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  • Ex-PM Khan’s party to challenge Pakistan court verdict connecting him to May 9 riots 


Ex-PM Khan’s party to challenge Pakistan court verdict connecting him to May 9 riots 

Supporters of Pakistan's jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan hold his poster as they celebrate after he was aquitted of leaking state secrets following a court verdict in Karachi on June 3, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 11 July 2024
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Ex-PM Khan’s party to challenge Pakistan court verdict connecting him to May 9 riots 

  • Khan’s arrest in land graft case on May 9 last year led to his alleged supporters damaging government, army properties
  • Anti-terrorism court ruled on July 9 there was “reasonable” evidence that Khan was behind the violence of May 9
Updated 11 July 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said on Thursday it would challenge a lower court’s verdicts dismissing three bail pleas by its founder and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in cases involving riots last year and declaring there was “reasonable” evidence of his involvement.

Alleged supporters of the PTI party attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a land graft case. The attacks took place a little over a year after Khan fell out with Pakistan’s powerful military, blaming the institution for colluding with his rivals to oust him from office in a parliamentary vote in April 2022. The military and the political parties Khan blames reject the allegations.

Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested following the May 9 riots in a state-led crackdown on charges of involvement in the riots, and some continue to remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated army court trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence. Many close Khan aides have since deserted him, due to what is widely believed to be pressure from the army, which denies interfering in politics. 

Khan and other key leaders of his party are widely believed to have masterminded the violence but the ex-PM has distanced himself from the riots and says they have been used as a ruse by political rivals and the military to crack down on the party, which is arguably the most popular in Pakistan. They deny the charge.

“Party will most definitely challenge the verdict,” the PTI said on Thursday in a text message to reporters about the verdict by an Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in Lahore dismissing Khan’s bail petitions in three May 9 cases. “The judgment contained no evidence of Imran Khan ordering the May 9 violence.”

The ATC had on Saturday reserved its verdict on Khan‘s bail petitions in three cases concerning attacks on Lahore’s Jinnah House, the residence of the top military commander in the city, as well as Askari Tower and Shadman police station. 

The party said ATC Judge Khalid Arshad dismissed the PTI founder’s bail pleas by “drawing interferences and assumptions.” While ATCs in other parts of the country, including Rawalpindi and Sargodha, had dismissed May 9-related cases against Khan, the Lahore ATC had declared him a “main accused,” the party said, adding that this was another “politically motivated case” being used to prolong Khan’s “illegal incarceration.” 

Khan has been imprisoned since August last year after he was convicted in at least four separate cases, with two of the judgments suspended and Khan acquitted in a third case.

ATC VERDICT

Pakistan’s anti-corruption agency arrested Khan from the premises of the Islamabad High Court on May 9 last year, unleashing nationwide protests by his followers. That case involves accusations Khan and his wife received, when he was still prime minister, land worth up to 7 billion rupees ($24.7 million) from a property developer who had been charged in Britain with money laundering. The government says British authorities had returned 190 million pounds ($240 million) to Pakistan in connection with money laundering, but Khan had returned the money to the developer instead of keeping it in the national exchequer.

Khan’s PTI party called on supporters to “shut down Pakistan” over his May 9 arrest, writing on Twitter: “It’s your time, people of Pakistan. Khan has always stood for you, now its time to stand for him.”

Hundreds of Khan supporters blocked roads in cities and major highways across the country, as police poured into the streets, public gatherings were banned and telecommunications networks suspended. Previous attempts to arrest Khan from his Lahore home had already resulted in heavy clashes between his supporters and law enforcement personnel.

In its order dated July 9, the ATC court said Khan had instructed the party’s top leadership to stage the protests and damage military installations in the event of his arrest. It also quoted a video message by Khan right before his arrest in which he said the country would descend into a state “worse” than Sri Lanka if he was arrested. 

“Two prosecution witnesses participated in the meeting of hatching of criminal conspiracy in Zaman Park [Khan’s Lahore home] on May 7 and May 8 last year by the petitioner [Khan] and other top leadership of PTI wherein the petitioner himself instructed them regarding his apprehension of arrest and the reaction thereon of launching or protest and damage of military installations,” the court order said. 

The order highlighted that another meeting was held by top leaders of the PTI at the Rose Hotel on May 1 last year “wherein it was decided to block Marred and Kachahri Chowks to resist the movement of higher army officials.”

“You all [PTI leaders] in the leadership of Dr. Yasmin Rashid would gather PTI workers and attack military installations, government properties, and armed institutions for his release,” the court order said, quoting Khan as giving his party its plan of action in the event of his arrest. 

“The petitioner like other accused is responsible for the commission of heinous offenses against the State being member of the mob conjointly having common object so this [bail] petition deserves dismissal …

“An extraordinary concession of pre-arrest bail is meant for an innocent person and not the petitioner (Khan) who hatched, and materialized the alleged criminal conspiracy [...] to wage war against the state to topple over the government,” the order read.

It concluded that “reasonable grounds” existed to connect the petitioner with the alleged offenses, citing it as the reason to dismiss Khan’s pre-arrest bail requests and withdraw his interim bail.

Topics: Ex-PM Imran Khan May 9

ICC board to meet virtually today amid Pakistan-India Champions Trophy impasse

Updated 29 November 2024
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ICC board to meet virtually today amid Pakistan-India Champions Trophy impasse

  • World cricket body to consider various options to end the stalemate between the two neighbors
  • ICC Champions Trophy tournament will be held from Feb. 19 till Mar. 9 after an eight-year hiatus
Updated 29 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: The International Cricket Council (ICC) board is set to meet virtually today, Friday, to discuss three options to end a stalemate between Pakistan and India ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy tournament that is slated to be held in February next year, ESPNcricinfo reported.
Pakistan is set to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi from February 19 till March 9. However, political tensions with India have already cast a shadow over the tournament following the refusal by Indian authorities to allow their team to play in Pakistan.
Last week, the ICC informed Pakistan of India’s decision, prompting the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) to seek a clarification. Pakistan has already ruled out a hybrid model to host the tournament, unlike last year’s Asia Cup, wherein all of India’s games were played in Sri Lanka.
The situation created uncertainty and tension until the ICC released the tournament promo, visually reaffirming that Pakistan will host the championship. According to AP, the ICC board could decide on the issue by voting among members.
“The ICC board will congregate on Friday in the hopes of ending the saga of where and how the 2025 Champions Trophy will be played with less than three months to the scheduled start of the event,” ESPNcricinfo reported. “They will consider three options.”
The first option would be to adopt a hybrid model that has already been ruled out by Pakistan, while the second option revolves around the PCB retaining hosting rights and the tournament being played “entirely out of Pakistan,” according to the report.
The third option would be to hold the entire tournament in Pakistan, “but without India.”
“The last of those options is almost a non-starter, given the negative financial and commercial impact it will have on the tournament,” the report read. “The chances of a hybrid model were reduced on Thursday after a PCB official told ESPNcricinfo they had informed the ICC once again that it was off the table.”
The report quoted the official as saying that the PCB had asked for a “reasonable or acceptable” proposal to Pakistan before the ICC board meeting. It said the chances of a hybrid model had increased, quoting PCB Chairman Mohsin Naqvi as saying that he would discuss the ICC board’s decision with the Pakistani government.
“Whatever we do, we will make sure the best outcome for Pakistan is achieved,” ESPNcricinfo quoted Naqvi as saying. “But I repeat, and I am sure you know what I mean, it’s not possible that Pakistan play in India, and they don’t come here.”
Naqvi also doubled down on Pakistan not being willing to play in India any longer. India will be hosting the Women’s World Cup next year, Asia Cup in 2025, Men’s T20 World Cup in 2026 and Champions Trophy in 2029.
Pakistan could consider a hybrid model if the ICC gave the PCB the same option for tournaments being hosted by India, according to ESPNcricinfo.
It quoted the PCB chairman as saying that Pakistan would not be motivated by any financial settlement.
“We’ll not just sell our rights out just for more money. This will never happen. But we’ll do whatever is best for Pakistan,” he said.
A decades-long tense political situation between the two South Asian countries hasn’t seen India playing international cricket in Pakistan since 2008 when it competed in the Asia Cup. Both nations have competed in ICC tournaments, with Pakistan touring India last year for the 50-over World Cup.
The ICC is in talks with the PCB and the participating boards before finalizing the schedule of the eight-team tournament. The ICC Champions Trophy 2025 tour kicked off on Saturday after the trophy was displayed at the Pakistan Monument and Faisal Mosque in Islamabad.

Topics: ICC Champions Trophy 2025 Champions Trophy 2025

Authorities issue rain, snowfall alert for upper parts of Pakistan

Updated 29 November 2024
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Authorities issue rain, snowfall alert for upper parts of Pakistan

  • Local authorities, emergency responders and public have been asked to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions
  • Residents of hilly areas should exercise caution while traveling due to slippery roads and reduced visibility, authorities say
Updated 29 November 2024
Hasaan Ali Khan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan's National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) has issued a weather alert for upper parts of the country, predicting rain, thunderstorms and snowfall as a result of a westerly wave.
The western and upper parts of the country are likely to experience rain, wind and thunderstorms, with snowfall expected in mountainous areas, according to the NDMA.
"Upper Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including Malakand and Hazara divisions, is expected to receive rain and thunderstorms, along with snowfall in [areas with] higher altitudes," the NDMA said in a statement.
"The plains of Punjab will largely experience dry conditions, although smog and fog are likely to persist, especially during early morning and nighttime."
Rain and thunderstorms are also expected in the Pothohar region and its surroundings.
The NDMA said it had advised local authorities, emergency responders and the public to remain vigilant and take necessary precautions.
"Residents in northern and hilly areas should exercise caution while traveling due to the risk of slippery roads and reduced visibility," it said.
"Farmers are encouraged to safeguard their crops against potential weather impacts."
Additionally, the NDMA asked people in smog-affected areas to minimize outdoor exposure and take protective measures during low-visibility conditions.

Topics: Winters

Iraq tries to stem influx of illegal foreign workers from Pakistan, other nations

Updated 29 November 2024
AFP
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Iraq tries to stem influx of illegal foreign workers from Pakistan, other nations

  • The Iraqi labor ministry says the influx is mainly from Pakistan, Syria and Bangladesh, also citing 40,000 registered immigrant workers
  • Authorities are trying to regulate the number of foreign workers as Iraq seeks to diversify from the currently dominant hydrocarbons sector
Updated 29 November 2024
AFP

KARBALA: Rami, a Syrian worker in Iraq, spends his 16-hour shifts at a restaurant fearing arrest as authorities crack down on undocumented migrants in the country better known for its own exodus.
He is one of hundreds of thousands of foreigners working without permits in Iraq, which after emerging from decades of conflict has become an unexpected destination for many seeking opportunities.
“I’ve been able to avoid the security forces and checkpoints,” said the 27-year-old, who has lived in Iraq for seven years and asked that AFP use a pseudonym to protect his identity.
Between 10 in the morning and 2:00 am the next day, he toils at a shawarma shop in the holy city of Karbala, where millions of Shiite pilgrims congregate every year.
“My greatest fear is to be expelled back to Syria where I’d have to do military service,” he said.
The labor ministry says the influx is mainly from Syria, Pakistan and Bangladesh, also citing 40,000 registered immigrant workers.
Now the authorities are trying to regulate the number of foreign workers, as the country seeks to diversify from the currently dominant hydrocarbons sector.
Many like Rami work in the service industry in Iraq.
One Baghdad restaurant owner admitted to AFP that he has to play cat and mouse with the authorities during inspections, asking some employees to make themselves scarce.
Not all those who work for him are registered, he said, because of the costly fees involved.
Some of the undocumented workers in Iraq first came as pilgrims. In July, Labour Minister Ahmed Assadi said his services were investigating information that “50,000 Pakistani visitors” stayed on “to work illegally.”
Despite threats of expulsion because of the scale of issue, the authorities at the end of November launched a scheme for “Syrian, Bangladeshi and Pakistani workers” to regularise their employment by applying online before December 25.
The ministry says it will take legal action against anyone who brings in or employs undocumented foreign workers.
Rami has decided to play safe, even though “I really want” to acquire legal employment status.
“But I’m afraid,” he said. “I’m waiting to see what my friends do, and then I’ll do the same.”
Current Iraqi law caps the number of foreign workers a company can employ at 50 percent, but the authorities now want to lower this to 30 percent.
“Today we allow in only qualified workers for jobs requiring skills” that are not currently available, labor ministry spokesman Nijm Al-Aqabi told AFP.
It’s a sensitive issue — for the past two decades, even the powerful oil sector has been dominated by a foreign workforce. But now the authorities are seeking to favor Iraqis.
“There are large companies contracted to the government” which have been asked to limit “foreign worker numbers to 30 percent,” said Aqabi.
“This is in the interests of the domestic labor market,” he said, as 1.6 million Iraqis are unemployed.
He recognized that each household has the right to employ a foreign domestic worker, claiming this was work Iraqis did not want to do.
One agency launched in 2021 that brings in domestic workers from Niger, Ghana and Ethiopia confirms the high demand.
“Before we used to bring in 40 women, but now it’s around 100” a year, said an employee at the agency, speaking to AFP on condition of anonymity.
It was a trend picked up from rich countries in the Gulf, the employee said.
“The situation in Iraq is getting better, and with salaries now higher, Iraqi home owners are looking for comfort.”
A domestic worker earns about $230 a month, but the authorities have quintupled the registration fee, with a work permit now costing more than $800.
In the summer, Human Rights Watch denounced what it called a campaign of arbitrary arrests and expulsions targeting Syrians, even those with the necessary paperwork.
HRW said that both homes and work places had been targeted by raids.
Ahmed — another pseudonym — is a 31-year-old Syrian who has been undocumented in Iraq for the past year and a half.
He began as a cook in Baghdad and later moved to Karbala.
“Life is hard here — we don’t have any rights,” he told AFP. “We come in illegally, and the security forces are after us.”
His wife did not accompany him. She stayed in Syria.
“I’d go back if I could,” said Ahmed. “But life there is very difficult. There’s no work.”

Topics: karbala Baghdad

Pakistan reiterates ‘unwavering’ support for Palestinians’ right to self-determination

Updated 29 November 2024
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Pakistan reiterates ‘unwavering’ support for Palestinians’ right to self-determination

  • The statement comes on International Day of Solidarity with Palestinian People that aims to grant sovereignty to Palestinians
  • PM Shehbaz Sharif calls on international community to act ‘decisively’ to impose immediate halt to Israel’s atrocities in Gaza
Updated 29 November 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday reiterated his country’s “unwavering” support for the Palestinians’ right to self-determination, Sharif’s office said, on the occasion of the International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People.
The International Day of Solidarity with the Palestinian People is a UN-organized observance, with events held at the United Nations (UN) headquarters in New York and its offices in Geneva, Vienna and Nairobi.
In a statement issued from his office, Sharif said the last one year marked a “deeply disturbing moment” in the history of Palestine in the wake of Israel’s brutal aggression in Gaza and the West Bank since October 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas.
“The Palestinian people have been bravely enduring a campaign of unending genocidal violence with indiscriminate attacks, ethnic cleansing, and collective punishment that constitute a flagrant violation of human dignity, human rights, and international law,” he said.
“On behalf of the people of Pakistan, I reaffirm our complete solidarity with the valiant and resilient Palestinian people. We will continue to stand by you in your just and rightful pursuit of peace, dignity, and right to self-determination.”
Pakistan does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza that has claimed over 43,000 lives, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other multilateral platforms and demanded international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza. The South Asian country has also dispatched several aid consignments for the Palestinians.
Sharif said Israel’s violations of international humanitarian law had crippled the humanitarian response in Gaza, calling on the international community to act “swiftly and decisively” to impose an immediate halt to Israel’s atrocities, including indiscriminate attacks on civilians, hospitals, schools, and critical infrastructure.
“The repeated assaults on humanitarian aid convoys and essential services are unconscionable. The failure to hold Israel accountable for these grave war crimes and violations of human rights will perpetuate the impunity, with which Israel has unleashed its destruction in Gaza, the West Bank and Lebanon,” he said.
“Pakistan further calls for an immediate and unconditional ceasefire in Gaza and stresses the urgency of ensuring unhindered humanitarian assistance to the Palestinian people.”

Topics: Israeli war on Gaza Pakistan Palestine

Family calls off weeks-long protest in Balochistan over kidnapping of schoolboy

Updated 29 November 2024
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Family calls off weeks-long protest in Balochistan over kidnapping of schoolboy

  • Muhammad Musawir Khan, who comes from a family of gold traders, was kidnapped by armed men in Quetta on Nov. 15
  • The protest was called off after the Balochistan chief minister met Khan’s relatives and assured them of his safe recovery
Updated 29 November 2024
SAADULLAH AKHTER

QUETTA: The family of an 11-year-old schoolboy, who was kidnapped in Pakistan’s Balochistan province earlier this month, has called off their weeks-long protest in the provincial capital of Quetta, it said on Thursday, following assurances from the provincial administration for a safe recovery of the child.
Muhammad Musawir Khan, a third-grade student, was kidnapped from a school van by unknown armed men while on his way to school in Quetta on November 15. His family says they have not received any ransom call from the kidnappers since his abduction.
Khan’s relatives and other protesters had been staging a sit-in at Quetta’s Unity Square for the last 14 days. On Thursday, Balochistan Chief Minister Sarfaraz Bugti met the protesters and assured them of setting up a team to recover the kidnapped boy.
“Bugti told us that ‘a joint investigation team has been formed comprising all Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) for the safe recovery of the kidnapped boy’,” Khan’s father, Raz Muhammad, told Arab News, adding that they had called off the protest for ten days.
The kidnapped boy belongs to a prominent tribal family that has been involved in the gold trading business in Balochistan for decades. According to the family, he was abducted from the busy Patel Bagh neighborhood in Quetta.
On Monday, a wheel-jam strike over the kidnapping paralyzed highways in Balochistan, with political and religious party leaders, traders, transporters, lawyers and civil society members visiting the protest camp to express solidarity with the family.
Speaking to the protesters on Thursday, CM Bugti said the kidnapped boy’s family was being regularly updated about the details of investigation.
“The entire province is standing with the family and a safe recovery of Muhammad Musawir Khan is our duty,” he said. “We will not commit any negligence in our duty.”

Topics: Balochistan

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