KARACHI: Following a spate of cyberattacks on Pakistan’s banks, several account holders said on Thursday that they were forced to take precautionary measures to secure their savings.
“I have closed my online account because of the ongoing cyber-attacks. The banks are not sharing details of what is happening, so I’ve decided to close the accounts having experienced the trouble of dealing with banks,” Abdul Samad Memon, a 35-year-old businessman, told Arab News.
Samad is not the only account holder to opt out. Dozens of individuals have either voluntarily closed their accounts or requested their banks to block access as a precautionary measure. “I have asked my bank to close my online account and now I will withdraw cash through checks to be on the safer side,” Muhammad Salahuddin, a retired government employee said.
Authorities from several banks also said that they had notified their customers about the move. Muhammad Rehan, a school teacher, said he had received the notification from his bank and did not have an issue with the standard operating procedure as it is a “good step under the current circumstances”.
In the news recently, major financial institutions reported losing billions of rupees through fraudulent activities. Prime among these were transactions involving identify theft, whereby hackers would create fake accounts using the details of another person, mostly from an underprivileged background. Case in point was an incident reported by the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) whereby it had seized the bank account of an ice-cream vendor who had Rs2.25 billion in his savings account.
“The hacking incidents show that nothing is reliable. Even though withdrawing cash by using fake checks has been the practice in the past, I still believe it is safer as compared to online banking,” Baber Sharif, a shopkeeper, said.
Adding insult to injury was the case of Pakistan’s BankIslami which reported that its security system had been breached on October 27, resulting in major losses for the company.
The extent of the online hacking came to light on Monday, when FIA’s cyber-crime chief, Captain (retd) Mohammad Shoaib said that customers’ data from almost all major Pakistani banks had been stolen in a recent security breach.
The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP), however, rejected the FIA’s findings, clarifying that the data of only one bank had been compromised. “SBP categorically rejects such reports. There is no evidence to this effect nor has this information been provided to the SBP by any bank or law enforcement agency,” the central bank said in a statement.
However, officials from the Pakistan Computer Emergency Response Team (PakCERT), a cybersecurity services provider, reported that on October 26, a data dump was posted on the Internet highlighting the details of more than 9,000 debit cards, out of which 8,864 belonged to customers of Pakistani banks.
“The [security details of the] compromised cards were sold at a price ranging from between $100 and $160. The second dump was posted on October 31 with over 12,000 cards on darknet comprising 11,000 cards from Pakistani banks,” the report added.
According to the PakCERT, security details of a total of 19,864 cards from 22 Pakistani banks were compromised.
Experts believe that the breach was not the act of any one individual but rather a group of individuals as the fraud was carried out in a sophisticated and organized manner. “The pattern of infiltration clearly shows that there was more than one entity involved,” S M Arif, a financial expert and banking technologist, told Arab News.
“We have to evaluate whether only the data which was available in the dark web was compromised or other data was used as well,” Arif said, adding that in circumstances where the data from one country is used for withdrawal purposes in another country while a third individual is the beneficiary “could only be done by those who have access to the data”. “The withdrawals have taken place through a financial system which means it is the failure of multiple entities on multiple points,” he said.
A B Shahid, a senior banker, told Arab News that the recent incidents of cyber-fraud have exposed the loopholes in the financial system and shaken the confidence of customers. “The customers believed that the banking systems was most reliable and secure for their savings but their confidence has been shaken to a large extent,” he said.
Holding the SBP and the management of various banks responsible for the infiltration and hacking, Shahid said that the financial bodies could have taken a cue from Wikileaks which had “exposed the system’s weaknesses”.
“Wikileaks clearly demonstrated that data can be downloaded and used for various reasons. In the race to promote electronic banking in Pakistan, neither the regulator nor the banks’ management took steps to install an anti-hacking system which is clearly evident from the recent incidents,” he said.
Users log off permanently to avoid cyber fraud
Users log off permanently to avoid cyber fraud
- Security of nearly 20,000 bank accounts compromised in recent heists
- Experts blame regulator and financial bodies for failure to prevent online attacks
China bans meat imports from Pakistan, Afghanistan and other nations over disease worries
- Ban comes after the World Health Organization released information of disease outbreaks in various countries
- China stops imports from Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh due to sheep pox, goat pox
BEIJING: China has prohibited imports of sheep, goat, poultry and even-toed ungulates from African, Asian and European countries due to outbreaks of livestock diseases such as sheep pox, goat pox and foot-and-mouth-disease.
The ban, which also includes processed and unprocessed products, comes after the World Health Organization released information of disease outbreaks in various countries, according to a series of announcements by China’s General Administration of Customs dated Jan. 21.
The ban from the world’s largest meat importer affects Ghana, Somalia, Qatar, Congo (DRC), Nigeria, and Tanzania, Egypt, Bulgaria, East Timor and Eritrea.
China also said it has stopped imports of sheep, goat and related products from Palestine, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Nepal and Bangladesh due to sheep pox and goat pox outbreaks.
It also blocked the imports of even-toed ungulates and related products from Germany following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease, it said.
Imran Khan’s party asks government to form committee to appoint new Pakistan election commissioner
- Demand comes as Pakistan Chief Election Commissioner Sikander Sultan Raja’s tenure expires
- Khan’s party accuses Raja of manipulating results of February 2024 elections, which he denies
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Monday repeated its demand for the government to constitute a parliamentary committee to appoint a new chief election commissioner (CEC), a day after his term in office expired.
Omar Ayub, a PTI lawmaker and leader of the opposition in the lower house of Pakistan’s parliament, wrote to Speaker Ayaz Sadiq on Jan. 15 to form a parliamentary committee to appoint a new chief election commissioner. Ayub said Raja’s term would expire on Feb. 26, urging him to constitute the committee “to facilitate this important constitutional requirement.”
Raja oversaw Pakistan’s contentious general election last year which were marred by a countrywide shutdown of cellular networks, suspension of Internet services and delayed results. The PTI and other opposition parties alleged the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) under Raja manipulated the results of the polls to facilitate his political rivals. The ECP has strongly rejected the PTI’s allegations while the caretaker government at the time said mobile phone and Internet services were suspended to maintain law and order in the country.
“Wrote a letter to the Speaker National Assembly of Pakistan on 15th January 2025 to constitute a Parliamentary Committee for the appointment of the Chief Election Commissioner,” Ayub wrote on social media platform X.
“Sikander Sultan Raja’s term ended yesterday (26th January 2025). He has no moral authority to continue. He and the 2 ‘retired’ commissioners should step down immediately,” he added.
Tensions between Khan’s party and Raja escalated in August 2022 when the ECP ruled that the PTI had received millions of dollars in funds from foreign countries, including the United States, the United Arab Emirates, the UK and Australia, in violation of the constitution and concealed information related to it. Khan’s party denied it had hidden any information related to the funding.
In a separate verdict in October 2022, the ECP disqualified Khan from public office in a case registered against the ex-premier for failing to declare assets he earned from the sale of state gifts. Khan and his party have denied any wrongdoing.
Khan, who has been in jail since August 2023 on a slew of charges, was ousted from the prime minister’s post in April 2022 via a parliamentary vote. Once considered close to the military, Khan had a falling out with Pakistan’s powerful army in the days leading to his ouster.
Since his ouster from office, the former prime minister has led a defiant campaign against the military, whom he accuses of supporting his political rivals. Pakistan’s army and the government both reject his allegations strongly, with the military saying it does not interfere in politics.
The development also takes place amid renewed political tensions between the government and the PTI after the latter withdrew from negotiations with the former. Both sides kicked off talks last month to ease political tensions in the country. The PTI demanded the government release Khan and all political prisoners, and constitute judicial commissions to probe anti-government protests that took place in May 2023 and November 2024.
The PTI announced last week it would not partake in further talks with the government unless it forms judicial commissions. The government’s negotiation committee said it would respond to the PTI’s demands by Jan. 28, criticizing Khan’s party for ending talks “unilaterally.
Pakistan PM, president condemn gun attack on speaker Azad Kashmir’s convoy
- Chaudhry Latif Akbar’s convoy was fired upon when it arrived on Sunday in village near Muzaffarabad
- Shehbaz Sharif prays for early recovery of three persons injured, orders stern action against culprits
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and President Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday condemned a gun attack targeting the speaker of the Kashmir region administered by Pakistan that left three people injured, tasking authorities to take stern action against the culprits, state-run media reported.
Speaker Chaudhry Latif Akbar, a leader of the Sharif-led ruling coalition ally Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP), was visiting his constituency in Kakliyot village around 15km south of Muzaffarabad when the shooting took place on Sunday as per news reports.
Three PPP supporters who were part of the convoy were injured in the attack. Akbar had reportedly received threats from Raja Amir Zafar, a local district council member, who vowed that no one would be allowed to enter the village for Akbar’s visit.
“President Asif Ali Zardari and Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif have strongly condemned the incident of firing on the convoy of Speaker of Azad Jammu and Kashmir Legislative Assembly,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday.
Zardari described the attack on the speaker as a “cowardly and despicable act,” praying for the early recovery of the injured.
In his statement, the Pakistani prime minister prayed for the early recovery of the injured persons.
“The Prime Minister directed the authorities concerned to take immediate action and ensure the arrest of those responsible for the attack,” Radio Pakistan reported.
Azad Kashmir is a self-governing administrative unit under Pakistan’s control but is not recognized as a sovereign country. The Muslim-majority Kashmir region has long been a source of tensions between nuclear-armed neighbors India and Pakistan, leading them to fight two out of three wars since winning independence from the British Empire in 1947 over the disputed territory.
The scenic mountain region is divided between India, which rules the populous Kashmir Valley and the Hindu-dominated region around Jammu city, Pakistan, which controls a wedge of territory in the west called AJK, and China, which holds a thinly populated high-altitude area in the north. Besides Pakistan, India also has an ongoing conflict with China over their disputed frontier.
Pakistan to participate in upcoming International Taekwondo training camp in Sharjah
- Saudi Arabia, UAE, Uzbekistan, Russia and other countries to take part in camp underway in Sharjah till Feb. 5
- Camp to provide athletes opportunity to engage in high-level training sessions, foster international collaboration
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is participating in the upcoming 11th Sharjah International Taekwondo Training camp alongside teams from Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates (UAE), Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan and other countries, state-run media recently reported.
Taekwondo is a traditional Korean martial art practiced across 206 countries, according to the official Olympics website. In taekwondo, hands and feet can be used to overcome an opponent but the trademark of the sport is its combination of kick movements.
Pakistan’s team arrived in Sharjah this week to participate in the international training camp, which will be underway till Feb. 5, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. More countries expected to join in the coming days.
“The 11th Sharjah International Taekwondo Training Camp will provide a valuable opportunity for athletes to enhance their skills, engage in high-level training sessions and foster international collaboration in the sport,” APP said on Sunday.
Pakistan has made some gains in the martial art sport over the past few months. In October 2024, Pakistan’s taekwondo team made history by winning the 6th Asian Open (Khyurogi) Taekwondo Championship held in Indonesia from Oct. 14-17 last year.
Pakistani twin sisters Manisha Ali and Maliha Ali, hailing from the country’s northern Hunza valley, were part of the team that secured three gold, three silver, and two bronze medals in the championship.
The tournament featured over 275 athletes from across Asia, including participants from India, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, the Philippines, Malaysia, Nepal and Indonesia.
The same month Pakistan’s youngest taekwondo champion Ayesha Ayaz took part in the Qatar International Open Taekwondo Championship. Ayaz was among 1,440 players from 40 countries who competed in the event across four categories: cadet, juniors, youth and adults.
Pakistani firms showcase national heritage, tourism services at New York travel show
- Financial Times, CNN recently featured the South Asian country among top destinations worldwide to visit in 2025
- In a bid to boost tourism, cash-strapped Pakistan last year began offering free visas to citizens of over 120 nations
ISLAMABAD: More than a dozen Pakistani firms and provincial tourism departments showcased the country’s heritage and tourism potential at the Travel & Adventure Show 2025 in New York, Pakistani state media reported on Sunday.
For over 20 years, the Travel & Adventure Show has connected more than 2.7 million travel enthusiasts and over 16,500 unique travel advisers with over 5,800 different exhibiting companies from around the world, influencing over $7 billion in travel bookings, according to the show’s website.
This year, the Trade Development Authority of Pakistan (TDAP), in collaboration with the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) and the Pakistani consulate in New York, set up the Pakistan Pavilion at the show held on Jan. 25-26.
“Pakistan Pavilion showcased Pakistan’s breathtaking destinations, rich cultural heritage, and a wide range of tourism services,” the Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
Pakistan Pavilion received the award for ‘Best Partner Pavilion’ at the Travel & Adventure Show 2025, according to the report. A large number of attendees visited the pavilion and expressed their keen interest in mountaineering, and adventure and religious tourism.
Pakistan is home to the ancient Indus Valley and Gandhara civilizations, sacred places of Sikhs and Hindus and followers of other faiths as well as five of the 14 world peaks above the height of 8,000 meters in its north.
International business publication Financial Times recently featured Pakistan in its list of 50 places worldwide to visit on holidays, citing its “dramatic mountain scenery” and an improved security situation as reasons worth visiting the area.
Pakistan’s northern Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) region also made it to CNN’s list of 25 destinations that are particularly worth visiting in 2025. Thousands of tourists and foreign climbers visit the sparsely populated northern region each year for expeditions on various peaks, paragliding and other sports activities.
In a bid to boost its tourism sector, cash-strapped Pakistan also began offering free visas online to citizens of more than 120 nations in August 2024.
