PESHAWAR: Warring tribes in Pakistan’s northwestern Kurram district have agreed to a ceasefire and ended hostilities, officials said on Sunday, following five days of armed clashes in the district that left 30 people dead and 158 wounded over a property dispute.
Located along Pakistan’s border with Afghanistan in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, the Kurram tribal district has witnessed deadly conflicts among tribes and religious groups as well as sectarian clashes and militant attacks.
A major conflict that began in 2007 continued for years before it was ended with the help of a jirga, a traditional assembly of tribal elders, in 2011. The latest clashes over a property broke out five days ago and quickly spread to several villages and nearby settlements.
“Officials with the help of tribal elders have brokered a truce between the two tribes today,” Nisar Ahmad Khan, the district police officer (DPO), told Arab News. “Police are now busy vacating bunkers and trenches from the warring tribes and taking control of those bunkers.”
The clashes erupted over the ownership of a property between two families that engulfed the entire volatile district, according to officials and local politicians.
Dr. Mir Hassan Jan, medical superintendent at the District Headquarters Hospital in Parachinar, the main town in Kurram district, told Arab News on Sunday that medical facilities in the district had so far received 30 bodies.
“We have a total number of 30 dead and another 158 wounded that had been brought or are being treated at the district’s hospitals,” he added.
Most of the villages in the area faced a shortage of food and lifesaving medicines amid clashes and closure of roads by authorities to contain the unrest as the warring sides pounded each other with small and heavy and small weapons.
Sajid Hussain Turi, a politician from the area who served as federal minister for overseas Pakistanis in Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s previous administration, said the main focus of civil and security officials was to help reach a ceasefire, which materialized today thorough the support of tribal elders.
“Our priority was to broker a ceasefire first,” Turi said. “[In] the second phase, the jirga will settle the land dispute.”
Warring tribes agree to ceasefire in Pakistan’s Kurram after clashes leave 30 dead
https://arab.news/c4x3s
Warring tribes agree to ceasefire in Pakistan’s Kurram after clashes leave 30 dead
- The clashes erupted over the ownership of a property between two families that engulfed the volatile district that border Afghanistan
- Most of the villages in the area faced a shortage of food, lifesaving medicines amid closure of roads by authorities to contain unrest
Women ride Pakistan’s economic crisis into the workplace
- Pakistan was first Muslim nation to be led by a woman PM in 1980s, women CEOs grace power lists in Forbes magazine, make up ranks of police and military
- But much of Pakistani society operates under a traditional code which requires women to have permission from their family to work outside of the home
KARACHI: Amina Sohail veers through heavy traffic to pick up her next passenger — the sight of a woman riding a motorcycle drawing stares in Pakistan’s megacity of Karachi.
The 28-year-old is the first woman in her family to enter the workforce, a pattern emerging in urban households coming under increasing financial pressure in Pakistan.
“I don’t focus on people, I don’t speak to anyone or respond to the hooting, I do my work,” said Sohail, who joined a local ride-hailing service at the start of the year, transporting women through the dusty back streets of the city.
“Before, we would be hungry, now we get to eat at least two to three meals a day,” she added.
The South Asian nation is locked in a cycle of political and economic crises, dependent on IMF bailouts and loans from friendly countries to service its debt.
Prolonged inflation has forced up the price of basic groceries such as tomatoes by 100 percent. Electricity and gas bills have risen by 300 percent compared to July last year, according to official data.
Sohail used to help her mother with cooking, cleaning and looking after her younger siblings, until her father, the family’s sole earner, fell sick.
“The atmosphere in the house was stressful,” she said, with the family dependent on other relatives for money. “That’s when I thought I must work.”
“My vision has changed. I will work openly like any man, no matter what anyone thinks.”
Pakistan was the first Muslim nation to be led by a woman prime minister in the 1980s, women CEOs grace power lists in Forbes magazine, and they now make up the ranks of the police and military.
However, much of Pakistani society operates under a traditional code which requires women to have permission from their family to work outside of the home.
According to the United Nations, just 21 percent of women participate in Pakistan’s work force, most of them in the informal sector and almost half in rural areas working in the fields.
“I am the first girl in the family to work, from both my paternal and maternal side,” said Hina Saleem, a 24-year-old telephone operator at a leather factory in Qur’angi, Karachi’s largest industrial area.
The move, supported by her mother after her father died, was met with resistance from her extended family.
Her younger brother was warned that working could lead to socially unacceptable behavior, such as finding a husband of her choice.
“My uncles said ‘get her married’,” she told AFP. “There was lots of pressure on my mother.”
At the changeover of shifts outside the leather factory, workers arrive in painted buses decorated with chinking bells, with a handful of women stepping out amid the crowd of men.
Nineteen-year-old Anum Shahzadi, who works in the same factory inputting data, was encouraged by her parents to enter the workforce after completing high school, unlike generations before her.
“What is the point of education if a girl can’t be independent,” said Shahzadi, who now contributes to the household alongside her brother.
Bushra Khaliq, executive director for Women In Struggle for Empowerment (WISE) which advocates for political and economic rights for women, said that Pakistan was “witnessing a shift” among urban middle class women.
“Up until this point, they had been told by society that taking care of their homes and marriage were the ultimate objective,” she told AFP.
“But an economic crunch and any social and economic crises bring with them a lot of opportunities.”
Farzana Augustine, from Pakistan’s minority Christian community, earned her first salary last year at the age of 43, after her husband lost his job during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“My wife had to take over,” Augustine Saddique explained to AFP.
“But it is nothing to be sad about, we are companions and are running our house together.”
The sprawling port metropolis of Karachi, officially home to 20 million people but likely many millions more, is the business center of Pakistan.
It pulls in migrants and entrepreneurs from across the country with the promise of employment and often acts as a bellwether for social change.
Nineteen-year-old Zahra Afzal moved to Karachi to live with her uncle four years ago, after the death of her parents, leaving her small village in central-eastern Pakistan to work as a childminder.
“If Zahra was taken by other relatives, she would have been married off by now,” her uncle Kamran Aziz told AFP, from their typical one room home where bedding is folded away in the morning and cooking is done on the balcony.
“My wife and I decided we would go against the grain and raise our girls to survive in the world before settling them down.”
Afzal beams that she is now an example for her sister and cousin: “My mind has become fresh.”
Pakistan reaffirms commitment to UN peacekeeping on International Day of Police Cooperation
- Pakistan says it has contributed 235,000 troops to 48 peacekeeping missions in 29 countries since 1960
- Over 180 Pakistanis deployed in different parts of the world have died during these UN operations
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations on Saturday reaffirmed its commitment to UN peacekeeping missions while marking the International Day of Police Cooperation, noting its police contingents have actively contributed to global peace by serving the world body since the 1960s.
UN peacekeeping operations, carried out in conflict zones, are crucial in maintaining security, protecting civilians and fostering sustainable peace in post-conflict areas.
In May, Pakistan announced it had contributed 235,000 troops to 48 missions in 29 countries since 1960.
A month later, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi pledged to send 128 additional police officers to UN peacekeeping forces after meeting with UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres in New York.
“Since the 1960s, Pakistan’s police have actively contributed to United Nations’ peacekeeping missions in countries such as Sudan, Haiti, Kosovo, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo,” the Pakistani diplomatic mission said in a social media post. “Their roles include maintaining law and order, training local police forces, and providing security for humanitarian operations.”
It said Pakistan also deploys female officers, enhancing their ability to engage with vulnerable groups, adding the professionalism of the country’s police has earned them international recognition.
“On the International Day of Police Cooperation today, we reiterate our resolve to continue working under the @UNPeacekeeping to promote global peace, security and stability,” it continued.
According to the Pakistan military’s statement, more than 180 Pakistanis deployed in different parts of the world have died during the peacekeeping operations.
‘Colonizer to colonized’: Pakistani photographer travels from London to Quetta ‘without flying’
- Danial Shah’s 58-day-journey brought him home to Quetta via trains, ferries, buses and taxis at a cost of $2,509
- Historic Quetta-London Road was once a popular route for international tourists and considered a ‘gateway’ to Europe
QUETTA: Earlier this year, Danial Shah, a Pakistani photographer and filmmaker currently pursuing a doctorate in visual and performing arts in Brussels, got an idea: to travel from the land of the colonizer, Britain, which had ruled the Indian subcontinent from 1858 to 1947, to the land that was colonized, present day Pakistan — but without flying.
Thus began a journey that took him from London to the southwestern Pakistani town of Quetta, the city of his birth, via trains, ferries, buses and taxis at a cost of $2,509.
“I wanted to start my journey from London, the reason is that Britain ruled our country for a long time, colonized us and it is Britain that gives us [Pakistanis] visas with great difficulty,” Shah, a 35-year-old documentary filmmaker and photographer, told Arab News in an interview in Quetta.
“So I thought if I get a visa, I will start my journey from the place where the colonizer lives and reach the place which they colonized.”
Spending his early childhood in Quetta, Shah was always thrilled by the stories of foreign travelers who frequented the area and often arrived using what was dubbed the historic Quetta-London Road, once a popular route for international tourists and considered a ‘gateway’ to Europe.
“I often used to see foreigners here and when you asked someone their story, they would say, ‘We have come from Germany, from London, traveling through Turkiye and Iran’,” Shah said. “So, when I found time, I thought I should go on this journey also.”
Frequent public commuting through the Quetta-London route, stretching over thousands of miles, began after the end of World War I and people even used it to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform Hajj, according to Dr. Irfan Ahmed Baig, a Quetta-based historian and author of the Urdu-language book ‘Quetta My City.’ European tourists choose the route to enter Turkiye via Greece and continued onwards to the Middle East and Asia. The route was diverted to Central Asia from Afghanistan, from where to leads to India and Bangladesh via Pakistan.
“A Quetta-London bound bus service was started in the 1950 but it was suspended due to unknown reasons,” Baig told Arab News. “During the Soviet Union’s incursion on Afghanistan, tourist movement through this route declined due to security reasons.”
Shah’s journey through a stretch of the route also did not come without difficulty as he faced strict border security checks on account of holding a Pakistani passport, considered one of the weakest travel documents according to global rankings, and amid fears about human smuggling and illegal migration.
“At various border crossing points, I was the only one off-boarded from buses and questioned by border security forces,” he said.
But he powered on and the journey that began in London on July 3 took him through Europe, the Balkans and the Middle East, to Pakistan’s Balochistan province on August 21.
“From London, I traveled to France. From France, I went to Italy, where I took a boat to Croatia. From Croatia, I went to Serbia, Serbia to Bosnia, and from Bosnia to Montenegro, Albania,” the University of Antwerp student said.
“From Albania, I entered Greece. Then I took a boat from Greece to Turkiye and from Turkiye I took a bus to Iran. From Iran I traveled through buses and taxis and reached Pakistan.”
He said he was grateful for the people he met along the way and the hospitality and warmth he was offered.
“I enjoyed Bosnia the most, followed by Albania, and then Turkiye and Iran, because their manner of hospitality is similar to our Quetta,” Shah said.
His next plan is to save up for journeys to ever new countries and cultures.
“I wish to plan a year-long journey after saving some money to see more countries and additional stay,” Shah said, “because I met many people who were on the same route but traveling to Central Asia via Iran and Afghanistan to Vietnam.”
Pakistan deputy PM calls PIA flight restoration ‘major priority’ in talks with UK officials
- Ishaq Dar says the government will start receiving bids for PIA privatization from October 1
- Deputy PM tells the media his five-day visit to London as ‘potentially very useful’ for Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Saturday described restoring Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) flights to the United Kingdom and other European countries as a “major priority,” saying that he raised the issue with British officials during his five-day visit to London, which he called beneficial for the country.
The suspension of PIA flights to the UK and Europe followed a 2020 plane crash in Karachi that killed 97 people. This was compounded by a controversial statement from Ghulam Sarwar Khan, the aviation minister in former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s administration, who asserted that a significant number of Pakistani pilots held fake licenses, leading to the European Union Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) ban on PIA.
Since then, the airline has undergone multiple audits to address safety and operational concerns in hopes of restoring international routes.
Addressing a news conference in London, Dar criticized the former aviation minister’s “irresponsible statement,” saying Pakistan had since made every effort to resume PIA flights.
“I told the [British] deputy prime minister [Angela Rayner] that it is a serious matter for our community and diaspora,” he said during the media interaction at the Pakistan High Commission. “It is a major priority. So, we will continue to engage and will not sit and relax until as long as this thing is done.”
Dar noted that while restoring flights to Britain and Europe was important, advancing the privatization process of the national airline was equally vital.
“We will start receiving the first round of bids for PIA [privatization] on October 1,” he said, adding the government was also outsourcing Islamabad airport operations, with bids expected next month.
He further emphasized that his visit to Britain had been highly productive.
“I believe that my visit was extensive, busy and potentially very useful for Pakistan,” he said.
This was Pakistani deputy prime minister’s first visit to Britain following the change of government in the UK, where the Labour Party won the general elections in July and returning to power after 14 years.
Ex-PM Khan party to hold rally in Islamabad today to press for his release
- Khan, who has been in jail since August, has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military since his ouster in April 2022
- His PTI party has struggled to hold rallies across Pakistan and says it has been facing a state-backed crackdown, an allegation denied by authorities
ISLAMABAD: Jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is holding a rally in Islamabad today, Sunday, to press authorities for the release of the ex-premier, who has been facing a slew of cases.
Khan, who has been in jail since August on charges of corruption, treason and attempting to incite a mutiny in the military, has waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against Pakistan’s military since his ouster in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April 2022.
He has accused the then army leadership of orchestrating his ouster together with his political rivals as part of a United States-backed “foreign conspiracy.” The military, Khan’s rivals and Washington have repeatedly denied this.
His PTI party aims to mobilize the public for the release of the former cricket star who has a devoted following, but has struggled to hold rallies across the country. The party this week said it got permission for the rally in Islamabad, which was canceled twice in recent months.
“We are holding this rally as per the law and the constitution,” PTI member Aamir Dogar was quoted as saying by the party on X. “Efforts should not be made to prevent it.”
The party has also announced simultaneous protests outside the Pakistani embassy in London and in other parts of the world.
“Everyone must attend the all important protest tomorrow in London outside the Pakistan embassy,” Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari said on X. “It will be a historic turnout in Islamabad, London and world over. This is the beginning of our peaceful protests in Pakistan and world over. It’s a duty upon us to stand up.”
The PTI says it has been facing a state-backed crackdown and the mass arrest of its members and supporters for standing by Khan. Pakistani authorities deny the allegations.
The action against the PTI began after people carrying its party flags attacked and damaged government and military installations on May 9, 2023, after Khan’s brief arrest that day in a graft case.
Hundreds of PTI workers and leaders were arrested following the May 9 riots and many remain behind bars as they await trial. The military has also initiated trials of at least 103 people accused of involvement in the violence.
Khan recently made a “conditional” offer of talks to the army, if “clean and transparent” elections were held and the “bogus” cases against his supporters were dropped. The military, which has repeatedly said Khan and his party were behind the May 9 attacks, has ruled out any talks with him.
