Pakistani prime minister appears in court in corruption case
Pakistani prime minister appears in court in corruption case/node/2107101/pakistan
Pakistani prime minister appears in court in corruption case
Security officials escort Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif (C), as he leave the National Accountability Bureau court after a money-laundering case hearing, in Lahore on October 13, 2020. (AFP/File)
Pakistani prime minister appears in court in corruption case
Shehbaz Sharif granted exemption from further appearances in person in the hearings
Case is related to Sharif’s alleged links to a multi-million-dollar housing scam in Lahore
Updated 20 June 2022
AP
LAHORE: Pakistan’s newly elected Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif appeared in court on Monday in connection with an old corruption case and was granted exemption from further appearances in person in the hearings, his defense lawyer said.
The case dating back four years is related to Sharif’s alleged links to a multi-million dollar housing scam in the eastern city of Lahore, according to the attorney, Amjad Pervez.
Pervez described the proceedings as a “politically-motivated case,” adding that Sharif was implicated in the case falsely, by the government of his predecessor, Imran Khan. He said he hopes for a full acquittal.
The prosecution claims Sharif abused power while he was chief minister of Punjab province from 2013 to 2018. He is accused of awarding contacts for a housing scheme for low-income citizens to those connected to his Pakistan Muslim League party. He has denied the allegations.
Sharif became prime minister in April, when he replaced Khan, a former cricket star turned Islamist politician who was ousted through a no-confidence vote in Parliament. Khan, who came to power in 2018, claimed he never victimized his political opponents. He insisted that his ouster was US conspiracy — a charge both Sharif and Washington deny.
Pervez, the attorney, successfully argued on Monday that Sharif’s regular appearances in court would negatively impact his daily work as premier, since he would have to travel often to the city of Lahore to attend the hearings. The lawyer added he would continue to represent Sharif until the verdict.
Sharif’s Pakistan Muslim League is a family-run and family-dominated party that has long been tainted by corruption allegations, which it denies.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s military on Thursday announced it had accepted the mercy petitions of 19 convicts involved in the May 9, 2023, violence, granting remission of their punishments “purely on humanitarian grounds,” according to an official statement.
Last month, a military court sentenced 85 civilians to prison terms ranging from two to ten years for their roles in the riots, during which supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan were accused of attacking military facilities.
The violence, sparked by Khan’s brief arrest in a corruption case, saw hundreds storming military and government installations, including the torching of a top commander’s house.
The trials, held under the Pakistan Army Act, included convictions of two former military officers, Brig. (retired) Javed Akram and Captain (retired) Viqas Ahmed Mohsin, as well as Khan’s nephew, Hassan Khan Niazi.
The military had initiated trials for over 100 individuals following the violence.
“A total of 67 convicts have given their mercy petitions,” the military’s media wing, Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), said in its statement. “48 petitions have been processed to Courts of Appeal, while petitions of 19 convicts have been accepted purely on humanitarian grounds, in accordance with the law.”
“Mercy petitions of the remaining will be decided in due course of time, following the legal process,” it added.
The military shared a list of the individuals whose petitions had been approved, adding that they would be released after completing procedural formalities.
The trials and convictions raised concerns that Khan himself could face prosecution under the Pakistan Army Act, with charges including treason and inciting mutiny in the military.
The former premier, jailed for over a year, has denied these allegations and multiple other charges, describing them as politically motivated attempts to sideline him from power.
Khan, however, faces accusations of orchestrating the May 9 riots, a claim he has consistently rejected. He remains imprisoned in a high-security facility in Rawalpindi.
“The remission of punishments is a testament to the strength of the due process and fairness, which ensures that justice is served while also taking into account the principles of compassion and mercy,” the ISPR said.
It also noted the military had released 20 convicts last year in April on humanitarian grounds and in accordance with law.
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with DeafTawk, a social enterprise focused on accessibility for individuals who are deaf or hard of hearing, the state-owned media reported on Thursday.
DeafTawk, founded in Pakistan, operates a globally available mobile application offering real-time sign-language solutions. The app connects deaf users with qualified interpreters to facilitate communication in various scenarios, such as medical consultations, education, transportation, and family interactions.
Users can download the app, subscribe, and access round-the-clock services, with group calls also supported. The service is currently available in Pakistan, Denmark, Singapore, and Puerto Rico.
“Through this partnership, DeafTawk will provide ‘DeafTawk Plus,’ enabling online sign language interpretation for deaf visitors at PTA offices,” Radio Pakistan said. “PTA will also integrate AI-powered text-to-sign and speech-to-sign tools into its digital platforms, with annual accessibility audits to ensure continuous improvement.”
“This groundbreaking initiative addresses communication challenges faced by over ten million deaf individuals in Pakistan, promoting an equitable and inclusive society,” it added.
DeafTawk was launched in 2018 by Wamiq Hassan, Pakistan’s first deaf software engineer and one of the app’s developers, who told Arab News in a 2022 interview he wanted to uplift the deaf community and make this world inclusive for all with the help of mobile technology.
Reflecting on his experience, Hassan emphasized the critical need for such solutions in a country where communication barriers for the hearing impaired remain prevalent.
“From my personal experience I know that deaf people face extreme communication barriers in Pakistan and there must be a solution to it,” he said. “So, we are trying to bridge this gap through this app.”
Afghan refugees suffer ‘like prisoners’ in Pakistan crackdown
Millions of Afghans have traveled to Pakistan over the four decades, fleeing successive conflicts
Pakistani officials have blamed these refugees for launching militant attacks, stoking political unrest
Updated 02 January 2025
AFP
ISLAMABAD: The space in which refugee Shaharzad has to live has shrunk to the small courtyard of a guesthouse in Pakistan’s capital, reminiscent of her life under Taliban rule in Afghanistan.
She fears being swept up in a wave of anti-Afghan sentiment, including reports of harassment, extortion and arrests by Pakistan authorities who have cracked down on mainly undocumented families living there.
“For Afghans, the situation here is terrible and the behaviour of the Pakistani police is like that of the Taliban,” said Shaharzad, who lives in constant fear of being deported with her children.
Police personnel check the documents of a detained Afghan refugee (R) during a late night search operation to identify allegedly illegal immigrants, in the outskirts of Karachi on November 11, 2023. (AFP/File)
Her son was recently detained while walking in a park, when “the police asked him for money instead of documents,” she said.
The government cited spiking militant attacks claimed by Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban, for a campaign last summer that evicted some 750,000 Afghans, mostly undocumented.
In recent months, however, Islamabad and the police have also started alleging Afghan involvement in opposition unrest over the imprisonment of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Afghans who are waiting to be relocated to Western nations say they are being caught up in the political tensions.
“After coming here, we feel like we are out of the frying pan and into the fire,” said Afghan Mustafa, who is waiting with his family for visas to the United States.
Police personnel check documents of Afghan refugees during a search operation to identify alleged illegal immigrants, on the outskirts of Karachi on November 17, 2023. (AFP/File)
The 31-year-old said his family cannot go out freely to buy groceries and medicine for fear of arrest.
“If they know you are an Afghan, whether you have the visa or not, they will arrest you or will extort you,” he said.
More than three years after the Afghan Taliban returned to power in Kabul, the United States and European countries have yet to reopen their embassies there, forcing Afghans to complete their applications from within Pakistan.
Shaharzad was told to travel to Pakistan by a European nation that said it would process her onward visa from the capital Islamabad.
Afghan refugees wave flags of Afghanistan and Pakistan (R) as they travel with their belongings on a truck towards the Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border on November 3, 2023, following Pakistan's government decision to expel people illegally staying in the country. For Afghans in limbo as they wait to be relocated, life has become similar to what they left behind in Afghanistan. (AFP/File)
Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry called on Western nations in July to expedite the relocation of more than 44,000 Afghans living in Pakistan and awaiting relocation to the United States, Australia, Canada, Germany and Britain.
Millions of Afghans have traveled to Pakistan over the past four decades, fleeing successive conflicts including the Soviet invasion, a civil war and the post-9/11 US-led occupation.
Some 600,000 Afghans have fled to Pakistan since the Taliban government took over again in August 2021 and implemented their austere version of Islamic law.
According to UNHCR, Pakistan currently hosts some 1.5 million Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers, alongside more than 1.5 million Afghans of different legal statuses.
A campaign to deport undocumented Afghans was launched as political ties between the neighboring governments frayed and Pakistan’s economic and security woes worsened.
A wave of political protests in the capital in support of jailed former premier Khan last month saw a new spike of about 30 arrests of Afghans, according to officials.
Khan’s heartland is in the ethnic Pashtun belt of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, which shares close cultural and linguistic ties with Afghan Pashtuns.
Muhammad Khan, an Afghan community leader in Islamabad, said the protests were used as a cover to intimidate Afghans.
Clashing with the official account, he claimed close to 200 Afghans were arrested over several days, including during raids on guesthouses.
“Afghan refugees are the sacrificial lambs for Pakistan’s domestic problems and the tensions between the governments in Islamabad and Kabul,” Khan said, denying the involvement of Afghans in Pakistani political activities.
Pakistan’s interior ministry did not respond to a request for comment.
Imaan Mazari, a human rights lawyer who defends arrested Afghans in Islamabad courts, said the protests have led to a spike in “racial profiling (of Afghans) in Islamabad and Rawalpindi,” just south of the capital.
The police have been given “a completely free license to pick up whoever they want, extort them (and) exploit them.”
The provincial Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, who led the recent protests, said hostility toward Afghans has spread to Pakistani Pashtuns.
In a letter to Prime Minister Shahbaz Sharif, he accused the police of the “arbitrary rounding up” of “Pashtun laborers in Islamabad” and warned that “such actions risk fostering a sense of alienation and exclusion among communities.”
The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said it was “deeply concerned by the alleged ethnic profiling of ordinary Pashtun citizens” and called on Islamabad police to refrain from actions “that create divisions among various communities living in the country.”
The Afghan embassy in Islamabad has denied any involvement by Afghans in political activities in Pakistan.
“This policy (of blaming the Afghans) brings no benefit to Pakistan and will only deepen the mistrust between the two neighboring countries,” it said in a statement.
For Afghans in limbo as they wait to be relocated, life has become similar to what they left behind in Afghanistan.
“We have become like prisoners, we go out very rarely and only when we really have to,” Mustafa said.
KARACHI: A Pakistani religio-political party announced on Wednesday an end to its sit-in protests in the southern port city of Karachi after warring tribes in Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district signed a peace agreement to end prolonged violence that started in November.
The Majlis Wahdat-ul-Muslimeen (MWM) had been leading demonstrations at over 10 locations in Karachi since last week to protest the violence in Kurram, which has long been plagued by tribal and sectarian clashes.
The unrest escalated after a deadly ambush on a convoy on November 21 killed 52 people, mostly Shias, triggering clashes that have since claimed at least 136 lives in the district, home to a population of around 600,000.
“I announce the conclusion of the sit-ins and protests held in Pakistan and around the world in support of the oppressed people of Kurram district,” Senator Allama Raja Nasir, the leader of MWM, said in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “From Karachi to Khyber, the elderly, youth and women who braved harsh cold weather to hold sit-ins in solidarity with their compatriots are remarkable and unparalleled individuals who awakened the government and security institutions from their slumber.”
He described the peace agreement as a positive development, adding that his party would continue to raise its voice and strive for the permanent resolution of Kurram’s issues until the agreement was fully implemented.
The sit-ins in Karachi had disrupted life in the port city, drawing sharp warnings from the Sindh administration that threatened stern action if demonstrators did not move their protests to designated spots.
Tensions boiled over earlier this week when law enforcement officials clashed with protesters in Karachi.
Meanwhile, in Kurram, warring factions signed the peace agreement on Wednesday following weeks of mediation by a grand jirga — a council of tribal and political elders formed by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) provincial government.
Under the agreement, both sides pledged to dismantle bunkers, surrender heavy weapons to the government, and refrain from using arms against each other.
“Both sides have agreed on the demolition of bunkers and the handover of heavy weapons,” KP government spokesperson Muhammad Ali Saif said in a statement. “We congratulate the people of Kurram on the signing of the peace agreement, which will usher in a new era of peace and prosperity in Kurram.”
Saif added the agreement would ensure a return to normalcy in the district.
According to the agreement, violations will trigger government action with the cooperation of a peace committee against the offending area.
Kurram, situated along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan, has a history of violent tribal conflicts and militant attacks. A major conflict between Sunni and Shia tribes erupted in 2007 and continued for years before a jirga-mediated truce was reached in 2011.
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said on Thursday Pakistan would work closely with United Nations member states as the country started its two-year term on the UN Security Council with a pledge to strive for an end to global conflicts and mitigate the impact of great power rivalries.
This marks the eighth time Pakistan has taken a seat as a non-permanent member of the UNSC since joining the world body in 1947.
The 15-member council includes five permanent members — the United States, Russia, China, the United Kingdom and France — and 10 non-permanent members elected for two-year terms.
Non-permanent members play a crucial role by contributing to discussions on global peace and security, as well as influencing the drafting of resolutions.
“Pakistan has proudly assumed its seat at the United Nations Security Council for the term 2025-26,” Sharif said in a statement posted on X, formerly known as Twitter.
“We remain fully committed to the UN Charter and its principles,” he continued. “During its term, Pakistan looks forward to playing a constructive role at the UNSC and working closely with other members of the Security Council to contribute to global peace and security.”
Pakistan has proudly assumed its seat at the United Nations Security Council for the term 2025-26. We remain fully committed to the UN Charter and its principles. During its term, Pakistan looks forward to playing a constructive role at the UNSC and work closely with other… https://t.co/wgcK6wvXtf
A formal flag-raising ceremony will be held at the UN headquarters in New York on Thursday to welcome the incoming members of the Council. Pakistan replaces Japan on the Asian seat, joining Denmark, Greece, Panama and Somalia as new non-permanent members for the 2025-26 term.
Speaking a day earlier, Pakistan’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Munir Akram, highlighted the country’s commitment to addressing global challenges.
“As a responsible state — the fifth largest by population — Pakistan will play an active and constructive role, in accordance with the UN Charter, to halt wars, promote the pacific settlement of disputes and contain the negative impacts of great power rivalries, the arms race, new weapons and domains of conflict as well as the spreading scourge of terrorism,” he said.
"As a responsible State -- the fifth largest by population -- Pakistan will play an active and constructive role, in accordance with the UN Charter, to halt wars, promote the pacific settlement of disputes and contain the negative impacts of great power rivalries, the arms race,… pic.twitter.com/MSOnn19Ybj
— Permanent Mission of Pakistan to the UN (@PakistanUN_NY) January 1, 2025
The federal cabinet also hailed Pakistan’s assumption of the UNSC seat, calling it a diplomatic success and an opportunity to enhance the country’s contributions to international peace and security.
Pakistan’s term as a non-permanent member comes amid rising geopolitical tensions and ongoing challenges, including regional conflicts and global economic instability.
Sharif’s government has pledged to use its position to advocate for peaceful dispute resolution and the principles of the UN Charter.
