TORKHAM: Pakistani Shafiq Mohammad, 40, stands at a closed pedestrian crossing gate on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, holding a passport and a stack of identity cards and imploring Pakistani officials to let him and his family through.
The crossing at Torkham, now manned on the Afghan side by armed Taliban soldiers, has long been the busiest between the two countries, but since last month has seen a sharp dip in pedestrian crossings as tight controls have been imposed.
“I don’t know (why they’re not letting us in), we’re also standing here asking why you do not let us... what is the procedure, how can we proceed,” Mohammad says through a metal-barred gate from the Afghan side of the border.
With air traffic suspended, Torkham is one of the few gateways out of Afghanistan. But worsening security has prompted authorities to clamp down on border movement, with an average of just 85 daily crossings in August at Torkham, against 7,000-8,000 in March and April.
Pakistani authorities said a fresh wave of COVID-19 infections has also led them to exercise tighter scrutiny.
Commercial traffic has kept up, with a steady stream of trucks passing through. But crowds have been pushed back from the border area by Taliban fighters and kept on the Afghan side on the Jalalabad-Peshawar highway.
Pakistani authorities have had to work with the Taliban on the local level to make sure the borders remained staffed and orderly after Afghan forces melted away in August with the departure of President Ashraf Ghani.
Sajid Majeed, deputy inspector General of Pakistan’s Frontier Corps, said coordination was necessary to check documents and there were regular contacts at the local level between Pakistani officials and their Taliban counterparts.
“That is part of routine. Beyond that, I think things are still in the pipeline,” he said.
The mountainous border had historically been fluid for pedestrians, with families and tribes living on either side. They crossed from all points and mostly without hindrance.
However, for the last few years both Pakistan and Afghanistan have traded accusations that the other side has sheltered militant groups and allowed them to conduct attacks across the border. Pakistan has now almost completed a metal fence along the 2,600 km (1,600 mile)-long frontier.
Pakistan began erecting the fence, which snakes through snow-peaked mountains and treacherous ravines, four years ago. It now has over 440 forts in the north western region alone, as well as cameras, watchtowers and over 800 drones.
With only five official crossing points, including Torkham, now remaining between the two sides, things have changed for people like Mohammad, who said he had previously crossed the border frequently.
“We were allowed to pass (previously). Now the rules have changed. Every day the rule is changing,” Mohammad complains.
“This time if I cross the border then...” Mohammad says, gesticulating to suggest he would not cross into Afghanistan again. He seems careful not to say anything that might upset the Taliban guards hovering behind him.
After negotiations with the Pakistani border officials, which are unsuccessful for reasons that are unclear, Mohammad, his family, and some others are ushered away from the crossing by the Taliban border guards. They threaten to hit some people with whip-like devices to keep the line moving.
Another family does manage to get through. A girl in a wheelchair crosses into Pakistan as Mohammad and his wife and children disappear back into the crowd on the Afghan side.
At Pakistan’s Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan, people face uncertainty and long wait
https://arab.news/j3jvq
At Pakistan’s Torkham border crossing with Afghanistan, people face uncertainty and long wait
- Torkham, now manned by Taliban on the Afghan side, has long been the busiest between the two countries
- Since last month it has seen a sharp dip in pedestrian crossings as tight controls have been imposed
Four paramilitary soldiers killed by firing, IED blast in northwest Pakistan— police
- Levies personnel were in Dera Ismail Khan district from Balochistan to retrieve stolen vehicle, say police official
- Pakistan has suffered a surge in attacks in KP province since November 2022 after its truce with Pakistani Taliban ended
PESHAWR: Four soldiers of the paramilitary Levies force were killed after they were targeted by firing and an improvised explosive device (IED) blast in northwestern Pakistan’s Dera Ismail Khan district, a police officer said on Sunday.
According to D.I. Khan police officer Amer Khan, the four Levies personnel were in the district from southwestern Pakistan’s Khanozai area to retrieve a stolen truck.
Noor Ahmad Naib, Rasheed Zaman, Dawood Khan and Bilal Ahmad left for DI Khan on Feb. 1, the police officer said, adding that their vehicle was attacked in the district’s Daraban area.
“Upon initial reports, all embraced martyrdom due to firing followed by an IED blast,” Khan told Arab News.
So far no group has claimed responsibility for the attack but suspicion is likely to fall on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or the Pakistani Taliban, who have launched attacks on Pakistan’s security forces and law enforcement personnel for over a decade-and-a-half.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militancy in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan, since a fragile truce between the TTP and the state broke down in November 2022.
The TTP and other militant groups have stepped up their attacks against security forces, besides targeted killings and kidnappings of law enforcers and government officials, in recent months.
Islamabad has frequently accused neighboring Afghanistan of sheltering anti-Pakistan groups that launch cross-border attacks. Afghan officials deny allowing the use of their soil against any country.
The latest casualties in the province come a day after the military said 18 Pakistani soldiers were killed in a militant attack in southwestern Balochistan province. The military said it had killed at least 23 militants in subsequent clearance operations.
Pakistan president approves judges’ transfer to Islamabad High Court amid judiciary row
- News reports say government aims to appoint one of the transferred judges as Islamabad High Court’s chief justice
- Islamabad Bar Council criticizes move as “affront to the independence of the judiciary,” undermines rights of legal fraternity
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s President Asif Ali Zardari this week approved the transfer of three judges from the high courts of Sindh, Balochistan and Lahore to the Islamabad High Court (IHC), despite opposition from five IHC judges who had warned that the decision would not be in line with the constitution.
As per a notification from the Ministry of Law and Justice on Saturday, Zardari approved the transfers of Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar from the Lahore High Court (LHC), the Sindh High Court’s (SHC) Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro and the Balochistan High Court’s (BHC) Justice Muhammad Asif to the IHC.
Local media reports had stated the government was considering transferring Justice Dogar as it wanted to elevate him to the post of IHC chief justice. Reports said incumbent IHC Chief Justice Aamer Farooq is expected to be elevated to the Supreme Court.
Five of the 10 IHC judges formally opposed Justice Dogar’s transfer on Friday. In a letter addressed to the chief justices of the Supreme Court, IHC, LHC and SHC, the judges said that if the decision to transfer the judge was to consider him as IHC chief justice, it would be “fraud on the constitution.”
In a notification released on Saturday, the Ministry of Law and Justice announced:
“In exercise of the powers conferred under clause I of Article 200 of the Constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the President of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is pleased to transfer:
Mr. Justice Sardar Muhammad Sarfraz Dogar, judge from the Lahore High Court to the Islamabad High Court, Mr. Justice Khadim Hussain Soomro judge from the Sindh High Court to the Islamabad High Court and Justice Muhammad Asif judge from the Balochistan High Court to the Islamabad High Court.”
Pakistan’s constitution empowers the president to transfer a judge from one high court to another after the concerned judge consents to the decision. The president can approve the transfer after consulting the chief justice of Pakistan and the chief justice of both high courts.
The Islamabad Bar Council unanimously rejected the president’s decision in a statement on Saturday.
“This decision is an affront to the independence of the judiciary and undermines the rights and representation of the legal fraternity in Islamabad,” the council wrote in a press release.
The council said it has convened an Emergent General House Session at 11:00 am on Sunday, along with the Cabinets of the Islamabad High Court Bar Association and the Islamabad District Bar Association, to deliberate on the “future course of action.”
“The Islamabad Bar Council urges the legal fraternity to unite in this critical time to uphold the sanctity of the judiciary and protect the interests of the Islamabad’s legal practitioners,” it added.
Pakistan’s FIA says key facilitator of Morocco boat tragedy arrested
- Several Pakistanis were on board migrant ship that sank off Morocco’s coast this month
- FIA says suspect Abdul Ghaffar involved in human smuggling in Mauritania, Burkina Faso
ISLAMABAD: The Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) this week announced it had arrested a human smuggler who was the main facilitator of the Morocco boat tragedy in which several Pakistanis were killed this month.
Pakistan’s foreign office confirmed earlier this month that a migrant boat with several Pakistanis had capsized near the coast of Morocco en route to Spain. According to Moroccan authorities, 36 people were rescued from the vessel, which had departed Mauritania on Jan. 2. The boat had 86 migrants on board, including 66 Pakistanis, minority rights group Walking Borders said.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had instructed the government to take stern action against human smugglers involved in sending desperate Pakistani citizens on dangerous journeys to Europe via sea.
“The main facilitator of the Morocco boat accident, Abdul Ghaffar, was arrested at Islamabad Airport yesterday,” a statement from the FIA said on Saturday, adding that it has traced the gang of human smugglers involved in the incident.
The investigation agency said Ghaffar had been living in Mauritania since 2023 and had facilitated sending several Pakistanis to Europe. It said the accused’s father, Muhammad Sarfraz and close relative Munir Ahmed are also involved in human trafficking in Mauritania since 2018.
FIA said it had nabbed Ghaffar when he arrived in Islamabad on Friday with seven passengers. After being identified by the passengers, he was taken into custody and shifted to Faisalabad.
“Important evidence was recovered from Adul Ghaffar, the agent involved in human trafficking,” the FIA said.
The agency said it has evidence Ghaffar was in contact with an African human smuggler named Abu Bakar. It said upon initial investigation the FIA found out that Ghaffar and his accomplices were actively involved in human smuggling in the African countries of Mauritania and Burkina Faso.
“The suspects helped Pakistanis onto boats by luring them with promises of sending them to Europe, which resulted in the deaths of several Pakistanis,” the agency said.
The FIA said a case has been registered against Ghaffar and further investigations are underway. The agency said it expected more arrests after extracting information from the suspect.
“Strict legal action will be taken against smugglers who play with innocent lives,” the FIA vowed.
The Morocco boat tragedy highlighted the perilous journeys many migrants, particularly Pakistanis, undertake due to conflict and economic instability in their home country.
In 2023, hundreds of migrants, including 262 Pakistanis, drowned when an overcrowded vessel sank in international waters off the southwestern Greek town of Pylos.
It was among the deadliest boat disasters ever recorded in the Mediterranean Sea.
Pakistan anti-graft body files reference against property tycoon over illegal transfer of Karachi land
- Malik Riaz Hussain and others are accused of having over 7,000 acres of government land transferred illegally to Bahria Town Karachi
- The development comes days after National Accountability Bureau said it had initiated process to seek Hussain’s extradition from UAE
KARACHI: Pakistan’s National Accountability Bureau (NAB) has filed a reference against real estate tycoon, Malik Riaz Hussain, and 32 other individuals over illegal transfer of government lands for a mega project in the southern Pakistani city of Karachi, a NAB spokesperson said on Saturday.
Hussain, who currently lives in Dubai, is one of Pakistan’s wealthiest and most influential businessmen and the country’s largest private employers. He is best known as the chairman of M/s Bahria Town, which claims to be Asia’s largest private real estate developer and has projects in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and other cities.
NAB filed the reference in an accountability court in Karachi nominating Hussain, his son Ahmed Ali Riaz, former Sindh chief minister Syed Qaim Ali Shah and Sharjeel Inaam Memon, then local body minister and now information minister of Sindh, among 33 people for illegally transferring government land to M/s Bahria Town for its Bahria Town Karachi project in 2013 and 2014.
“Accused persons in connivance with each other illegally transferred the government land, initialy admeasuring 7220 acres, to M/s Bahria Town,” the anti-graft body said in the reference. “The said illegal transfer of government land to Bahria Town was made under the garb of adjustment/exchange/consolidation.”
It said the accused persons acted as an “organized syndicate” to cause cumulative losses of Rs700 billion ($2.5 billion) to the national exchequer, requesting the court to try them for committing the “offenses of corruption and corrupt practices.”
The development came days after NAB said it had initiated the process to seek Hussain’s extradition from the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who was also charged in another land corruption case involving former prime minister Imran Khan and his wife.
A Pakistani court last month sentenced Khan to 14 years in prison and his wife, Bushra, to seven years, in the case in which they are accused of receiving land as a bribe from Hussain through the Al-Qadir charitable trust in exchange for illegal favors during Khan’s premiership from 2018 to 2022. Khan says he and his wife were trustees and did not benefit from the land transaction. Hussain too denies any wrongdoing relating to the case.
“We have written to the Federal Investigation Agency for the extradition,” a NAB spokesman told Arab News on Wednesday, adding that the FIA would now pursue the case.
Prior to that, Defense Minister Khawaja Asif confirmed that Pakistan would use its extradition treaty with the UAE to bring Hussain back.
Last month, NAB also cautioned people against investing in Hussain’s new real estate venture to build luxury apartments in Dubai.
“If the general public at large invests in the stated project, their actions would be tantamount to money laundering, for which they may face criminal and legal proceedings,” it said.
Hussain responded to NAB in a post on X, saying that “fake cases, blackmailing and greed of officers” had forced him to relocate from Pakistan because he was not willing to be a “political pawn.”
Pakistani PM hopes Sharaa assuming president’s office will bring peace to Syria
- Al-Sharaa was declared president for a transitional phase on Wednesday, less than two months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar Assad
- Sharaa said he will form an inclusive transitional government that will build institutions and run the country until it can hold free and fair elections
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Saturday welcomed Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s assumption of the office of the Syrian president, hoping it would lead to peace in Syria.
Sharaa was declared president for a transitional phase on Wednesday, less than two months after he led a campaign that toppled Bashar Assad.
He was also empowered to form a temporary legislative council for a transitional period and the Syrian constitution was suspended.
“We welcome Mr. Ahmed Al-Sharaa’s assumption of office as President of the Syrian Arab Republic during the transitional phase and hope that the new leadership will be able to bring peace, progress and prosperity to the brotherly people of Syria,” Sharif said on X.
On Thursday, Sharaa said he will form an inclusive transitional government representing diverse communities that will build institutions and run the country until it can hold free and fair elections.
He was addressing the nation in his first speech since being appointed president by the military command that ousted Assad in a lightning offensive last year.
The group that led the offensive, Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, has since set up an interim government that has welcomed a steady stream of senior Western and Arab diplomatic delegations keen to help stabilize the country after 13 years of civil war.
