ISLAMABAD: Following the Supreme Court’s landmark decision to overturn a verdict in the case of Aasia Bibi, who had been imprisoned for eight years on blasphemy charges, Pakistan’s social media platforms continued to express polarized views on the judgment, even as the country’s major cities witnessed massive protests on Wednesday.
Many hailed the historical ruling as a monumental victory, with Senator Sherry Rehman tweeting, “Landmark judgment by Supreme Court to acquit #AasiaBibi today. False accusers took half her life away. Now the state must protect all those who stand for the rule of law and justice. We have all been witness to the havoc mobs have wreaked to
red lines before. That line must be held.”
Fearing the consequences of the verdict, analyst Raza Rumi also paid homage to former Punjab Governor Salman Taseer who had been killed by his own bodyguard for speaking in favor of Bibi. “While hoping & praying for the safety of #AasiaBibi, her family and the judges, one just cannot stop thinking of #SalmanTaseer & #ShahbazBhatti — precious lives lost while standing up for the weak,” Rumi said.
While many lauded the three judges who acquitted Bibi in the case, some users voiced their disapproval, tweeting under the top-trending hashtag AasiaBibi: “Judge Sir, just as you cannot tolerate contempt of court, I cannot tolerate blasphemy #AasiaBibi”.
Additionally, right-wingers in Pakistan demanded that the ruling be ignored, with some going as far as to tweet pictures of Mumtaz Qadri, the bodyguard who murdered governor Taseer.
Ahead of the verdict, Khadim Hussain Rizvi, a hard-liner cleric and chief of far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik (TLP) party urged thousands of followers to protest against Bibi’s release. Despite authorities deploying additional security across the country, hundreds of TLP supporters blocked the main roads of all major metros.
Speaking to Arab News, a TLP supporter, protesting outside the Punjab Assembly in Lahore, said: “This is not the Faizabad protest where we demonstrated peacefully by blocking the roads until we were forced to fight. We will assume an offensive position and agitate till the very end.”
TLP General Secretary Allama Waheed Noor and the party’s spokesperson told Arab News that the protesters would take to the streets and paralyze life in all major cities unless the Supreme Court reverses its verdict.
In Karachi, the country’s largest city, TLP workers blocked all the main arteries of the city including, Numaish Chowarngi at M.A. Jinnah Road, I.I. Chundrigar Road near State Bank of Pakistan, Star gate near Jinnah international airport, Azam Chowk at Orangi town, Sohrab Goth and the Hub River Road.
“We have been directions from the center to keep the protest completely peaceful,” Muhammad Ali, a TLP spokesperson in Karachi told Arab News. “We will, however, bring the city to standstill by blocking roads.”
The Supreme Court, after reserving the verdict, had restrained both electronic and print media from discussing or commenting on the matter. However, journalists and media persons present on the scene of the protests reported being manhandled by TLP activists in Karachi, while Lahore’s traffic police confirmed to Arab News that the protests had paralyzed 23 main points in the city, crippling traffic, after TLP workers had gathered outside the Punjab Assembly in Lahore to protest Bibi’s release.
Bibi’s life continued to remain in jeopardy despite the court stating in its verdict that she was falsely accused. Admitting they were unaware of her whereabouts, TLP’s Noor said: “She was in Multan jail but has now been shifted to an unknown location.”
Protests engulf Pakistan’s major cities after landmark ruling
Protests engulf Pakistan’s major cities after landmark ruling
- Social media divided over top court’s decision to acquit Christian woman on death row
- Aasia Bibi had been convicted in 2010 on charges of blasphemy
Pakistan, Saudi Arabia agree to deepen anti-narcotics cooperation amid growing drug seizures
- Pakistan’s state minister for interior meets Saudi director general of narcotics control in the federal capital
- He says Pakistan has a ‘zero-tolerance policy’ on narcotics while calling drug trafficking an international issue
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan and Saudi Arabia agreed to increase bilateral cooperation on anti-narcotics efforts, according to an official statement on Tuesday, as Islamabad described the drug trade as a global problem requiring collaboration among friendly nations.
The issue came up for discussion during a meeting in Islamabad between Pakistan’s Minister of State for Interior Talal Chaudhry and Saudi Arabia’s Director General of Narcotics Control, Major General Mohammed bin Saeed Al-Qarni, who was accompanied by a high-level delegation.
Pakistan has faced a significantly intense drug problem, with Chaudhry saying the government seized narcotics worth $21 billion last year.
“Pakistan has a zero-tolerance policy on narcotics,” the interior ministry statement quoted him as saying during the meeting. “Drug trafficking is an international issue, and only through mutual cooperation between friendly countries can this menace be effectively addressed.”
The meeting was also attended by Saudi envoy to Pakistan Nawaf bin Said Al-Malki and senior Saudi military and narcotics officials.
The Pakistani minister pointed out that over 40 percent of the world’s drug production originates from neighboring Afghanistan.
He also praised his country’s Anti-Narcotics Force for effectively dealing with the challenge despite its limited resources.
Chaudhry linked recent crackdowns on undocumented migrants to broader concerns about drug trafficking and militancy.
Major General Al-Qarni described the relationship between Saudi Arabia and Pakistan as exemplary and called for joint work to address the “scourge” of narcotics, according to the statement.
At the conclusion of the meeting, Chaudhry presented honorary shields to the Saudi delegation and conveyed his best wishes.
Pakistan envoy stresses continued engagement with Afghanistan to secure border with India
- Pakistan has been battling twin insurgencies in its western regions that border Afghanistan, while Islamabad’s tensions with Indian have also flared up recently
- Analysts’ term simultaneous pressure on both eastern and western borders a ‘serious challenge’ for Pakistan, warning it could dilute Islamabad’s focus on militancy
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s special representative to Afghanistan, Ambassador Muhammad Sadiq, said on Tuesday it was important for Islamabad to continue engagement with Afghanistan to better manage the country’s western border with India, amid friction between the neighbors over a surge in militancy in Pakistan.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence since the Pakistani Taliban, or the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), called off their months-long ceasefire with the government in late 2022. Islamabad has frequently accused that militant groups use Afghan soil to launch cross-border attacks in Pakistan, an allegation the Afghan Taliban deny, maintaining there are no militant groups operating in their territory.
Late last month, Pakistan’s army said it had killed over 70 militants who were attempting to cross into Pakistan from Afghanistan. The development came amid Pakistan’s tensions with another neighbor to the east, India, following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists on April 22. Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tatar has said that New Delhi blamed the attack on Islamabad to divert Pakistan’s security focus from its western border.
“The important thing [for Pakistan] to do, particularly with Afghanistan, is to continuously remain engaged with them, to act when it’s required and act in a required way,” Sadiq said, addressing a regional conference in Islamabad on ‘Pathways to Peace and Prosperity in Turbulent Times.’
“The sooner we act on something, the sooner we engage with Afghanistan and the government and people of Afghanistan, the sooner we will get results and whenever we delay, we actually get into trouble, more and more trouble.”
Pakistan’s focus should be prevention of smuggling and promotion of trade with Afghanistan, according to the envoy. The “one-document regime” should regulate travel between the two countries and not “hinder people-to-people contact.”
“Anybody who’s going to Afghanistan or coming from Afghanistan should take a passport and get a visa, so that we can have a proper record of entry and exits,” he added.
Pakistan implemented the one-document regime with Afghanistan on January 1, 2023, which requires Afghan nationals to present a valid passport and visa for entry into Pakistan, ending the previous practice of cross-border movement showing local identity documents. The regime aims to regulate travel, enhance border security, and maintain a proper record of entry and exit.
Speaking at the event, Faisal Karim Kundi, governor of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province that borders Afghanistan, said Islamabad seeks peace not for political gains, but to unlock the true potential of the region.
“Pakistan always believes in dialogues, but dialogues are not our weakness as we are ready for any adventure from India,” he said, adding that Pakistan’s defense was in “safe hands” which was portrayed in the past as well.
Defense analysts and security expert term simultaneous pressure on both eastern and western borders a “serious strategic challenge” for Pakistan, warning it could dilute the country’s focus in its fight against militancy.
Besides a surge in militancy in the northwest, Pakistan is also facing an intensifying separatist insurgency in the southwestern Balochistan province, where separatist militants have mounted their attacks on security forces, police and foreign nationals in recent months.
Dr. Qamar Cheema, a defense analyst, said if India engaged Pakistan through “kinetic means,” it could undermine Pakistan’s ability to effectively combat militancy.
“Any direct attack on Pakistan at the eastern border will definitely challenge [Pakistan’s] capabilities because it will stretch the armed forces,” he told Arab News on the sidelines of the conference.
Muhammad Ali, a security expert, agreed with Cheema.
“It seems that India seeks to divert Pakistan’s attention, resources and force posture to provide relief to TTP and BLA (Baloch Liberation Army) in KP and Balochistan,” he said, adding that Islamabad was “well aware of the challenges” in simultaneously facing rising militancy and an escalation on the Pakistan-India border.
Cheema said Pakistan did not want to be stretched further, which was why it was telling the international community that the transnational militant threat was more important.
“I think this is where the West needs to jump in so that Pakistan’s efforts against the war against terrorism and militant organizations do not get compromised,” he added.
Seven soldiers killed as separatists attack security vehicle in southwest Pakistan
- Pakistan army says IED attack launched in Kachhi District by BLA separatist group, accuses it of being an Indian “proxy”
- BLA carried out train hijacking in March in which 23 soldiers, three railway employees, five passengers were killed
KARACHI: The Pakistan army said on Tuesday seven soldiers were killed after militants attacked a security vehicle in the southwestern Balochistan province, where the military is fighting an intensifying separatist insurgency.
The army said the Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has targeted the vehicle with an improvised explosive device in Mach in Kachhi District.
“Resultantly, seven brave sons of soil embraced shahadat [martyrdom],” a statement from the army said.
The military accused the BLA, the strongest of a number of insurgent groups long operating in Balochistan, of being a proxy of India.
“Nefarious designs of India and its proxies operating on Pakistani soil will be defeated by the valiant security forces, law enforcement agencies and the brave nation of Pakistan,” the military statement said.
The latest attack is the worst since March when the BLA carried out a train hijacking that resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed.
In what was previously a low-level insurgency, the militants have in recent months stepped up their activities using new tactics to inflict high death and injury tolls and target Pakistan’s military. It has also targeted Chinese interests.
The BLA seeks independence for Balochistan, a province located in Pakistan’s southwest and bordering Afghanistan to the north and Iran to the west.
It is the biggest of several ethnic insurgent groups that have battled the federal government for decades, saying it unfairly exploits Balochistan’s rich gas and mineral resources. Balochistan’s mountainous border region serves as a safe haven and training ground for the Baloch and other insurgents.
The BLA often targets infrastructure and security forces in Balochistan, but has also truck in other areas — most notably the southern port city of Karachi.
The insurgents target Pakistan’s army and Chinese interests, in particular the strategic port of Gwadar on the Arabian Sea, accusing Beijing of helping Islamabad to exploit the province.
Militants have killed Chinese citizens working in the region and attacked Beijing’s consulate in Karachi.
Balochistan is an important part of China’s $65 billion investment in the China Pakistan Economic Corridor, a wing of President Xi Jinping’s Belt and Road initiative. It is home to key mining projects, including Reko Diq, run by mining giant Barrick Gold (ABX.TO), and believed to be one of the world’s largest gold and copper mines. China also operates a gold and copper mine in the province.
The decades-old insurgency has continued to keep the province of some 15 million people unstable and created security concerns around Pakistan’s plans to access untapped resources.
It is Pakistan’s largest province by area, but smallest by population. Balochistan also has a long Arabian Sea coastline, not far from the Gulf’s Strait of Hormuz oil shipping lane.
Islamabad accuses India and Afghanistan of backing the militants to damage Pakistan’s relations with China, a charge both countries deny.
With inputs from Reuters
Pakistan accuses India of altering Chenab River flow as tensions rise
- Punjab irrigation minister says Pakistan has ‘witnessed changes in the river which are not natural’
- India recently lowered the sluice gates of the Baglihar dam to restrict water as a ‘punitive action’
LAHORE: Pakistan on Tuesday accused India of altering the flow of the Chenab River, one of three rivers placed under Pakistan’s control according to the now suspended Indus Waters Treaty.
This major river originates in India but was allocated to Pakistan under the 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, signed by the two nuclear powers.
India suspended the treaty following a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir on April 22 that killed 26 people.
Islamabad warned that tampering with its rivers would be considered “an act of war.”
“We have witnessed changes in the river (Chenab) which are not natural at all,” Kazim Pirzada, irrigation minister for Punjab province, told AFP.
Punjab, bordering India and home to nearly half of Pakistan’s 240 million citizens, is the country’s agricultural heartland, and “the majority impact will be felt in areas which have fewer alternate water routes,” Pirzada warned.
“One day the river had normal inflow and the next day it was greatly reduced,” Pirzada added.
In Azad Kashmir, large quantities of water from India were reportedly released on April 26, according to the Jinnah Institute, a think tank led by a former Pakistani climate change minister.
“This is being done so that we don’t get to utilize the water,” Pirzada added.
The gates of the sluice spillways on the Baglihar dam in Indian-administered Kashmir which lies upstream of Pakistani Punjab “have been lowered to restrict water flow ... as a short-term punitive action,” a senior Indian official has told The Indian Express.
The Indus Waters Treaty permits India to use shared rivers for dams or irrigation but prohibits diverting watercourses or altering downstream volumes.
Indian authorities have not commented yet but Kushvinder Vohra, former head of India’s Central Water Commission, told The Times of India: “Since the treaty is on pause ... we may do flushing on any project without any obligation.”
Experts said the water cannot be stopped in the longer term, and that India can only regulate timings of when it releases flows.
However, the Jinnah Institute warned: “Even small changes in the timing of water releases can disrupt sowing calendars (and) reduce crop yields.”
Fear and uncertainty grip Azad Kashmir’s tourism sector as India-Pakistan tensions soar
- Guesthouses in Azad Kashmir experiencing “zero occupancy” due to safety concerns and restrictions, says hotel association
- Tensions between Delhi, Islamabad have surged since last month when militant attack killed 26 in Indian-administered Kashmir
PIR CHANASI, Muzaffarabad: Tensions between India and Pakistan have impacted tourism in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, with local business owners reporting a sharp decline in visitor arrivals on Sunday (May 4) due to safety concerns and restrictions on movement enforced by Pakistani authorities.
The latest crisis between the nuclear-armed neighbors was sparked by a deadly attack on tourists in the disputed Kashmir region last week that saw suspected militants kill at least 26 people. India has accused Pakistan of involvement in the attack, which Islamabad denies. Pakistan has said it has “credible intelligence” that India intends to launch military action.
The Pir Chinasi area in Muzaffarabad district, a popular hilltop tourist destination not far from the border with India-administered Kashmir, has seen a dramatic drop in footfall, leaving hotels empty and businesses struggling.
“Due to tensions between India and Pakistan, the roads have been closed here since the border is nearby,” Mohammad Saghir, a local restaurant owner, said. “Because of this, only a few tourists are coming here.”
However, Syed Yasir Ali, a tourist from Islamabad, said he believes the area is still “a safe place” and “very peaceful.”
Despite Ali’s positive reassurances, Abrar Ahmed Butt, a spokesperson for the All Kashmir Hotel Association, local hotels and guesthouses have experienced “zero occupancy” over the past eight days due to road closures and restrictions on movement being enforced by local authorities. With no end in sight for the current hostilities, Butt said he is “hoping for the best”, but very supportive of Pakistani authorities, even if it means preventing tourists from traveling to the Muzaffarabad area.
“National security is our top priority. As patriots, we love our country. When our country is secure, business and other aspects will follow suit. With faith, we trust things will improve,” said Butt.
