KARACHI: The Muttahida Quami Movement-Pakistan (MQM-P), one of the major stakeholders in Pakistan’s largest city of Karachi, on Sunday held a power show at the city’s iconic Bagh-e-Jinnah venue, where its leaders said the party would gain a thumping majority in urban centers of the southern Sindh province in Feb. 8 national elections.
The MQM-P is an offshoot of the Muttahida Quami Movement (MQM), which has historically held sway in Sindh’s urban areas, particularly Karachi, where it claimed to represent the Muhajir community, which comprises Urdu-speaking Muslims who migrated from India to Pakistan after the partition of the Indian subcontinent in 1947.
The Bagh-e-Jinnah park, located adjacent to the mausoleum of Pakistan’s founder Muhammad Ali Jinnah, is a venue that has often been used by parties as a symbol of political might that can help gauge public support.
Sunday’s public gathering, the maiden election rally held by the MQM-P since the recent unification of its various factions, was addressed by party leaders who previously led their own separate groups.
“The MQM-P will once again win with a huge majority in Karachi and other parts of Sindh,” MQM-P chief Khalid Maqbool Siddiqui said, while addressing the attendees.
Mustafa Kamal, who merged his Pak Sarzameen Party (PSP) faction into the MQM-P last year, criticized the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP), which has been ruling in Sindh since 2008, for trying to turn the masses against the MQM-P by provoking them for a boycott of elections as urged by the party’s estranged, London-based founder Altaf Hussain.
“The people have given their decision that the sureties of the opponents will be seized in the election,” Kamal said, adding the PPP was attempting to cover up its poor performance by relaying the boycott announcement from London.
Founded by Hussain in 1984, the Muttahida Quami Movement first split into two factions, the MQM-Haqeeqi and the MQM. In 2016, Kamal, a former Karachi mayor, announced the formation of the PSP.
But Hussain continued to wield power over the largest faction, the MQM, and enjoy the loyalty of hundreds of thousands of workers and supporters until 2016, when his anti-Pakistan speech at a party meeting forced majority of his loyalists to part ways with the MQM and form a new faction, the MQM-P.
Over the subsequent years, the MQM-P further split into two factions owing to internal rifts. Last year, these factions, except of the Hussain-led MQM and the MQM-Haqeeqi, reunited under the leadership of Siddiqui.
With national elections just weeks away, the MQM-P is struggling to reclaim its lost political ground in the face of the election boycott call by its London-based founder and amid growing popularity of former premier Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, which secured 14 out of 21 parliamentary seats in Karachi in the 2018 general elections.
Recent victories by the Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) religious party and the PPP in the local government elections in Karachi have further put the MQM-P on the defensive, grappling to woo voters ahead of the national polls.
With Bagh-e-Jinnah rally, Karachi’s key political party aims to win big in elections in southern Pakistan
https://arab.news/wu2n8
With Bagh-e-Jinnah rally, Karachi’s key political party aims to win big in elections in southern Pakistan
- This was the first election rally held by the MQM-P since the merger of its various factions last year
- The party is struggling to regain its lost political ground amid a boycott call by its estranged founder
PM hails Pakistan for ‘unstoppable, unbeatable’ performance in South Africa ODI series
- Green Shirts thrashed South Africa 3-0 after losing Twenty20 series 2-0
- Pakistan will now play three Tests against South Africa later this month
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday praised the Pakistan cricket team for winning a three-match One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa, describing their performance as “unstoppable and unbeatable.”
The Green Shirts completed a series clean sweep over South Africa in the third ODI at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday, with rising star Saim Ayub smashing his second century of the series and his third from five innings.
The left-handed opening batsman made a sparkling 101 off 94 balls in a Pakistan total of 308 for nine. Heinrich Klaasen thrashed 81 off 43 balls for South Africa, but the hosts were beaten by 36 runs chasing an adjusted target of 308 because of rain.
“Unstoppable and unbeatable!” Sharif remarked in a post on X. “Congratulations to Team Pakistan on an outstanding 3-0 ODI series victory against South Africa.”
The prime minister also praised the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman for the team’s performance.
“Well done, boys! Your determination, skill, and teamwork under the leadership of the PCB Chairman Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi have made the entire nation proud,” he said.
“Keep raising the green flag high!“
South Africa won the T20I series 2-0 after the third match was washed out on Dec. 14. The ODI series win comes ahead of the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy, which Pakistan will hosting in February and March 2025.
Pakistan will also play three Tests against South Africa later this month.
Government, Imran Khan’s party conclude first round of formal talks, next session on Jan. 2
- Negotiations began after Khan threatened civil disobedience, seeking release of political prisoners
- PTI has been asked to present its demands in the next session to set the tone for the negotiations
ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan held the first round of formal negotiations on Monday to address a range of issues, with PTI asked to present its demands in writing at the next session on January 2.
The two sides began long-awaited talks to resolve issues fueling political polarization and straining the country’s fragile economy, with National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq chairing the meeting, after the government formed a negotiating team a day earlier.
The development came after ex-premier Khan’s threat to launch civil disobedience by urging overseas Pakistanis, his party’s key support base, to halt remittances if his demands, including the release of political prisoners, were not met by Dec. 22. Khan, who has been imprisoned for over a year on charges he claims are politically motivated, has also called for judicial commissions to investigate violent protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 26 this year, which the government says involved his party supporters.
Known for taking hard-line political positions, Khan formed a seven-member committee to negotiate with the government. This was done amid growing concerns he may face trial by the military for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during violent protests following his brief detention last year in a graft case.
“Since some members of the opposition could not join the talks today, we have decided to hold the next meeting on January 2,” Sadiq said at the end of the initial round of negotiations. “The opposition will also present a charter of demands in the meeting.”
He said the talks were held in a cordial environment, adding that it was vital to end political polarization in parliament and across the country.
The speaker requested Senator Irfan Siddiqui to read a joint press statement and urged people not to speculate excessively about the negotiations to ensure their success.
Siddiqui said both sides agreed parliament was the appropriate forum to resolve political differences and emphasized that the negotiation process should continue.
He mentioned the PTI had been asked to provide a written document outlining its demands to help set the tone for the talks.
Speaking to the media later, Khan’s close aide, Asad Qaiser, said the PTI team asked the government to release all political prisoners, including the former prime minister, and form a judicial commission with senior Supreme Court judges to probe the May 9 and Nov. 26 incidents.
“We should be allowed to hold a meeting with Imran Khan,” he said. “He is our leader. We will move forward with his instructions.”
Qaiser informed the government had said it would arrange the meeting, though he maintained it was not clear when would that happen.
The negotiations came days after Pakistan’s military announced prison sentences for 25 people involved in the May 9, 2023, protests, which PTI has demanded be investigated. The military said it had gathered “irrefutable evidence” against those prosecuted and reiterated its commitment to bringing the planners of the violence to justice.
The country has remained gripped by political unrest and uncertainty since Khan’s ouster from power through a parliamentary no-confidence vote, which has also exacerbated Pakistan’s economic hardships.
Senior government representatives have previously acknowledged that negotiations could offer a pathway out of the current political impasse. However, they have cautioned that it is too early to determine which of PTI’s demands might be addressed.
Ancient winter festival in Pakistan’s Chitral concludes with rituals, traditional dance
- Chawmos festival is celebrated in December by the Kalash people, who are numbered around 4,000
- Festival marks welcoming of new year, celebrated with dance, animal sacrifice, singing and feasting
PESHAWAR: A religious winter festival celebrated by the Kalash people in the northwestern Pakistani district of Chitral has concluded after featuring rituals, traditional dance and other festivities for two weeks, provincial tourism authority said on Monday.
The Kalash are a group of about 4,000 people, possibly Pakistan’s smallest minority, who live in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, where they practice an ancient polytheistic faith.
They come together each year in December to celebrate the two-week Chawmos festival after the community finishes fieldwork and stores cheese, fruit, vegetables and grains for the year.
The festival features various rituals, animal sacrifice, dance, songs and feasting, preserving the Kalash culture and attracting a number of tourists to Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The religious Chawmos festival of the ancient Kalash Valley has concluded,” Mohammad Saad, a spokesperson for the KP Tourism Authority, said in a statement.
“The festival continued from Dec. 8 in the three valleys of Bumburet, Birir and Rumbur.”
The Kalash community’s religion incorporates animiztic traditions of worshipping nature as well as a pantheon of gods, and its people live mainly in the three Kalash valleys of Bumburet, Birir and Rumbur.
The Chawmos festival is celebrated to welcome the new year, with the Kalash people indulging in religious practices and distributing vegetables and fruit among each other, according to the official.
The festival was attended by a large number of domestic and foreign tourists who were fully facilitated by the provincial tourism authority.
Pakistan defense minister blames judiciary for delayed verdicts in May 9 cases
- National problems require decisions at the earliest, says Khawaja Asif while talking to media in London
- Protests erupted in several Pakistani cities on May 9, 2023, over ex-PM Imran Khan’s arrest in a graft case
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday blamed the judiciary for delaying verdicts in the May 9, 2023, cases, which have so far led to the conviction of 25 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for attacking government buildings and military properties last year.
On Dec. 21, the Pakistan Army sentenced 25 people for participating in the violent protests that erupted in several Pakistani cities following Khan’s brief detention on corruption charges, resulting in damage to major military facilities and martyrs’ monuments in the country.
However, several suspects are also facing legal charges in anti-terrorism courts, with the military hoping for early verdicts in their cases, according to a statement announcing the sentencing of the 25 individuals, which described the rioting as “politically provoked violence.”
The PTI has denied any involvement in the violence, describing the May 9 incident as a “false flag” operation aimed at crushing the party.
“The judiciary created the biggest hurdle in this [the conviction of May 9 suspects] while this thing was allowed to linger for one and a half years,” Asif said while speaking to the media in London, the city he is currently visiting.
Describing the May 9 protests as a national problem, he said all the cases related to it required verdicts at the earliest.
The conviction of the 25 individuals followed a ruling by a seven-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Dec. 13, allowing military courts to share their verdicts. Prior to that, the court had unanimously declared last year that prosecuting civilians in military courts violated the Constitution.
Khan’s PTI party rejected the military’s announcement, with opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan saying they were “against the principles of justice.”
The sentencing of the 25 individuals also raises concerns about Khan, who faces charges of inciting attacks against the armed forces and may potentially be tried in a military court.
Earlier, Asif had regretted the delay in announcing the verdicts, saying that it “raised the morale of the accused and their facilitators.”
“Right now, only the workers, who were used [to generate violence], have been punished under the law,” he had said. “This will not end until the ones, who planned this terrible day, are not brought before the law.”
Pakistan PM reviews security situation amid rising militancy, sectarian clashes
- PM Sharif was briefed by Mohsin Naqvi who recently attended a security meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Security remained a concern for Pakistan this year, which witnessed renewed attacks on Chinese nationals
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif evaluated the security situation during a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday, focusing on measures taken by the authorities to ensure peace across the country.
The talks come days after Naqvi attended a high-level security meeting in the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and has seen a surge in cross-border militant attacks.
The region’s Kurram district has been gripped by sectarian clashes since last month, leaving well over 100 people dead, according to local reports.
During the meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Naqvi and other stakeholders decided to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies with the federal government’s full cooperation to combat mounting security challenges.
Pakistan has also faced unrest in its southwestern province of Balochistan, where separatist attacks intensified throughout the year.
“Federal Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi provided a detailed briefing to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the overall security situation in the country,” the statement from the PM Office said. “The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the measures taken to ensure law and order in the country.”
The meeting also included discussions on the country’s political situation, the statement added.
Security remained a major concern for the government this year, which witnessed renewed attacks on Chinese workers, including five fatalities when their convoy was targeted by an explosive-laden vehicle near Besham city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Later in October, two Chinese engineers lost their lives in a blast near Karachi airport.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, vowed to hunt down militants and their facilitators, following a deadly attack on a military outpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that left 16 soldiers dead.
