KARACHI: At least 4,000 people from all walks of life took part in an annual marathon event, accredited by the World Athletics and held in Pakistan’s southern port city of Karachi on Sunday, its organizer said. 

The event kicked off on Sunday morning from the city’s Nishan-e-Pakistan monument at Sea View. It featured five types of marathons, such as the Full Marathon (42.195km) the Half-Marathon (21.1 km), the Relay Marathon, a team of four participants for 42.2km (10.5km run, 10.5km run, 10.5km run, 10.5km run and the Fun Run, a 5 km run.

Athletes hailing from Poland, Germany, Japan and many others participated in the event, Sports in Pakistan, one of the organizers of the event, said in a press release. The marathon’s certification by the World Rankings Competition ensured a world-class experience for all participants, it added. 

“We are delighted with the overwhelming success of the Karachi Marathon 2025,” Shoaib Nizami, CEO of Sports in Pakistan, said. 

“The event has emerged as a testament to Karachi’s unwavering resilience and warm hospitality and we extend our sincerest gratitude to our participants, sponsors, and partners for their invaluable support.”

The top performers in each category were:

Marathon Category:

• Male Winner (1st Prize): Israr Muhammad (Pakistan) – Time: 2:30:13 won Rs. 500,000/
• Male Winner (2nd Prize): Muhammad Riaz (Pakistan) – 2:32:13 won Rs. 250,000/
• Female Winner (1st Prize): Enub Khan (Pakistan) – 3:47:49 won Rs. 500,000/
• Female Winner (2nd Prize): Zeba Shah Abbasi (Pakistan) – 4:01:13 won Rs. 250,000/

Half Marathon Category:

• Male Winner (1st Prize): Muhammad Ajhtar (Pakistan) – Time: 1:12:08 won Rs. 50,000/
• Second Runner-up Male (2nd Prize): Qasim Bajwa (Pakistan) – 1:12:52 won Rs. 40,000/
• Female Winner (1st Prize): Mumtaz Naimat – 1:43:26 won Rs. 50,000/
• Second Runner-up Female (2nd Prize): Dua Nazakat (Pakistan) – 1:51:45 won Rs. 40,000/

The city saw its first-ever World Athletics-certified marathon last year in January 2024 where hundreds of people from all walks of life participated. 

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has ordered the immediate arrest of suspects involved in the recent shooting at an aid convoy en route to the northwestern Kurram district, which has been rocked by sectarian and tribal clashes in recent weeks, a statement from the Chief Minister’s Office said on Sunday. 

Saturday’s gun attack was carried out by unidentified men near Bagan, a tense locality in the district’s center, as Deputy Commissioner (DC) Javedullah Mehsud and other officials led an aid convoy to Kurram, leaving the top officials and four security men injured.

Kurram, a northwestern district of around 600,000 people in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, has been rocked by tribal and sectarian clashes since Nov. 21 when gunmen attacked a convoy of Shia passengers, killing 52.

The attack sparked further violence and blockade of a main road connecting Kurram’s main town of Parachinar with the provincial capital of Peshawar, causing medicine, food and fuel shortages in the area, as casualties surged to 136.

KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur held a meeting with senior provincial officials on Saturday night to take stock of the situation in Kurram after the incident, the CM Office said in a statement. 

“People involved in the firing should be handed over to the law,” the statement said. “A first information report against all suspects involved in the shooting should be registered after which they should be immediately arrested.”

The statement said that after a peace agreement between the warring factions in Kurram, the responsibility for its violation falls on the people of the area. Participants of the meeting also decided to fix bounties on militants’ heads to eliminate them. 

“No mercy will be shown to any terrorist nor will those who aid them be spared,” it added. 

KP government spokesperson Muhammad Ali Saif said on Saturday that Mehsud’s condition was out of danger. The official was leading a convoy of 17 trucks, which were carrying tents, blankets, medical kits, tarpaulins, solar lamps and sleeping bags when the attack occurred.

Kurram police spokesman Riaz Khan told Arab News that the attack injured DC Mehsud, his police guard and three members of the Frontier Corps (FC) paramilitary force.

Saturday’s gun attack came days after a grand jirga, or council of political and tribal elders formed by the KP provincial government, brokered a peace agreement between the warring Shia and Sunni tribes, following weeks of efforts.

Under the peace agreement signed on Wednesday, both sides had agreed on the demolition of bunkers and the handover of heavy weapons to the authorities within two weeks, but the attack on the aid convoy has once again cast a cloud on peace in the restive district.

According to the peace agreement, any party that launches an attack after the signing of the deal will be considered a “terrorist” and action will be taken against it. Another point of the agreement says that a fine of Rs10 million ($35,933) will be imposed on those who violate the terms of the deal by using weapons against each other.

Land disputes in the volatile district will be settled on a priority basis with the cooperation of local tribes and the district administration, according to the peace agreement. Opening of banned outfits’ offices will be prohibited in the district, while social media accounts spreading hate will be discouraged via collective efforts backed by the government.