OIC rights commission in Pakistan urges member states to establish anti-corruption institutions

Chairperson of the OIC-IPHRC, Dr. Haci Ali Acikgul (2L) speaks to the participants of a seminar on ‘Combating Corruption – A Prerequisite for the Full Enjoyment of all Human Rights and Sustainable Development’ in Islamabad on January 7, 2022. (UNDP)
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Updated 07 January 2022
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OIC rights commission in Pakistan urges member states to establish anti-corruption institutions

  • Pakistan and OIC’s human rights commission hosted a seminar in Islamabad on preventing graft
  • Islamabad Declaration urges member states to establish accessible and independent channels for reporting corruption

ISLAMABAD: The Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) Independent Permanent Human Rights Commission (IPHRC) on Friday urged member states to strengthen institutional mechanisms by establishing fully equipped, empowered and independent accountability institutions, enhancing the capacity of the judiciary, prosecution services and law enforcement agencies to combat corruption across the Muslim world. 
OIC-IPHRC and the Pakistani government organized a two-day seminar on ‘Combating Corruption – A Prerequisite for the Full Enjoyment of all Human Rights and Sustainable Development’. Over 200 representatives of international organizations, including the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) attended the seminar. 
“This declaration encouraged all OIC member states to establish fully equipped, empowered and independent accountability institutions, which are capable to investigate crimes of corruption, including sophisticated transnational crimes, in an independent and impartial manner,” the Islamabad Declaration’s statement read at the end seminar’s conclusion. 
The seminar laid stress on providing training, with adequate resources, to personnel to ensure the implementation of various laws relation to anti-corruption. 
“The Islamabad Declaration urged all OIC States to undertake accelerated actions to combat corruption in a comprehensive manner through strengthening the legal frameworks, with human dignity at the heart of policies, to address existing structural disadvantages and inequalities which reflect both causes and consequences of various forms of corruption in respective societies and systems,” Dr. Haci Ali Acikgul, chairperson of the OIC-IPHRC, told Arab News. 
“No country alone can combat corruption, it requires cooperation at the national, regional and international level,” he said, adding that during the seminar inputs were obtained from UN agencies, OIC member states and other international experts.
All of these inputs, he said, combined to make up the Islamabad Declaration against corruption. 
“It is a very important document. I hope these efforts will raise awareness among member states and the international community, especially through civil society and media,” Acikgul said and emphasized that “corruption is the main epidemic in full realization of human rights.” 
Islamabad Declaration called for the mobilization of all relevant national mechanisms to fight corruption in close cooperation with media, religious institutions and civil societies while ensuring that victims and all those involved in reporting, investigating and prosecuting corruption are protected from intimidation and harm. 
It stressed on establishing accessible, visible and independent channels to report corruption and introducing procedures that enable all individuals and groups to demand action when their rights are suppressed due to corruption. 




A group photo of the participants of the two-day seminar “Combating Corruption – A Prerequisite for the Full Enjoyment of all Human Rights and Sustainable Development,” organized by organized by OIC-IPHRC and Pakistani government, in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 7, 2022. (AN Photo)

The Islamabad Declaration called upon the international community to translate the global focus on human rights protection and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which has been a central issue for international cooperation, into concrete, measurable actions on the ground to effectively address transnational corruption. 
“Recovering and returning confiscated assets and illicit financial flows, in accordance with UNCAC, can contribute to effective resource mobilization, poverty eradication, sustainable development and the enjoyment of all human rights, particularly for developing countries,” the declaration statement added. 
It also encouraged member states to cooperate with international partners to reinforce efforts and resources to assist in implementing integral measures that end corruption, enhance accountability and contribute to the promotion and protection of human rights. 
Pakistan’s ministry for human rights Dr. Shireen Mazari said OIC has immense power to mobilize collective efforts to combat corruption. 
“OIC can play a very strong role internationally to stop corruption, illegal flow of money and money laundering,” she told Arab News. 




Pakistan's minister for human rights, Dr. Shireen Mazari, address the seminar on ‘Combating Corruption – A Prerequisite for the Full Enjoyment of all Human Rights and Sustainable Development’ in Islamabad, Pakistan, on January 7, 2022. (UNDP)

She commended OIC-IPHRC for gathering experts from across the world. 
“It has been informative for all participants and helpful in combating the menace of corruption in the Muslim world through an effective anti-corruption framework and methodology,” she said. 


Gunmen kidnap and kill nine bus passengers in Pakistan’s Balochistan

Updated 10 sec ago
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Gunmen kidnap and kill nine bus passengers in Pakistan’s Balochistan

  • Armed men offboarded passengers, who hailed from the Punjab province, from two buses in the Zhob district
  • No group has claimed responsibility for the incident, but suspicion is likely to fall on Baloch separatist militants

QUETTA: Armed men killed nine bus passengers after kidnapping them in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Friday, in the latest attack on commuters hailing from the eastern Punjab province.

The attackers took the passengers with them after intercepting two buses on the N-70 highway in Balochistan’s Zhob district, according to a senior official of the paramilitary Levies force. Their bodies were found in the nearby mountains in the intervening night of Thursday and Friday.

No group has claimed responsibility for the latest attack on the Punjab-bound buses, but suspicion is likely to fall on Baloch separatist groups who have been involved in multiple such attacks targeting ethnic Punjabi commuters in the past.

“Armed men intercepted two Lahore-bound passenger buses at the Balochistan-Punjab national highway near Sara Dhaka area and kidnapped nine ethnic Punjabi travelers after checking their national identity cards (NICs),” Yasin Mandokhail, the Levies station house officer (SHO) in Zhob district, told Arab News.

“The bodies are being shifted to Rakhni Hospital for medico-legal procedure.”

Shahid Rind, a spokesman for the Balochistan government, said security forces immediately responded to the attack but the attackers fled under the cover of darkness.

“Security forces are conducting a thorough search operation in the area,” he said in a statement.

Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest but most impoverished province, has been the site of a long-running insurgency that has intensified in recent months, with separatist militants attacking security forces, government officials and installations and people from other provinces, particularly Punjab, who they see as “outsiders.”

The Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) is the strongest of a number of insurgent groups long operating in the mineral-rich region bordering Afghanistan and Iran, who accuse the central government of stealing their resources to fund development in Punjab.

The federal government denies the allegations and says it is working for the uplift of local communities in Balochistan, where China has been building a deep-sea port as part of its Belt and Road Initiative.

Last August, nearly two dozen passengers were killed after BLA militants forcibly removed them from Punjab-bound buses in a string of coordinated attacks in Balochistan. Another seven Punjabi commuters were offboarded from buses and killed in Balochistan’s Barkhan district in February this year.

In March, the BLA separatist hijacked a train with hundreds of passengers aboard near Balochistan’s Bolan Pass, which resulted in the deaths of 23 soldiers, three railway employees and five passengers. At least 33 insurgents were also killed.

On Thursday, Pakistan Railways suspended train service from Balochistan provincial capital of Quetta to the rest of the country for a day after law enforcement agencies shared security concerns.


Climate change makes South Asia’s monsoon season more prone to floods, landslides and heavy rains

Updated 43 min 46 sec ago
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Climate change makes South Asia’s monsoon season more prone to floods, landslides and heavy rains

  • Hundreds of rain-related deaths have already occurred this year in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Nepal
  • Climate experts say high temperatures and heavy rain are contributing to melting of glaciers in the Himalayan region, causing flooding and landslides

BENGALURU: Each year from June to September, a series of heavy rains known as monsoons, sweep through the Indian subcontinent, providing relief from heat, irrigating the country’s farms and replenishing its rivers.

However, as global heat increases, the rain is becoming more erratic and intense, creating the conditions for deadly floods. Nearly 1,300 people died in India throughout 2024 due to heavy rain and floods. Hundreds of rain-related deaths have already occurred this year in the South Asian region, which includes India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Maldives and Nepal.

Climate experts say the high temperatures and heavy rain are also contributing to the melting of glaciers in the mountainous Himalayan region, causing catastrophic flooding and landslides.
 

MONSOON BECOMES MORE DANGEROUS

The South Asian region has traditionally had two monsoon seasons. One typically lasts from June to September, with rains moving southwest to northeast. The other, from roughly October to December, moves in the opposite direction.

But with more planet-warming gases in the air, the rain now only loosely follows this pattern. This is because the warmer air can hold more moisture from the Indian Ocean, and that rain then tends to get dumped all at once. It means the monsoon is punctuated with intense flooding and dry spells, rather than sustained rain throughout.

“We are witnessing a clear climatic shift in monsoon patterns across South Asia,” said Roxy Mathew Koll, a climate scientist at the Indian Institute of Tropical Meteorology in Pune and author of several United Nations climate reports.

Traditionally, people in India and neighboring countries excitedly awaited the monsoon rains, which would finally mean the end of summer heat. But attitudes are changing as disasters increase during the rainy seasons.

“The frequency and intensity of extreme rainfall events are increasing, often overwhelming drainage infrastructure in urban areas and triggering flash floods,” Koll said.

Higher temperatures and longer periods of drought are also making farming harder in South Asia, climate experts said.

“More than 60 percent of the people in South Asia are dependent on agriculture, and almost all of them are dependent on monsoon rainfall,” said Finu Shrestha, a climate scientist at Katmandu, Nepal-based International Center for Integrated Mountain Development.
 

MOUNTAIN REGIONS SEE MORE GLACIAL LAKES OVERFLOWING

A 2023 report by Shrestha’s organization found that glaciers are melting at unprecedented rates across the Hindu Kush and Himalayan mountain ranges. The study found that at least 200 of the more than 2,000 glacial lakes in the region are at risk of overflowing, which can cause catastrophic damage downstream. Heavy monsoon rains can exacerbate the problem.

“A lot of the mountain areas tend to have more warming than the global average, resulting in more glaciers melting,” said Miriam Jackson, glaciologist at the International Cryosphere Climate Initiative.

An October 2023 glacial lake overflow in the Indian state of Sikkim triggered flooding that killed 55 people and damaged bridges, buildings and a hydropower dam that was under construction.

Heavy rainfall and increasing heat are leading to snow and ice avalanches, rockfalls and other events that can trigger the lakes to breach or overflow, Shrestha said.

“Even small glacial lakes are now breaching and causing damage,” she said.
 

EARLY WARNING SYSTEMS CAN HELP

Installing early warning systems and building in less risky areas can help reduce damage from heavy rains, climate experts say.

“If you know a flood is coming, then people can get to higher ground and there could be a sort of standard early warning system along a river that sends out a siren,” Jackson said, adding that social media and messaging applications can help people spread warnings to those downstream.

Koll, the Pune-based scientist, said that rapid urbanization, shrinking floodplains and loss of natural drainage also exacerbate damage from heavy rains. Koll said that most government response currently comes after disasters, and there is a lack of long-term planning.

“In the future monsoon, extreme rains are projected to intensify further, in addition to sporadic water shortages. Hence, we need proactive, long-term strategies that combine science, policy, and community engagement,” he said.

Jackson said the biggest issue, however, is to try to reduce emissions of planet-heating gases because there are limits to adapting to extreme weather.

“If we continue with, you know, business as usual, and we have the same kind of emissions, then the world is going to keep on getting warmer and there will be more intense rain and floods. At some point, we could go beyond the limits of adaptation,” she said.
 

 


Brother claims body of Pakistani actress Humaira Asghar Ali, denies family disowned her

Updated 11 July 2025
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Brother claims body of Pakistani actress Humaira Asghar Ali, denies family disowned her

  • Actor’s brother says family searched for her months ago but lost contact
  • Culture ministry had offered to arrange burial after initial reports of family refusal

KARACHI: The brother of Pakistani actress and model Humaira Asghar Ali, whose decomposed body was discovered in her Karachi apartment this week, collected her remains on Thursday and rejected widespread media reports claiming the family had disowned her.

Ali’s body was found on Tuesday when a court bailiff arrived at her rented flat in Karachi’s upscale Ittehad Commercial area to vacate the property following a complaint by the landlord. A post-mortem conducted by Karachi Police Surgeon Dr. Summaiya Syed indicated the body had decomposed for more than a month, but further forensic investigation suggests Ali likely died in October 2024, nearly nine months ago.

Police initially said Ali’s family had declined to claim her body, prompting Sindh’s Minister for Culture and Tourism, Syed Zulfiqar Ali Shah, to announce that the provincial government would arrange her last rites. Sindh Governor Kamran Tessori also offered to assist with the burial.

However, Naveed Asghar, the deceased actor’s brother, arrived from Lahore to claim her remains from the Chhipa morgue. Speaking to reporters before leaving for Lahore, Asghar refuted reports that the family had refused to take responsibility for his sister’s burial.

“We have come here and after fulfilling all the legal requirements, have received the dead body,” Asghar said.

Naveed Asghar, brother of late Pakistani actress and model Humaira Asghar Ali, speaks to media personnel outside Chippa morgue in Karachi on July 10, 2025. (Photo courtesy: Independent Urdu)

Asghar said his sister moved to Karachi from Lahore seven years ago on her own accord and had distanced herself from the family, telling their father that she was “responsible for my own affairs.” She would visit their home once every six months to a year but had not been in touch for the past year and a half.

He added that the family had attempted to trace Ali about six months ago but her phone numbers were switched off and she had never shared her exact address. When they contacted one of her friends, they were told that she “did not know the actress.”

“Then when this incident happened, we were suddenly shocked, especially since there was already a situation at home with our paternal aunt,” Asghar said, referring to an aunt who had died in a recent road accident. He explained that the stress of persistent calls from reporters had added to their grief.

“That is why my father said that if there is any emergency, then you can bury her there [in Karachi],” Asghar said.

He also criticized sections of the media for focusing on the family’s absence rather than investigating the circumstances surrounding his sister’s death.

“Whatever matters took place with the landlord, did any of you interview him?” he asked reporters. “You created noise all over Lahore, across Pakistan, and even around the world. But we have come here to take our sister. There are certain formalities that the police have to complete, after which the body is handed over.”

The condition of Ali’s remains made the situation even more distressing. Dr. Syed, the Karachi police surgeon who conducted the post-mortem, said:

“Viscera completely autolyzed and reduced [to an] unidentifiable blackish mass. We have collected hair and specimen from [the] abdomen for chemical analysis. For positive identification, the blood sample of the brother has been collected.”

Ali rose to fame after winning the Veet Miss Super Model title in 2014 and appearing in the reality show Tamasha Ghar in 2022. She also featured in several television dramas, including Just Married, Ehsaan Faramosh, Guru, and Chal Dil Mere. On the big screen, she appeared in the 2015 action-thriller Jalaibee and in Love Vaccine in 2021.


Pakistan’s national airline concludes month-long post-Hajj flight operation

Updated 10 July 2025
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Pakistan’s national airline concludes month-long post-Hajj flight operation

  • Pakistan International Airlines’ final post-Hajj flight arrived in Islamabad from Madinah, says airline
  • PIA says repatriated over 41,500 pilgrims in total since June 10 using Boeing 777, Airbus A320 aircraft

KARACHI: Pakistan’s national flag carrier announced concluding its month-long post-Hajj flight operation on Thursday, saying it had repatriated 41,500 pilgrims since June 10 from Saudi Arabia.

Pakistan concluded its 33-day pre-Hajj flight operation in May, transporting more than 115,000 pilgrims to Saudi Arabia under both the government and private schemes for the annual Islamic pilgrimage. The Pakistan International Airline (PIA) began its post-Hajj flight operation on June 10.

The final post-Hajj flight operated by PIA arrived in Islamabad from Madinah at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday, the national airline’s spokesperson said in a statement.

“In total, over 41,500 pilgrims were repatriated to Pakistan via 147 flights operated by PIA,” the spokesperson said. “PIA maintained an on-time departure rate of over 90 percent for its Hajj flights.”

The airline said its post-Hajj operation was conducted from Pakistan’s Karachi, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta, Multan and Peshawar cities. The airline used its Boeing 777 and Airbus A320 aircraft for the operation.

“Pilgrims expressed satisfaction with the arrangements made by PIA,” the airline’s spokesperson said.

Pakistan has already started the registration process for Hajj 2026, with over 313,000 individuals completing the process. Intending pilgrims can register for the annual Islamic pilgrimage next year through the religion ministry’s online portal and 15 designated banks.

Pakistan has extended the deadline to register for Hajj 2026 till July 11.


Awami National Party leader killed as militant violence escalates in northwest Pakistan

Updated 10 July 2025
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Awami National Party leader killed as militant violence escalates in northwest Pakistan

  • Another person with ANP’s Maulana Zeb Khan shot dead by unidentified militants, says CM Office
  • ANP spokesperson Ihsan Ullah pays tribute to Khan, says he spoke out against militants frequently

ISLAMABAD: Two people, including a senior leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), were shot dead by unidentified assailants in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Thursday, the chief minister’s office said.

Maulana Zeb Khan, a leader of the Awami National Party (ANP), was shot dead along with another person in KP’s Bajaur tribal district by unknown persons, the chief minister’s office said. English language newspaper Dawn quoted police as saying that the politician was shot dead in Bajaur’s Shindai Mor while campaigning for a peace parade scheduled for July 13 when he was attacked.

ANP spokesperson Ihsan Ullah paid tribute to Khan, saying he frequently spoke out against militants and was a key member of the party, serving as its central secretary of ulema affairs.

“Two people, including Maulana Khan Zeb, were killed in Bajaur in a firing incident by unidentified assailants,” KP Chief Minister’s Office said in a statement, adding that Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur condemned the incident.

This handout photo, released by Awami National Party, shows ANP’s senior leader Maulana Zeb Khan. (Photo courtesy: ANP)

The KP chief minister directed authorities to prepare a report on the incident and ordered immediate action against those responsible for Khan’s killing.

The incident takes place amid an alarming surge in militant attacks, especially in KP’s tribal districts such as Bajaur, in recent years. Despite past military operations, recent attacks on security forces, clerics and politicians highlight growing instability in the area.

No group has so far claimed responsibility for the incident. However, suspicion is likely to fall on the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) outfit that has launched some of the deadliest attacks targeting law enforcers, politicians and civilians since 2007.

Pakistan says Afghanistan-based militant groups launch attacks inside Pakistani territory, a claim Kabul has strongly denied. Islamabad also blames New Delhi for funding and arming these militant groups, which India also denies.