KARACHI: Authorities in Pakistan’s southern Sindh province have denied media access to holding centers for illegal immigrants ahead of their deportation amid widespread complaints about the arrests and detention of registered refugees, journalists and refugee representatives said on Saturday.
Last month, Pakistan ordered all unregistered foreign nationals, primarily Afghans, to voluntarily repatriate by November 1, citing the involvement of many of them in militancy and other criminal activities. The government also established numerous holding centers to expedite the deportation following its ultimatum.
“At least 75 people have been detained and taken to a detention center, but 70 of them are registered refugees,” Haji Abdullah, chairman of the Afghan Refugee Council, said in an interview with Arab News.
He argued the refugees were apprehended despite having valid documents and questioned the law enforcement agencies’ rationale for detaining them even for verification purposes.
Pakistani authorities have repeatedly said they want to repatriate unregistered foreigners without undermining their dignity.
However, Hafeezullah Hasan, an Afghan national who came to Pakistan for medical treatment with a valid visa last month, reported that police had confiscated his passport.
“I legally traveled to Pakistan, and now I find myself at the police station awaiting the return of my passport,” he said.
Qaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency, confirmed his organization had received harassment complaints from documented refugees in Sindh and other Pakistani regions.
“While the government of Pakistan’s plan targets the repatriation of undocumented foreigners in the first phase, we have reports of registered refugees with legal documentation being pressured,” he disclosed to Arab News.
Afridi urged authorities to avoid harassing refugees who are already encountering numerous hardships.
Journalists, including Ubaid Shah of a local news channel, were barred from entering the Sultanabad holding center in Karachi on Saturday.
“Making excuses that inmates may escape with media people, journalists were stopped at the gate,” Shah revealed. “This lack of access hinders our ability to report on the actual conditions.”
He also highlighted that media were not permitted on buses transporting refugees to the Afghan border for deportation.
“The authorities provide us with deportation numbers that frequently change,” he noted. “For example, on the first day, the deputy commissioner of the Keemari region reported that 120 people had been deported, but the figure was later adjusted to 112. Similarly, we were informed a day after that 148 people had left but then the figure was changed to 138.”
Shah maintained this pattern of changing numbers necessitated full media access for accurate and transparent reporting.
Faizullah Khan, another television journalist, shared similar experiences of being barred from the holding center.
“My colleagues and I were denied entry when we went to the center on the first day for reporting,” he said. “The reasons for this denial are unclear to us.”
Moniza Kakar, a lawyer and human rights advocate, said several detainees had been released following family protests.
“The authorities are detaining not only undocumented Afghans but also registered refugees, many of whom are children and Pakistani Pashtuns,” she informed.
Kakar called for increased transparency in the deportation process.
“We suspect that the authorities are concealing facts, given that documented refugees are also among those detained,” she added.
Attempts to get comments from the Karachi commissioner, the deputy commissioner of Keemari, and a spokesperson for the provincial home minister were unsuccessful, as none responded to calls.
Media barred amid reported refugee detentions as Pakistan cracks down on illegal immigrants
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Media barred amid reported refugee detentions as Pakistan cracks down on illegal immigrants
- Journalists say they cannot access holding centers, though it can keep the deportation process more transparent
- A rights activist suspects the authorities are hiding facts since documented refugees are also among those detained
Saudi mission in Pakistan condemns militant attack that killed 12 soldiers this week
- The embassy extends condolences to victims’ families and the Pakistani people in a statement
- The statement reiterates the kingdom’s position ‘rejecting all forms of violence and terrorism’
ISLAMABAD: The Saudi embassy in Pakistan on Thursday condemned a militant attack on a joint security checkpoint in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province that killed 10 army soldiers and two Frontier Constabulary (FC) personnel, extending condolences to the victims’ families and the Pakistani people.
The attack, which occurred on Tuesday, targeted a joint army and paramilitary check post in the Mali Khel area of Bannu District, where militants detonated an explosive-laden vehicle after troops repelled their attempt to storm the post, according to the Pakistan military. Six militants were killed during the exchange of gunfire that followed.
“The Embassy expresses the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s condemnation of the attack on a joint checkpoint in the city of Bannu in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province of Pakistan, which resulted in the death and injury of a number of people,” the Saudi diplomatic mission in Islamabad said in a statement.
“The Embassy reiterates the Kingdom’s position rejecting all forms of violence and terrorism,” it added. “The Embassy extends its deepest condolences and sincere sympathy to the families of the victims, the government and the people of Pakistan, and wishes the injured a speedy recovery.”
Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province has experienced a resurgence of militant violence in recent months, with a growing number of attacks on security forces and infrastructure despite the country’s efforts to combat militancy.
The region has long been a hotspot for insurgent activity, with militants frequently targeting military and paramilitary personnel.
Saudi Arabia has consistently expressed its support for Pakistan’s fight against extremist violence, emphasizing the importance of international cooperation to tackle militancy and ensure regional stability.
Imran Khan remanded to police for five days in case involving violence at Rawalpindi rally
- Main charges include terrorism, vandalism, destruction of property, attempted murder
- Khan, jailed since August 2023, claims all charges against him are politically motivated
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani lower court has remanded former prime minister Imran Khan to Rawalpindi police for interrogation for five days in a case pertaining to violence at a rally organized by his Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party in September, the party said on Thursday.
Khan was arrested in the rally case on Wednesday night, hours after the Islamabad High Court had granted him bail in another case that has popularly come to be called the new Toshakhana case, filed in July and involving a jewelry set worth over €380,000 gifted to the former first lady by a foreign dignitary when Khan was prime minister from 2018-2022. The couple was accused of undervaluing the gift and buying it at a lesser price from the state repository. Both deny wrongdoing.
Khan has been in jail since August last year following his conviction in four cases, two of which have been suspended, including an original one relating to state gifts, and he was acquitted in the rest.
“An anti-terrorism court granted a five-day physical remand to Rawalpindi police in the first information report (FIR) registered on Sep. 28,” the PTI party said in a statement. “The FIR surfaced last night and Rawalpindi police declared the arrest shortly afterwards.”
The PTI party added that arresting a suspect in a case registered in September right after he was granted bail in another case was an “absolute mockery of the law.”
The police report of the case lists terrorism, attempted murder, vandalism, destruction of public and state property, and interference in government operations as the main charges. It says participants of the PTI rally created unrest, obstructed public access by burning tires and caused difficulties for citizens.
It also charged PTI leaders and supporters with raising anti-government slogans, hurling stones at the police and attacking them with iron rods during the protest. PTI rallygoers damaged several police vehicles and one police officer was injured, the report adds.
Khan was in prison when the Sept. 28 rally took place. The former premier denies any wrongdoing and alleges all the cases registered against him since he was removed from power in 2022 were politically motivated to keep him in jail.
His PTI party is staging a “long march” to the capital city, Islamabad, on Nov. 24, aiming to pressurise the government to release him.
Pakistan urges action after UN labels Israel’s war in Gaza consistent with genocide
- The UN report pointed at high civilian casualties, Israel’s use of starvation as a weapon of war
- Pakistan welcomes the report’s condemnation of Israel’s smear campaign against UN agencies
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Thursday urged the international community to hold Israel accountable for its conduct in Gaza, citing a recent United Nations report describing it as consistent with genocide.
The UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices, established in 1968, released its latest findings on Nov. 14. The report highlights mass civilian casualties and widespread destruction in Gaza, pointing out the intentional imposition of life-threatening conditions on Palestinians, including starvation as a weapon of war.
It also called for immediate international intervention to address the humanitarian crisis and ensure accountability for violations of international law.
“We welcome the last, latest report of the UN Special Committee to Investigate Israeli Practices released last week,” foreign office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said during her weekly news briefing. “The report describes Israel’s warfare practices in Gaza as acts of genocide and documents millions of civilian casualties and grievous conditions intentionally imposed on Palestinians.”
“Pakistan welcomes the committee’s condemnation of the ongoing smear campaign and attacks against UNRWA [United Nations Relief and Works Agency] and the United Nations, and supports its call on all member states to uphold their legal obligations to prevent and stop Israeli violations of international law and holding it accountable,” she added.
The UN report was released in the context of intensified violence in Gaza, where Israeli airstrikes and a crippling blockade have led to a deepening humanitarian catastrophe. According to the document, the systematic targeting of civilian infrastructure and essential supplies has compounded the suffering of millions of Palestinians.
Pakistan has consistently advocated for Palestinian rights and the two-state solution. It also expressed “deep regret” over the United States’ veto of a ceasefire resolution a day earlier, noting that Washington cast the “sole negative vote” among UNSC permanent members.
COP29: Pakistan among nations that blast draft of vague deal on climate cash for poor countries
- Introducing the plan, lead negotiator from Azerbaijan, Yalchin Rafiyev, emphasized how balanced the plan was
- “We would like to correct the balance. It is completely tilted,” Pakistan delegate Romina Khurshid Alam said
BAKU, Azerbaijan: Countries of the world took turns rejecting a new but vague draft text released early Thursday which attempts to form the spine of any deal reached at United Nations climate talks on money for developing countries to transition to clean energy and adapt to climate change.
The draft left out a crucial sticking point: how much wealthy nations will pay poor countries. A key option for the lowest amount donors are willing to pay was just a placeholder “X.” Part of that is because rich nations have yet to make an offer in negotiations.
So the host Azerbaijan presidency with its dawn-released package of proposals did manage to unite a fractured world on climate change, but it was only in their unease and outright distaste for the plan. Negotiators at the talks — known as COP29 — in Baku, are trying to close the gap between the $1.3 trillion the developing world says is needed in climate finance and the few hundred billion that negotiators say richer nations have been prepared to give.
Negotiators slam an ‘unbalanced’ draft
Introducing the plan, lead negotiator Yalchin Rafiyev emphasized how balanced the plan was, but all sides kept saying it was anything but balanced and pointed time was running out.
“We would like to correct the balance. It is completely tilted,” Pakistan delegate Romina Khurshid Alam said.
Poor nations blasted both rich nations and the presidency with Honduras delegate Malcolm Bryan complaining that the plan was a “completely unbalanced text that doesn’t bring us any closer to a landing .... It is high time for developed countries put their numbers on the table.’’
The EU’s climate envoy Wopke Hoekstra called the draft “imbalanced, unworkable, and not acceptable.”
In a statement, the COP29 Presidency stressed that the drafts “are not final.”
“The COP29 Presidency’s door is always open, and we welcome any bridging proposals that the parties wish to present,” the Presidency said in a statement. It added that possible numbers for a finance goal will be released in the next iteration of the draft.
COP29 President Mukhtar Babayev convened the Qurultay — a traditional Azerbaijani meeting — where negotiators spoke to hear all sides and hammer out a compromise. He said that “after hearing all views, we will outline a way forward regarding future iterations.”
No figure for climate cash leaves many disappointed
Independent experts say that at least $1 trillion is needed in finance to help transition away from planet-warming fossil fuels and toward clean energy like solar and wind, better adapt to the effects of climate change and pay for losses and damages caused by extreme weather.
Esa Ainuu, from the small Pacific island of Niue said, slammed the lack of a number in the draft deal.
“For us in the Pacific, this is critical for us,” Ainuu said. “We can’t escape to the desert. We can’t escape somewhere else. This is reality for us. If finance is not bringing any positive, (then) why’re we coming to COP?”
She added: “I don’t even know if we’re going to be here for a COP 30 or COP 31. Something needs to happen.”
Adao Barbosa, a top negotiator from the Indian ocean nation of Timor-Leste said all developing countries are unhappy with the climate finance deal. As things stand, the deal is weak, Barbosa said.
Mohamed Adow, director of the think tank Power Shift Africa, expressed disappointment at the lack of a figure. “We came here to talk about money. The way you measure money is with numbers. We need a cheque but all we have right now is a blank piece of paper,” he said.
Iskander Erzini Vernoit, director of Moroccan climate think-tank Imal Initiative for Climate and Development, said he was “at a loss for words at how disappointed we are at this stage to have come this far without serious numbers on the table and serious engagement from the developed countries.”
He said that some developed nations “are slowly waking up” to the fact that keeping warming to below 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above pre-industrial times will require over a trillion dollars in finance. “But many are still asleep at the wheel,” he said.
There’s a lot of work left to do
There are three big parts of the issue where negotiators need to find agreement: How big the numbers are, how much is grants or loans, and who contributes.
Official observers of the talks from the International Institute of Sustainable Development who are allowed to sit in on the closed meetings reported that negotiators have now agreed on not expanding the list of countries that will contribute to global climate funds — at least at these talks. Linda Kalcher, of the think tank Strategic Partnerships, said on the question of grants or loans, the draft text suggests “the need for grants and better access to finance.”
She added that the lack of numbers in the draft text could be a “bluff.” The COP29 presidency, which prepares the texts “should know more ... than what they put on the table,” she said.
Other areas that are being negotiated include commitments to slash planet-warming fossil fuels and how to adapt to climate change. But they’ve also seen little movement.
European nations criticized the package of proposals for not being strong enough in reiterating last year’s call for a transition away from fossil fuels.
“The current text offers no progress” on efforts to cut the world’s emissions of heat-trapping gases, said Germany delegation chief Jennifer Morgan. “This cannot and must not be our response to the suffering of millions of people around the world. We must do better.”
Eamon Ryan, Ireland’s environment minister, also criticized “backsliding” on cutting fossil fuels from last year’s deal.
Police say gunmen open fire on vehicles in Pakistan’s restive northwest, killing at least eight
- Attack happened in Kurram, district in northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
- Sectarian clashes have killed dozens of people in the region in recent months
PESHAWAR, Pakistan: Gunmen opened fire on passenger vehicles carrying members of the Shiite minority in restive northwest Pakistan on Thursday, killing at least eight people and wounding others, police said.
The attack happened in Kurram, a district in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where clashes between majority Sunni Muslims and minority Shiites have killed dozens of people in recent months.
No one has claimed responsibility but Kurram has been a scene of sectarian violence in recent months, and the latest violence came a week after authorities reopened a key highway in the region after keeping it closed for weeks following deadly clashes.
Local police official Nusrat Hussain said several vehicles carrying passengers were traveling in a convoy from the city of Parachinar to Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, when gunmen opened fire.
He said at least five passengers were in a critical condition at a hospital.
Shiite Muslims make up about 15 percent of the 240 million population of Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of sectarian animosity between the two communities.
