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Pakistan condemns ‘inhumane’ Gaza blockade, demands Israel restore power, water supplies

A Palestinian man collects water from a public water collection point, as raging battles between Israel and the Hamas movement continue for the sixth consecutive day in Gaza City on October 12, 2023. (AFP)
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Updated 12 October 2023
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Pakistan condemns ‘inhumane’ Gaza blockade, demands Israel restore power, water supplies

  • Israel announced ‘complete siege’ of Gaza on Monday, cutting off food and fuel supplies
  • Pakistan urges UN to play ‘proactive role’ in facilitating cease-fire between Israel, Hamas
Updated 12 October 2023
Shahjahan Khurram

Islamabad: Pakistan’s foreign office spokesperson on Thursday condemned Israel’s “inhumane” blockade of Gaza and demanded that Tel Aviv immediately restore the supply of water and electricity to the Palestinian territory, one of the most crowded places on Earth.

Gaza has been under siege since Saturday in a near-constant bombardment that Gazan health officials say has killed more than 1,000 people. The blitz is retaliation for an attack on Israel by Gaza’s ruling group Hamas which the Israeli military says killed more than 1,200 people.

Israeli Defense Minister Yoav Gallant said on Monday Israeli forces had laid “a complete siege” of the Gaza strip by blocking water, fuel and power supply to the already besieged area. On Wednesday, Gallant pledged to intensify the military campaign, saying Israel would wipe Hamas “off the face of the Earth.”

“We are deeply concerned about the fast-deteriorating and dire humanitarian situation in Gaza due to inhumane blockade and collective punishment by Israeli forces,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters during a press briefing.

“The decision to cut off electricity, fuel and water supplies is unjust and should be reversed as it would severely affect the lives of Palestinians residing in the enclave.”




Graphic content / A woman comforts another mourning outside the morgue of al-Shifa hospital in Gaza City on October 12, 2023. (AFP)

Baloch demanded Israel immediately cease its campaign of “indiscriminate bombing” against the people of Gaza, lift the blockade and provide unhindered access to humanitarian aid.

She called for the urgent intervention of the global community to broker a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas.

“We urge the United Nations to play a proactive role in facilitating a cease-fire to alleviate the deteriorating humanitarian situation in Gaza,” Baloch said.

According to the UN, over 12,600 homes in Gaza have sustained damage due to Israel’s airstrikes since Saturday. The agency also reported that due to severe shortages of fuel and medical supplies, only 13 hospitals in Gaza were partially operational and over 650,000 people faced dire water shortages.

Gaza’s sole power station, which had been working intermittently for days, cut out on Wednesday after running out of fuel.
 

Topics: Israel Gaza

Imran Khan has allowed party to submit demands to Pakistan government in writing — aide

Updated 7 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram 
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Imran Khan has allowed party to submit demands to Pakistan government in writing — aide

  • Second round of discussions between both sides ended inconclusively last week after Khan’s party demanded more time to consult ex-PM
  • PM’s special assistant on political affairs says negotiations to resume after National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq returns from overseas trip 
Updated 7 sec ago
Shahjahan Khurram 

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan has allowed his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party to submit its demands in writing to the government during the next round of negotiations between the two sides, Khan’s top aide and PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan said on Wednesday, as both sides attempt to break the political deadlock in the country. 
The second round of discussions between the two sides took place on Jan. 2 ended inconclusively after Khan’s party demanded more time to meet and consult the ex-PM before submitting their demands in writing.
Khan’s ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in 2022 has plunged Pakistan into a political crisis, particularly since he was jailed in August 2023 on corruption and other charges. His party has regularly held protests to demand his release, with many of the demonstrations turning violent.
“Today Khan has said that you can give our demands in writing [to the government],” Gohar Ali Khan told reporters after his meeting with the former prime minister at the central prison in Rawalpindi. “So we will give our demands at the negotiation table in writing.”
Khan’s party has previously stated two demands: the release of all political prisoners and the establishment of judicial commissions to investigate protests on May 9, 2023, and Nov. 26, 2024, which the government says involved Khan supporters, accusing them of attacking military installations and government buildings.
“We will present our two demands in writing because even though there is no need to do so, we don’t want it to [delay the talks] by using it as a reason,” he said.
At a press conference on Wednesday evening, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Rana Sanaullah said talks between both sides had been paused as National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq, who is heading the government’s delegation, has left the country on an “emergency” visit to a foreign country. 
“As soon as he returns, the second meeting that they want [with Imran Khan] will be held and after that we expect that they will present their demands seriously,” Sanaullah told reporters. 
The next date for talks between the PTI and the government has not been finalized. Last week, Senator Irfan Siddiqui, a member of the government’s negotiation committee, said the talks could encounter “serious hurdles” due to the PTI’s failure to submit its demands in writing at the next meeting.

Topics: Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party Ex-PM Imran Khan Gohar Khan

Afghanistan hire Younis Khan as mentor for Champions Trophy in Pakistan

Updated 08 January 2025
AP
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Afghanistan hire Younis Khan as mentor for Champions Trophy in Pakistan

  • Younis Khan, 47, played 118 Tests, 265 ODIs and 25 T20Is for Pakistan before retiring in 2017
  • Afghanistan is in Champions Trophy Group B with England, Australia and South Africa
Updated 08 January 2025
AP

ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan has hired former Pakistan captain Younis Khan as a mentor for its men’s cricket team at next month’s Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) said in a statement on Wednesday that the 47-year-old batting great will join the team in Pakistan ahead of the Champions Trophy and will stay with Afghanistan at the tournament.
Younis, who played 118 tests, 265 ODIs and 25 T20s for Pakistan, retired from international cricket in 2017 and briefly worked with the national team as batting coach in 2021 before quitting after differences with the Pakistan Cricket Board.
Afghanistan is in Group B with England, Australia and South Africa. It will play its first match against South Africa at Karachi on Feb. 21.
More than 160 UK politicians have urged England to refuse to play against Afghanistan. The politicians wrote asking the England and Wales Cricket Board to take a stand against the Taliban regime’s assault on women’s rights.
It will be a second stint for Younis with Afghanistan, having previously worked with the team at a training camp in Abu Dhabi in 2022.
It will be the third straight major ICC tournament where Afghanistan has utilized local expertise by appointing a mentor, after former India international Ajay Jadeja for the 2023 World Cup in India, and Dwayne Bravo as bowling consultant at the 2024 T20 World Cup in the West Indies and US
“Since the Champions Trophy is being held in Pakistan, it was required to assign a talented and experienced player as mentor from the hosting country,” ACB chief executive Naseeb Khan said.
Afghanistan finished sixth at the World Cup in India after beating England, Pakistan and Sri Lanka to seal its Champions Trophy place. At the T20 World Cup, Afghanistan advanced to the semifinals.
The Champions Trophy will begin Feb. 19 in Karachi.
India, which is in Group A with Pakistan, New Zealand and Bangladesh, will play all its games in Dubai.

Topics: Younis Khan Pakistan vs Afghanistan ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Champions Trophy 2025

Pakistani women require permission from male guardians to perform Hajj alone — religion ministry

Updated 08 January 2025
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Pakistani women require permission from male guardians to perform Hajj alone — religion ministry

  • Saudi Arabia allowed women to perform Umrah and Hajj on their own in October 2022
  • Number of women applicants for solo Hajj has nearly doubled from last year, says official
Updated 08 January 2025
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Women intending to perform Hajj alone need permission from their male guardians such as fathers, husbands or in the absence of both, other close male relatives, officials of Pakistan’s religion ministry and the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) said on Wednesday.
In October 2022, Saudi Arabia allowed women to perform the Islamic pilgrimages of Umrah and Hajj without “a mahram,” a male with whom Islam forbids a woman to marry due to her close relationship with them. Examples of a mahram for a woman include her father, husband, son and brother, among others.
The CII, a constitutional body responsible for advising the government on matters related to Islam, ruled in June 2023 that a woman will be allowed to perform Hajj without her male guardian subject to two conditions: that she has permission from her spouse or parents for the pilgrimage, and that she has a “group of reliable female pilgrims and there is no threat to her dignity.”
Pakistan’s religious affairs ministry spokesperson, Muhammad Umer Butt, said women wishing to perform Hajj without a male guardian were required to submit written permission from their father, husband, or other guardians along with their Hajj 2025 application.
“Last year we facilitated single women for Hajj, and they are allowed again this year with the number of applicants nearly doubling from 3,027 in 2024 to 6,028 this year,” Butt told Arab News.
He said that after the Saudi government’s decision to allow women to perform Hajj on their own, Pakistan’s Ministry of Religious Affairs sought guidance from the CII and implemented their recommendations.
“The ministry has ensured that these women will travel in women-only groups, prioritizing their safety and comfort,” Butt said.
Butt said the majority of female pilgrims who have applied for Hajj this year are accompanied by mahrams. A small number of women faced difficulties in the availability of mahrams and have opted to travel for the pilgrimage alone, he said.
CII spokesperson Rana Zahid explained the religious body’s 2023 decision, saying that women were permitted by Shariah to perform Hajj alone if they were unable to find male guardians.
“However, this permission is subject to certain conditions and the woman must obtain consent from her father, husband (if married), or guardian,” Zahid said. 
He said such women must also travel with a trustworthy group of women or “reliable companions,” ensuring there is no apparent risk or threat to her safety and dignity. 
Saudi Arabia has allotted Pakistan a total quota of 179,210 pilgrims for the upcoming Hajj pilgrimage, to be divided equally between the government and private schemes.

Topics: Hajj 2025

Pakistan sisters set father on fire after rape — police 

Updated 08 January 2025
AFP
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Pakistan sisters set father on fire after rape — police 

  • Sisters took petrol from motorcycle and set fire to father while he slept on Jan. 1, say police
  • Father had been raping eldest girl for a year, twice attempted to rape younger one, sisters allege
Updated 08 January 2025
AFP

LAHORE: Two teenage sisters were arrested in Pakistan for killing their father by setting him on fire in revenge for rape, police said Wednesday.
The father was attacked in the Punjabi city of Gujranwala on January 1 and taken to hospital where he died on Tuesday.
“The girls said that they decided among themselves to find a ‘permanent solution’,” Rizwan Tariq, a senior police official in the city, told AFP.
They then took petrol from a motorcycle and set their father on fire as he slept, he added.
The pair, who are step-sisters, said their father had been raping the eldest girl for a year, and had twice attempted to rape the younger girl.
Their mothers — who are both married to the man — knew about the abuse but did not know of the revenge plan.
AFP has not named the man in order to protect the identities of the girls, one of whom is from a previous marriage.
One of the wives has also been arrested while the second is being questioned.
“We expect to present them before the court in a few days, as soon as we finish the investigation,” Tariq added.

Topics: Lahore police rape

Pakistan dispatches convoy of 40 aid trucks for violence-hit Kurram district

Updated 08 January 2025
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Pakistan dispatches convoy of 40 aid trucks for violence-hit Kurram district

  • Tribal and sectarian clashes have caused medicine, food and fuel shortages in Kurram district
  • Armed men attacked aid convoy en route to Kurram district on Saturday, injuring five persons
Updated 08 January 2025
REHMAT MEHSUD

PESHAWAR: The government in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Wednesday dispatched a convoy of 40 vehicles carrying relief items for the violence-hit Kurram district, an official confirmed, days after an aid convoy en route to the area came under attack.
Five people, including a top administration official, were injured when armed men shot at an aid convoy en route to Kurram district near Bagan, a tense locality in the district, on Saturday. The convoy was stalled as the provincial government vowed stern action against the culprits and their facilitators.
Kurram, a northwestern district of around 600,000 people in the KP province, has been rocked by tribal and sectarian clashes since Nov. 21 when gunmen attacked a convoy of Shia passengers, killing 52. Sporadic clashes since then have killed at least 136 people before the provincial government brokered a ceasefire between the warring tribes last week.
“A convoy of 40 vehicles carrying relief items for Kurram district was sent safely today,” Muhammad Ali Saif, a spokesperson for the KP government, said in a statement. 
Saif said a convoy of 10 vehicles had reached Bagan while another comprising 30 vehicles will arrive at Parachinar, the district’s capital, and Upper Kurram “soon.”
“The convoy was sent after successful negotiations with local protesters till late last night,” the spokesperson said.
The violence in the district forced authorities to block 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.
Saif said more aid convoys will be sent to the district after peace is established there.
The Saturday gun attack took place 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 on Jan. 1, following weeks of efforts.
Under the peace agreement, both sides had agreed on the demolition of bunkers and the handover of heavy weapons to the authorities within two weeks.
It was also decided that land disputes in the volatile district will be settled on a priority basis with the cooperation of local tribes and the district administration.
The agreement said 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.

Topics: Kurram Agency kurram district Kurram tribal district Kurram aid parachinar

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