KARACHI: Just a day earlier on Wednesday, Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP) was the only party whose supporters were protesting all over Pakistan against the apex court’s decision to acquit a Christian woman on death row.
On Thursday, that number grew to hundreds after workers from the Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUI-F) defied the ban on demonstrations and amassed at the Karachi Press Club to hear the fiery speeches of their party leaders. They chanted slogans of support as Rashid Mehmood Soomro, Sindh President of the JUI-F, asked the protestors if they would join in to lay siege on the Supreme Court of Pakistan.
At the core is the issue of Aasia Bibi, a 51-year-old woman who was on death row for the past eight years after being convicted on blasphemy charges by a lower court in 2010. The Supreme Court on Wednesday overturned the decision citing a lack of credible evidence in her case, acquitting Bibi of all charges. Taking objection to the decision, the TLP and other religious parties are now pushing the top court to overrule the verdict, threatening that they would continue with their protests until the Supreme Court gives in.
Meanwhile, in Lahore, the Milli Yakjehti Council (MYC), an alliance of 15 religious groups, representing all schools of thoughts -- and including mainstream Jamaat-e-Islami Pakistan (JIP), Jamiat-Ulema-e-Islam Fazal (JUIF), Jamiat Ulema-e-Pakistan (JUP), and Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) -- gave a call for a nationwide strike on Friday.
“The MYC meeting presided by its president, Dr Sahibzada Abul Khair Zubair, has decided to observe a countrywide strike tomorrow,” Qaiser Sharif, central information Secretary of JIP, told Arab News.
Sharif added that the meeting also decided to hold an All Parties Conference (APC) at Lahore’s Al Qadsia mosque on Saturday. “The meeting will be followed by a media briefing, in which the future ‘line of action’ will be announced,” Sharif said.
He added that the religious parties while condemning the “insulting” speech by Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday night, have called upon his government to place Bibi on the Exit Control List, even as they announced plans to file a review petition in the case.
PROTESTS MAINSTREAMING
Zia Ur Rehman, a Karachi-based analyst, said that the TLP is a key political party which has exploited the issue of blasphemy and does not want other religious and sectarian parties to take advantage of it.
“The other religious parties, especially the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl, did not take interest in the issue in the recent past,” said Rehman. “However, after the acquittal of Aasia Bibi, they have also jumped on the bandwagon but did not get so much praise from the religious circles.”
Abdul Jabbar Nasir, a political analyst studying the functioning of religious parties, said that PM Khan’s “unnecessary” speech on Wednesday night has given a further impetus to the cause of mainstream religious parties by pushing them to play an even more active role. “Religious political parties now believe that not launching a fierce campaign against the apex court’s judgment would result in their political and ideological death,” Nasir said.
Nasir recalls that the very foundation of TLP – led by Khadim Hussain Rizvi -- was built on the issue of blasphemy, specifically Bibi’s case. “It was the execution of Mumtaz Qadri which provided a base for Rizvi to launch his religious political party so he has no option but to go to any extreme for his survival,” Nasir opines. “After the PM’s speech, the mainstream religious cliques would do maximum but still they would remain in limits.”
He added that TLP’s leadership is “accidental and thus not serious, so there are always chances of decisions being taken without keeping repercussions in mind. The mainstream groups would think before every likely step”.
However, Qari Muhammad Usman, central leader of the JUI-F, disagrees that protest was not a priority for the religious parties. “We were out on the road immediately after the apex court handed down the decision. We are out today and will continue to protest till the controversial decision is taken back,” Usman told Arab News.
Without naming PM Khan, the JUI-F leader said those who think only few are taking part in the protests are living in a fool’s paradise. “A governor and a federal minister have been killed whereas Mumtaz Qadri was also killed due to this case. It’s not a normal case and the apex court should have refrained from announcing a controversial verdict in it,” the JUIF leader argued.
JIP’s Sharif added that the religious parties won’t stop protesting but that the demonstrations would be completely peaceful and within the limits of the constitution.
More religious parties to protest against Bibi's acquittal
More religious parties to protest against Bibi's acquittal
- Alliance of top organizations announces nationwide strike on Friday
- Experts say PM Khan’s “unnecessary speech” boosted groups to play active role
Pakistani leaders, national carrier condole over Air India plane crash, killing over 290
- Dead included people on the ground as London-bound aircraft crashed on medical college hostel during lunch hour
- Police say found one survivor who was in seat 11A next to an emergency exit, there could be more survivors in hospital
KARACHI: Pakistani leaders and the country’s national carrier offered condolences on Thursday as more than 290 people were killed when an Air India plane with 242 people on board crashed minutes after taking off from the western city of Ahmedabad in the world’s worst aviation disaster in a decade.
The dead included people on the ground as the aircraft — headed for Gatwick Airport, south of the British capital — crashed on a medical college hostel during lunch hour.
At least one passenger is known to have survived the crash, police said.
“Saddened by the tragic crash of Air India flight near Ahmedabad today. We extend our condolences to the families of the victims grieving this immense loss,” Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on X.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with all those affected by this heartbreaking tragedy.”
PIA, Pakistan’s national carrier, said it stood in “solidarity with our fellow aviation community, offering our deepest condolences to Flight 171 and all those impacted.”
Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the head of a Pakistani delegation visiting world capitals to present Islamabad’s position on a recent military standoff with New Delhi, also expressed condolences over the Indian plane crash after his team arrived in Brussels to hold meetings.
“Saddened to hear a tragic incident occurred earlier today,” he said on X. “I express my profound condolences to the people of India.”
Vidhi Chaudhary, a top state police officer, told Reuters approximately 294 had died:
“This includes some students as the plane crashed on the building where they were staying.”
She said police found one survivor who was in seat 11A, next to an emergency exit, adding that there could be more survivors in hospital.
“Thirty seconds after take-off, there was a loud noise and then the plane crashed,” 40-year-old survivor Ramesh Viswashkumar told the Hindustan Times, which showed a boarding pass for seat 11A in that name online.
“It all happened so quickly,” he told the paper from his hospital bed.
“When I got up, there were bodies all around me. I was scared. I stood up and ran. There were pieces of the plane all around me … Someone grabbed hold of me and put me in an ambulance and brought me to the hospital.”
He said that his brother, Ajay, was seated in a different row on the plane.
“He was traveling with me and I can’t find him anymore. Please help me find him,” he said.
FOREIGN NATIONALS ON BOARD
Ahmedabad police chief G.S. Malik said the bodies recovered could include both passengers and people killed on the ground. The dead included Vijay Rupani, the former chief minister of Gujarat state, of which Ahmedabad is the main city.
Relatives had been asked to give DNA samples to identify the dead, state health secretary Dhananjay Dwivedi told reporters.
Parts of the plane’s body were scattered around the smoldering building into which it crashed. The tail of the plane was stuck on top of the building.
The passengers included 217 adults, 11 children and two infants, Reuters reported. Air India said 169 were Indian nationals, 53 were Britons, seven Portuguese, and one Canadian.
Aviation tracking site Flightradar24 said the plane was a Boeing 787-8 Dreamliner, one of the most modern passenger aircraft in service.
It was the first crash for the Dreamliner, which began flying commercially in 2011, according to the Aviation Safety Network database. The plane that crashed on Thursday flew for the first time in 2013 and was delivered to Air India in January 2014, Flightradar24 said.
CRASH JUST AFTER TAKE-OFF
Thursday’s crash occurred just after the plane took off. TV channels showed the plane taking off over a residential area and then disappearing from the screen before a huge fireball could be seen rising into the sky from beyond the houses.
“My sister-in-law was going to London. Within an hour, I got news that the plane had crashed,” Poonam Patel, a relative of one of the passengers, told news agency ANI at the government hospital in Ahmedabad.
Ramila, the mother of a student at the medical college, told ANI her son had gone to the hostel for his lunch break when the plane crashed.
“My son is safe, and I have spoken to him. He jumped from the second floor, so he suffered some injuries,” she said.
According to air traffic control at Ahmedabad Airport, the aircraft departed at 139 p.m (0809 GMT). It gave a Mayday call, signaling an emergency, but thereafter there was no response from the aircraft.
US aerospace safety consultant Anthony Brickhouse said one problematic sign from videos of the aircraft was that the landing gear was down at a phase of flight when it would typically be up.
“If you didn’t know what was happening, you would think that plane was on approach to a runway,” Brickhouse said.
Boeing said it was in contact with Air India and working to gather more information. Boeing shares fell 5 percent as the crash posed a major setback for the plane maker as its new CEO looks to rebuild trust following a series of safety and production challenges.
Aircraft engine-maker GE Aerospace said that it would put a team together to go to India and analyze cockpit data, India’s CNBC TV18 reported.
The US National Transportation Safety Board said it would lead a team of US investigators traveling to India to help in the investigation.
Britain was working with Indian authorities to urgently establish the facts around the crash and to provide support to those involved, the country’s foreign office said.
“The tragedy in Ahmedabad has stunned and saddened us,” Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi posted on X. “It is heartbreaking beyond words.” Gujarat is Modi’s home state.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer said images emerging of the crash were “devastating.”
A Buckingham Palace spokesperson said King Charles was also being kept updated.
INDIA’S FIRST CRASH SINCE 2020
Ahmedabad Airport, which suspended all flight operations after the crash, said it was operational again but with limited flights. The airport is operated by India’s Adani Group conglomerate.
The last fatal plane crash in India, the world’s third largest aviation market and its fastest growing, was in 2020 and involved Air India Express, the airline’s low-cost arm.
The airline’s Boeing-737 overshot a “table-top” runway in southern India, skidded and plunged into a valley, crashing nose-first into the ground and killing 21 people.
The formerly state-owned Air India was taken over by Indian conglomerate Tata Group in 2022, and merged with Vistara — a joint venture between the group and Singapore Airlines – in 2024.
DEADLY CIVILIAN CRASHES OVER THE DECADES
AUGUST 2020
Twenty-one people died when an Air India Express Boeing 737 plane skidded off the runway in the southern city of Kozhikode during heavy rain, plunged into a valley and crashed nose-first into the ground.
MAY 2010
An Air India Boeing 737 flight from Dubai overshot the runway at the airport in the southern city of Mangaluru and crashed into a gorge, killing 158 people on board.
JULY 2000
More than 50 people were killed when a state-owned Alliance Air flight between Kolkata and the capital, New Delhi, crashed in a residential area of the eastern city of Patna.
APRIL 1993
An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 crashed during takeoff in the western city of Aurangabad and killed 55 people on board.
AUGUST 1991
An Indian Airlines Boeing 737 flight from Kolkata crashed during descent near Imphal, the capital of the hilly north-eastern state of Manipur, killing all 69 occupants onboard.
OCTOBER 1988
More than 130 passengers died when an Indian Airlines Boeing 737, flying from Mumbai to Ahmedabad, crashed as it was coming in to land.
JANUARY 1978
All 213 passengers of an Air India flight were killed when the captain lost control of the plane after take-off and plunged it into the Arabian Sea off the coast of Mumbai, India’s financial hub.
With inputs from Reuters
Pakistan central bank expected to hold policy rate in June 16 meeting – survey
- 56 percent survey respondents predict no change, 44 percent expect rate cut amid moderate inflation outlook
- Bank has cut rate by 1,000 basis points since June 2024 from all-time high of 22% before holding it in March
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s central bank is likely to keep its benchmark interest rate unchanged at 11 percent in its upcoming monetary policy meeting next week, according to a survey conducted by brokerage firm Topline Securities.
The bank had cut the rate by 1,000 basis points since June 2004 from an all-time high of 22 percent before holding it in March, citing the risk of price rises including from increased US tariffs.
In May, the central bank cut its key policy rate by 100 basis points to 11 percent, citing an improved inflation outlook and resuming a series of cuts from a record high of 22 percent.
“56 percent of market participants expect a status quo in the upcoming monetary policy meeting, compared to 31 percent in the previous poll,” Topline Securities said in a market note, releasing the results of its survey.
“44 percent of participants anticipate a further rate cut of at least 50 basis points. Of these, 19 percent expect a 50 bps cut and 25 percent foresee a 100 bps cut.”
The brokerage house said analysts believed the SBP may have space to ease the policy rate further by up to 100 basis points, with inflation for fiscal year 2025–26 forecast to average between 6 and 7 percent.
However, it said the likelihood of near-term rate cuts was tempered by external headwinds such as rebounding global crude oil prices, ongoing tensions in the Middle East, and uncertainty around a potential US-China trade agreement.
“Some major notifications are also expected before the start of the next fiscal year— such as gas and electricity price adjustments,” the report said.
“The inflationary impact of these measures is yet to be assessed and absorbed. That said, we believe the central bank will observe the status quo in the upcoming meeting.”
Topline’s survey also found that 58 percent of respondents expect the interest rate to remain above 10 percent through December 2025, while 42 percent foresee a range between 8 and 10 percent.
On inflation expectations, 69 percent believe average inflation will range between 6 and 8 percent in the next fiscal year, 20 percent expect it to hover between 8 and 10 percent, and 11 percent forecast inflation falling below 6 percent.
Separately, the SBP confirmed that its next Monetary Policy Committee (MPC) meeting will be held on Monday, June 16, as scheduled.
The meeting is being closely watched by investors and market analysts amid changing domestic and global economic conditions. While the May rate cut signaled the beginning of a monetary easing cycle, rising external risks and upcoming fiscal adjustments may prompt a more cautious stance from the central bank.
Pakistan PM meets UAE president, thanks him for role in defusing India tensions
- Leaders agreed to maintain close coordination, work together “to advance shared goals of regional peace and prosperity”
- Saudi Arabia and the UAE were widely reported to have played a significant role in back-channel diplomacy last month
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Thursday met United Arab Emirates President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and thanked him for his government’s efforts in defusing last month’s military conflict with India.
Sharif, who arrived in the UAE earlier in the day, held talks with the Emirati leader on bilateral, regional, and global issues. He had previously met Sheikh Mohamed in February while attending the World Government Summit in Dubai.
According to a statement from the PM’s office, Sharif specifically appreciated the UAE’s “constructive role in promoting peace and stability in the region, including its efforts to de-escalate tensions between Pakistan and India.”
“Both sides expressed satisfaction over the positive trajectory of bilateral ties and ongoing engagements at all levels,” the statement added. “The leaders agreed to maintain close coordination and continue working together to advance shared goals of regional peace and prosperity.”
Between May 7 and 10, nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan exchanged drone, missile, and artillery strikes in their worst cross-border escalation in years. A ceasefire was later brokered by the United States, but Gulf states, particularly Saudi Arabia and the UAE, were widely reported to have played a quiet but significant role in back-channel diplomacy.
During Thursday’s meeting, Sharif also extended a renewed invitation for Sheikh Mohamed to visit Pakistan.
The UAE is one of Pakistan’s most important regional partners, with cooperation spanning trade, investment, defense, energy, and diaspora affairs. Roughly 1.5 million Pakistanis live in the UAE, making it the second-largest overseas Pakistani population after Saudi Arabia.
The UAE is also the second-largest source of remittances to Pakistan behind Saudi Arabia and in May sent $754.2 million home, according to the State Bank of Pakistan.
Bilateral ties have deepened in recent years, especially in areas like infrastructure, renewable energy and logistics. In May 2024, the UAE pledged to invest $10 billion in Pakistan’s key economic sectors as part of its long-term regional economic strategy.
Pakistan needs foreign investment to boost its economy and shore up its currency reserves to meet rising external repayment obligations as it treads a tricky path to economic recovery under a $7 billion IMF bailout deal.
Islamabad police make history with appointment of first woman SHO at men’s station
- Sub-Inspector Misbah Shehbaz has been appointed the Station House Officer at Phulgran Police Station Islamabad
- As of 2023, women made up only 3.2% of Pakistan’s total police force, or 15,509 female officers out of 489,645 nationwide
ISLAMABAD: Sub-Inspector Misbah Shehbaz has been appointed the Station House Officer (SHO) at Phulgran Police Station, becoming the first woman to head a general (men’s) police station in the Pakistani capital of Islamabad.
The appointment was announced in an official press statement issued by the Foreign Media Cell of Islamabad Police on Thursday.
According to the statement, the appointment was made through formal orders issued by Deputy Inspector General of Police (DIG) Muhammad Jawad Tariq, who said the move was intended to “end gender discrimination within the Islamabad Police.”
“This initiative will continue and more female officers will be given the opportunity to lead police stations,” Tariq was quoted as saying in the press release.
The post of SHO is one of the most visible and operationally significant leadership roles in Pakistan’s police hierarchy, responsible for crime investigation, public safety, and station-level administration. Until now, female SHOs in Islamabad had only led women police stations.
By assigning a female officer to a mixed or general police station, Islamabad Police is signalling its intent to challenge long-standing norms. Observers say the move also aligns with broader reforms encouraged by both domestic policymakers and international partners such as the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), which have pushed for gender-sensitive policing frameworks in Pakistan.
While Shehbaz’s appointment is a welcome development, it also highlights the structural barriers that female officers continue to face in entering Pakistan’s law enforcement sector.
According to the National Police Bureau (NPB) and UN Women Pakistan, as of 2023, women made up only 3.2% of Pakistan’s total police force — that is 15,509 female officers out of 489,645 nationwide.
In Islamabad, female representation was slightly higher at 5.04%, based on official NPB data published in 2023. Between 2019 and 2023, 11,398 women joined various police organizations in Pakistan, but the vast majority were not placed in command or operational leadership roles, as per a UN Women & NPB joint assessment report from 2023.
Experts say the absence of women in decision-making and field leadership reduces institutional responsiveness to gender-based violence and community trust in law enforcement.
Pakistan urges EU to continue GSP+, raises alarm over India’s water treaty violations
- Pakistani delegation has visited US, UK, Brussels to discuss regional tensions following military escalation with India
- Pakistani officials in the delegation warn EU officials of the wider implications of India undermining water treaties
KARACHI: A high-level Pakistani delegation visiting Brussels on Thursday urged European Union officials to support the continuation of Pakistan’s preferential trade access under the GSP+ scheme, while also raising concern over India’s alleged violations of the Indus Waters Treaty.
The delegation, led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, met with Bernd Lange, chair of the European Parliament’s International Trade Committee, to discuss regional tensions following a recent military escalation with India, the worst confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades.
The group previously visited Washington and London as part of a broader diplomatic effort to rally international support after the conflict in which the two nations exchanged drones, missiles, and artillery strikes between May 7-10 before a ceasefire was announced. Since then, both countries have launched diplomatic offensives to present their narratives on the conflict and its causes.
“We just had a meeting with their [EU] trade representative, where we conveyed Pakistan’s message of peace,” Bhutto Zardari told reporters after the meeting.
“In that context, we specifically raised the decisions related to the Indus Waters Treaty, which are violations of international law, and in the EU context, they strongly believe in respecting treaties and adhering to international law. So, in that context, we pitched our case.”
The 1960 Indus Waters Treaty, brokered by the World Bank, governs the distribution of water from the Indus River system between India and Pakistan. Islamabad has expressed alarm in recent months over what it sees as India’s unilateral actions affecting river flows, warning that any withdrawal from or violation of the treaty could destabilize water access for millions of people in the region.
Bhutto Zardari emphasized that Pakistan seeks engagement over confrontation with India, citing terrorism, the longstanding Kashmir territorial dispute, and water issues as areas that require dialogue.
“There should be engagement with India, whether on the issue of terrorism, the Kashmir dispute, or, of course, the critical issue of water, so that solutions can be found,” he said.
Bhutto Zardari also thanked the European Union for expressing condolences over Pakistani casualties in the recent clashes with India and praised the bloc’s commitment to international norms.
“If you look at this recent conflict, the violation of international law has been committed by one side, and that side is not Pakistan,” he said.
Musadiq Malik, Pakistan’s federal minister for water resources and another member of the delegation, warned EU officials of the wider implications of undermining water treaties.
“If India is given the right to exit the Indus Waters Treaty, then 70 percent of the world’s countries that are lower riparian, whose populations depend on drinking water, agriculture, and life itself, will face destruction,” Malik said.
He urged the international community to preserve a rules-based global order.
“Because if we do not, remember, in the Wild West, the one with the faster gun ruled,” he added.
Former ambassador Jalil Abbas Jilani, also part of the delegation, said the team had requested continued EU support for Pakistan under the Generalized Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+), which allows duty-free or low-duty access for developing countries to the European market in exchange for progress on human rights, labor standards, environmental protection, and good governance.
“We requested them to continue their support for GSP+, as they have in the past,” Jilani said. “We hope the European Union will take into consideration Pakistan’s need for the GSP+ status and will play a role in its continuation.”
The current GSP+ arrangement, which has significantly boosted Pakistan’s textile exports to the EU, is due for review as the bloc finalizes the next phase of its trade preference program. The scheme has played a key role in supporting Pakistan’s exports, particularly in the garment sector, which employs millions.
Pakistan GSP+ benefits were extended last year until 2027.
