases against him and others in his party to tip the scales in favor of opposition politician Imran Khan.
Khan is running on a socially conservative, anti-corruption platform. He denies colluding with the military establishment and praises the disqualifications and prosecutions of PML-N figures as a long-needed crackdown on graft.
The ban on Aziz came just a day after an Election Commission tribunal barred the outgoing prime minister, Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who took over after Sharif was ousted, from standing for election in his home constituency, though he is contesting another seat in Islamabad.
The Supreme Court had held Aziz in contempt of court for describing its removal of Sharif last July as politically motivated. Aziz says he was misquoted.
In the case of Abbasi, an Election Commission tribunal ruled that he had failed to declare an accurate value of his assets in his nomination papers.
Abbasi denied the charges and termed the decision illegal, saying he would appeal against the ban.
“It is an election for the parliament. They have made it a joke,” he told television news channels.
Sharif has been barred for life from returning to politics, and is separately facing criminal charges in an anti-corruption court that could see him sentenced to prison in the coming weeks.
GOING MAINSTREAM
Islamist parties have seldom had a major impact in Pakistani elections, though they have created a high profile and have at times, according to analysts, enjoyed covert support from Pakistan’s intelligence agencies.
Still, a rash of new Islamist political parties have entered the political sphere in the past year, an apparent fulfilment of an army-backed proposal to “mainstream” extremists groups into politics that Sharif rejected while in office. The military has denied it is behind any of the new religious right parties.
“Pakistan has leaned on Ludhianvi to help in very interesting ways — ranging from reaching out to the Afghan Taliban to pitch the idea of peace talks, to trying to reduce violence in Pakistani neighborhoods,” said Michael Kugelman, a South Asia expert at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington.
“Taking Ludhianvi off the terror list may be meant as a goodwill gesture toward someone that the state would like to keep in its good graces.”
Ludhianvi’s ASWJ shares roots with the more violent Lashkar-e-Jhangvi militant group based in central Punjab province, which had strong ties to Al-Qaeda and has waged a deadly campaign against Shiites for more than two decades.
It was unclear who authorized the removal of Ludhianvi from the watchlist, with federal and provincial authorities both saying others were responsible.
An order from the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) dated June 14 that was obtained by Reuters specifies that Ludhianvi be taken off the “schedule four” list of people with links to terrorism and his bank accounts unfrozen.
However, a senior official with NACTA said the body was acting on recommendations from the Punjab government.
“We got a recommendation from Punjab government that Ludhianvi was no more on fourth schedule and wasn’t required on watchlist, and we just removed him,” a NACTA official said.
But, Hasan Askari Rizvi, the caretaker chief minister of Punjab province, indicated that the decision came from the federal government.
“Punjab Government is implementing decisions of Election Commission and the federal government in this regard,” Rizvi told Reuters. He said Ludhianvi’s assets would be unfrozen and he would be free to travel.
Ludhianvi said he had only been on the watchlist as a result of “bogus cases.”
“I have been cleared of all these cases by the courts, and Punjab home department removed my name,” he told Reuters by telephone. “I am, God willing, contesting the upcoming election just like I did in 2008 and 2013.”
Ludhianvi has made forays into politics before.
The Sunni cleric was a leader of Sipah-e-Sahaba (SSP), a sectarian group that emerged in the southern Punjab area of Jhang in the mid-1980s with the support of Pakistani intelligence and which was later linked to hundreds of killings of Shiites.
Recently, though, Ludhianvi has shown signs of seeking to rehabilitate his group’s image.
Earlier this year, he was one of more than 1,800 Pakistani Muslim clerics who signed an Islamic directive, or fatwa, forbidding suicide bombings, in a book unveiled by the government.
Pakistan election roiled with big names banned, radicals cleared
Pakistan election roiled with big names banned, radicals cleared
Bangladesh’s Yunus heads to China for first state visit
- Yunus to seek investment in healthcare and dedicated Chinese Economic Zone
- Visit comes amid strained relations with another regional superpower, India
Dhaka: The head of Bangladesh’s interim government, Muhammad Yunus, departed on Wednesday for China, where he will meet President Xi Jinping and also mark his first bilateral state visit since assuming the role of chief adviser, his office said.
Yunus, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and economics professor, will address the Boao Forum for Asia in Hainan, southern China — an annual conference focusing on the changing role of Asia — from where he will travel to Beijing.
His bilateral with Xi is scheduled for Friday, marking their first meeting since Yunus assumed office in August 2024.
“The main focus of this visit is to boost economic cooperation … We are expecting that a number of (memoranda of understanding) will be inked during this visit. The MoUs will cover mostly the areas of economic cooperation,” Azad Majumder, Yunus’ deputy press secretary, told Arab News.
“One of the main focuses of discussion will be bringing more investments from China in our dedicated Chinese Economic Zone.”
Munshi Faiz Ahmad, Dhaka’s former envoy to Beijing, said it was significant that Yunus was choosing China for his first state visit, especially as relations with another regional superpower, India, have soured since the change in government.
India was a close ally of former Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina’s government. She has also sought refuge in New Delhi after deadly protests that unseated her last year. Until now, India has not responded to Bangladesh’s request to send her home for trial.
The situation opens the door for China — India’s key rival — to expand its footprint.
“For our interim government, this China visit is very significant. It’s the first bilateral visit to any country by Prof. Yunus as the chief adviser,” Ahmad said.
“It’s an opportunity for Bangladesh to boost the relationship with China and explore new areas of cooperation …. It’s an issue of mutual benefit for Bangladesh and China.”
Yunus’ office said he will also seek Chinese investment in healthcare and the establishment of a large hospital in Bangladesh to reduce the trend of medical tourism abroad.
Many Bangladeshis have sought treatment in neighboring India, but it has lately become difficult to obtain Indian visas.
“It has been reported that China is interested in providing a grant of $138 million for building medical facilities. If that proposal moves forward, it will be a good thing. There is a ready opportunity for China, as India is not issuing enough visas for Bangladeshis now. A lion’s share of our medical tourism can be shifted to China,” Humayun Kabir, former Bangladeshi ambassador to the US, told Arab News.
“There are opportunities to attract more investments from China. Our government is very eager in this regard. We have dedicated an economic zone for Chinese investors … Secondly, we are in need of budget support at this moment. If China provides some financial assistance, it would be of great help. Our previous regime also sought this support, but it didn’t materialize.”
Indonesia braces for annual Eid exodus as 146 million travel home
- More than 33 million people are traveling by private car, with peak traffic expected on Friday
- Over 164,000 transportation, security personnel have been deployed to oversee their safety
Jakarta: Indonesian authorities are bracing for the annual homecoming rush, as 146 million people — more than half the population — head to their hometowns for the Eid Al-Fitr holidays.
Locally known as “mudik,” the Eid exodus is one of the world’s greatest seasonal migrations, with travelers braving enormous traffic jams, thousands of kilometers and exhaustion to make it home for the holiday that marks the end of Ramadan.
“Our preparations for mudik are final, we are always working to improve our synergy across different departments, and we have come up with the best plans. Now it’s time to monitor the implementation,” Pratikno, coordinating minister for human development and cultural affairs, said at a press conference on Wednesday.
About 33 million people are expected to use private cars this year, according to a survey conducted by the transportation ministry. Nearly 25 million people will be using buses, while over 23 million others are traveling by trains.
More than 164,000 transportation and security personnel are being deployed across 2,835 locations in Indonesia to oversee the safety of the travelers.
Authorities are expecting the exodus to peak on Friday, when around 12 million people will hit the road at the last minute to reach their hometowns for the first day of Eid.
“We’ve received reports that the number of travelers is increasing, now six days before Eid, and especially on highways, there is already a 7 percent increase,” National Police Chief Listyo Sigit Prabowo said.
Mudik is often associated with hours of traffic jams, especially on the main island of Java, where the top four mudik destinations are located: Central Java, East Java, West Java and Yogyakarta.
“We are advising travelers to make the most use of incentives from the government, especially those who are traveling back to their hometowns … so that they can travel ahead and help scatter the flow of traffic,” Prabowo said.
The incentives include discounted prices for highway fees and various modes of transportation for early travelers, as well as free travel programs from regional governments.
Authorities have also prepared military helicopters and ambulances to help evacuate the wounded in case of traffic incidents.
“Besides our officers, the military will also deploy nine Hercules military planes,” Indonesian Military Chief Agus Subiyanto said. “Should it be needed, we have prepared helicopters and ambulances, as well as excavators, fire trucks and tow trucks.”
Each year, hundreds of people die on the road during the Eid exodus. More than 4,500 accidents were recorded last year, claiming the lives of at least 507 people.
Heightened security measures along Indonesia’s main roads will be in place until the end of the long holiday on April 8.
Russia launches drone attack on Ukraine port providing access to Black Sea, officials say
- The US reached separate deals on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to pause their attacks over the Black Sea
- The mayor of Mykolaiv said there were emergency power outages early on Wednesday in the city
Russia launched an overnight drone attack on the Ukrainian port of Mykolaiv, which provides the country with access to the Black Sea, and struck Kryvyi Rih in what Ukrainian officials said on Wednesday was the war’s biggest drone attack on the city.
The United States reached separate deals on Tuesday with Ukraine and Russia to pause their attacks over the Black Sea and against each other’s energy targets, but it was not clear when and how the deals would come into force.
The mayor of Mykolaiv said there were emergency power outages early on Wednesday in the city, following a report by the region’s governor that seven drones were destroyed overnight over the region.
It was not immediately clear whether the power cuts were precautionary or a result of the overnight attack on Mykolaiv.
Russia also attacked the central Ukrainian city of Kryvyi Rih, igniting fires and damaging buildings but causing no deaths, the head of the city’s military administration said.
The Ukrainian military said its air defense units had shot down 56 of 117 drones launched by Russia in the overnight attack. It noted that 48 drones were lost, referring to the Ukrainian military’s redirecting them with electronic warfare.
“Apparently, this is how the occupiers ‘want peace’,” Oleksandr Vilkul, the head of the military administration, wrote on the Telegram messaging app, describing it as the war’s biggest drone attack on the city. “Most importantly, there were no deaths or injuries.”
Reuters could not independently verify the reports from Mykolaiv and Kryvyi Rih. The size of the attack on Kryvyi Rih and what was targeted there were not immediately clear.
Vilkul had reported at least 15 explosions in Kryvyi Rih, President Volodymyr Zelensky’s hometown and a frequent target of Russian attacks.
There was no immediate comment from Russia, but the Russian defense ministry said that its air defense units destroyed nine Ukrainian drones overnight, including two over the waters of the Black Sea.
Kenyan UN peacekeeper missing in Haiti following gang attack
- Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed
- Gang violence has left more than one million people homeless in the Caribbean country
NAIROBI: A Kenyan policeman deployed in Haiti has gone missing after violent gangs attacked a group of officers on a rescue mission, a UN-backed multinational security mission said on Wednesday.
The Kenyan officers were on their way Tuesday to rescue Haitian police stuck in a ditch “suspected to have been deliberately dug by gangs,” according to the mission’s statement, adding that “specialized teams have been deployed” to search for the missing officer.
Local media outlets in Haiti reported that the officer had been killed and videos of a lifeless man clothed in Kenyan uniform were shared on social media.
Gang violence has left more than one million people homeless in the Caribbean country in recent years, according to the UN, with many crowding into makeshift and unsanitary shelters after gunmen razed their homes.
The Kenya-led force was launched last year and tasked with fighting gangs trying to seize full control of Haiti’s capital. Kenya had promised to send 1,000 officers to Haiti. Since June, 800 have been deployed.
Another Kenyan officer who was shot and killed by the gangs in Haiti in February was buried in Kenya last week. Opposition leaders in the east African country called for the mission’s officers to be better equipped.
The mission has been struggling with a lack of personnel as gangs that control 85 percent of the capital, Port-au-Prince, keep seizing more territory. The force’s funding has also been dealt a blow after the US, its biggest backer, froze some of its funding, part of President Donald Trump’s sweeping freeze on foreign assistance.
South Korea’s wildfires kill 24, wreak ‘unprecedented damage’
- More than a dozen fires broke out over the weekend, scorching wide swathes of the southeast
- The blazes forced around 27,000 residents to urgently evacuate
ANDONG, South Korea: One of South Korea’s worst-ever wildfire outbreaks has killed at least 24 people, officials said Wednesday, with multiple raging blazes causing “unprecedented damage” and threatening two UNESCO-listed sites.
More than a dozen fires broke out over the weekend, scorching wide swathes of the southeast, forcing around 27,000 people to urgently evacuate, with the fire cutting off roads and downing communications lines as residents fled in panic.
The death toll jumped to 24 on Wednesday, as wind-driven flames tore through neighborhoods and razed an ancient temple.
“Twenty four people are confirmed dead in the wildfires so far,” with 12 seriously injured, a ministry of interior and safety official said, adding that these were “preliminary figures” and the toll could rise.
Most of those killed were local residents, but at least three firefighters were killed, and a pilot in a firefighting helicopter died when his aircraft crashed in a mountain area, officials said.
According to the interior ministry, the wildfires have charred 17,398 hectares (42,991 acres), with the blaze in Uiseong county alone accounting for 87 percent of the total.
The extent of damage already makes it South Korea’s second largest, after the inferno in April 2000 that scorched 23,913 hectares across the east coast.
The government has raised the crisis alert to its highest level and taken the rare step of transferring some inmates out of prisons in the area.
“Wildfires burning for a fifth consecutive day... are causing unprecedented damage,” South Korea’s acting president Han Duck-soo said.
He told an emergency safety and disaster meeting that the blazes were “developing in a way that is exceeding both existing prediction models and earlier expectations.”
“Throughout the night, chaos continued as power and communication lines were cut in several areas and roads were blocked,” he added.
In the city of Andong, some evacuees sheltering in an elementary school gym said they had to flee so quickly they could bring nothing with them.
“The wind was so strong,” Kwon So-han, a 79-year-old resident in Andong said, adding that as soon as he got the evacuation order he fled.
“The fire came from the mountain and fell on my house,” he said.
“Those who haven’t experienced it won’t know. I could only bring my body.”
Authorities had been using helicopters to battle the blazes, but suspended all such operations after a helicopter crashed Wednesday, killing the pilot on board.
Authorities said changing wind patterns and dry weather had revealed the limitations of conventional firefighting methods.
The fires are “the most devastating” yet in South Korea, acting president Han added.
By Wednesday, two UNESCO-listed sites popular with tourists — historic Hahoe Folk Village and Byeongsan Seowon — were under threat.
Authorities said late Wednesday that the fire was just five kilometers away from Hahoe, a village where some houses were covered with thatched roofs.
Firefighters were also on standby at nearby Byeongsan Seowon, known for its pavillion-style ancient academies.
Huge plumes of smoke turned the sky over the village grey and huge chunks of ash floated in the air, with fire trucks spraying water and fire-retardants onto the historic site in a desperate bit to save it.
Last year was South Korea’s hottest year on record, with the Korea Meteorological Administration saying that the average annual temperature was 14.5 degrees Celsius — two degrees higher than the preceding 30-year average of 12.5 degrees.
The fire-hit region had been experiencing unusually dry weather with below-average precipitation, authorities have said, with the South experiencing more than double the number of fires this year than last.
Some types of extreme weather have a well-established link with climate change, such as heatwaves or heavy rainfall.
Other phenomena, such as forest fires, droughts, snowstorms and tropical storms can result from a combination of complex factors.
“We can’t say that it’s only due to climate change, but climate change is directly (and) indirectly affecting the changes we are experiencing now. This is a sheer fact,” Yeh Sang-Wook, professor of climatology at Seoul’s Hanyang University, said.
“Wildfires will become more frequent,” he added.
“As the atmosphere becomes warmer due to climate change, the water vapor in the ground evaporates more easily, so the amount of moisture contained in the ground decreases. So, all this creates the conditions wildfires can occur more frequently.”
The major fire in Uiseong was reportedly caused by a person tending to a family grave who accidentally ignited the blaze.
Apple farmer Cho Jae-oak said that he and his wife had sprayed water around their house all day to protect it.
“We kept spraying and guarding it. When the fire was burning on the mountain, fireballs flew here,” he said, adding that the encroaching flames eventually forced them to leave.
