ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad police have arrested Ali Wazir, a prominent Pashtun rights activist, after his car allegedly hit and injured a motorcyclist in the Pakistani capital, Wazir's lawyer and aides said on Sunday.
Two motorbikes had a collision near Zero Point in Islamabad late Friday and one of the bikes hit Wazir’s car, according to Badshah Wazir, a close aide of Wazir.
Wazir, who is also a former lawmaker, immediately transported the wounded motorcyclist in his car to the Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) hospital for treatment.
“Within no time, a large number of police with personnel in plainclothes arrived at the hospital and took away the former lawmaker with them,” Badshah told Arab News.
Wazir is a prominent member of a socio-ethnic movement, the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), which campaigns for the rights of the Pashtun people, who it says have suffered from years of conflict between the security forces and militants in the country's troubled northwest.
On Saturday, the Islamabad police presented Wazir before an anti-terrorism court, which remanded him into police custody for six days, according to Wazir's lawyer.
Arab News made multiple attempts to reach Zia Qamar, a spokesman of the Islamabad police chief, to seek details of charges against Wazir, but did not get a response to its phone calls and text messages.
“The road accident was just an excuse but the police had already had a mind to detain Ali Wazir,” Attaullah Kundi, Wazir's attorney, told Arab News.
He said his client was implicated in three cases, including the road accident, possession of unlicensed weapons and drugs, and obstruction of police duty, as well as under Section 7 of Anti-Terrorism Act. The provision relates to endangering life of or causing grievous bodily harm or injury to someone.
Kundi said the prosecutor accused his client of "manhandling the cops and snatching their gun," adding that all these cases had no grounds and would be quashed in the court.
In February 2023, Wazir was released from prison by a court in Karachi after spending more than two years in custody in a slew of cases.
Comment on his fresh arrest, PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen said the Islamabad police had detained Wazir in “extremely false FIRs (first information reports)” after a road accident.
“He has been produced before the court in extremely fabricated cases, including an attack and fire on the police, drug smuggling and road accident,” Pashteen wrote on X. "Our lawyers’ team is there to defend [him in] these fake cases."
PTM was launched to fight against what it says are military excesses committed during anti-terrorism operations in the country's northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province where most Pashtuns live. The military denies the accusations.
Islamabad police arrest Pashtun rights activist Ali Wazir after road accident
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Islamabad police arrest Pashtun rights activist Ali Wazir after road accident
- Wazir, also a former lawmaker, was presented before an anti-terrorism court and remanded in police custody for six days
- A spokesman for the Islamabad police chief did not respond to Arab News queries to seek details of charges against Wazir
Pakistani court denies bail to woman in Karachi hit-and-run case despite pardon
- Natasha Danish caused a fatal accident while driving under drug influence last month
- Victims’ families pardoned her, but court says the drug case filed by the state to proceed
KARACHI: A Pakistani court on Monday denied bail to a woman accused in a high-profile hit-and-run case, dashing her hopes for immediate freedom after the family of two people who died in the crash pardoned her in a manslaughter case last week.
CCTV footage of the accident was widely circulated on social media last month, showing a Toyota Land Cruiser, allegedly driven by Natasha Danish, the wife of well-known businessman Danish Iqbal, hitting a motorbike from behind, resulting in the death of a female student and her father. Five others were also injured in the incident.
Initially, the defense lawyer told the local court his client was undergoing psychiatric treatment to secure her exemption from court appearances. However, hospital authorities said the suspect’s family could not provide any evidence of the claim, saying she was under the influence of drugs at the time of the accident.
Last week, the court granted the suspect bail in the manslaughter case after the families of those killed and injured submitted affidavits, saying they had forgiven her for the accident. However, the court reserved judgment in the second case filed against her for drug use.
“This Court in its humble view finds applicant/accused failed, to be admitted to post-arrest bail in absence of reasonable ground,” Judge Muhammad Raza Ansari, civil judge district east, declared in a written order. “Therefore, instant bail application stands dismissed, accordingly.”
According to the order, the defense attorney had challenged the applicability of Section 11 of The Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979, arguing that the legal provision dealt only with alcohol, while his client was accused of using methamphetamine, commonly known as ice.
The judge, however, dismissed the argument, stating that the law was “not confined to intoxicating liquor only” but also covered other substances.
Section 11 of The Prohibition (Enforcement of Hadd) Order, 1979, stipulates that any Muslim caught in violation can be punished with up to three years in prison, 30 lashes or both.
The defense lawyer further argued the blood test of his client had not returned positive for the drug and raised concerns over the safe custody of the urine sample, which showed the presence of methamphetamine, during a public holiday.
The judge rejected both arguments, citing expert opinion on the matter.
Additionally, the defense counsel claimed the accused had already been pardoned by the victims’ family.
However, the court rejected this reasoning as well, saying that the legal heirs’ pardon could not impact the second case, which was filed by the state.
The court emphasized that methamphetamine consumption was a “new evil” gripping society and must be curbed.
It also described the accused as a “well-educated lady with a good sense of living and law,” adding that she still decided to drive the vehicle while intoxicated, resulting in the deaths of two people and injuries to others.
13 injured as roadside bomb targets anti-polio team in northwest Pakistan
- The incident came as Pakistan launched an anti-polio vaccination drive in 115 districts across the South Asian country
- No group claimed responsibility but Pakistani Taliban, other militants have previously targeted anti-polio teams in region
DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Thirteen people were wounded when a roadside bomb targeted a police vehicle escorting an anti-polio team in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province on Monday, officials said.
The northwestern Pakistani province, which borders Afghanistan, has been the scene of a number of attacks on police, security forces and anti-polio vaccination teams as well as kidnappings in recent months.
The blast, which took place in Wana town of KP’s South Waziristan tribal district, injured seven policemen and three anti-polio vaccinators among 13 people, according to Wana police spokesman Habib Islam.
“The police vehicle escorting polio team came under an improvised explosive device (IED) attack near Karikot, a rugged village on the outskirts of Wana,” Islam told Arab News, adding the injured persons were immediately shifted to the Wana District Headquarters Hospital.
No group immediately claimed responsibility for the attack.
Hammad Mehmood, medical superintendent at the hospital, told Arab News that a total of 13 wounded persons were brought to the facility and most of them had suffered minor injuries except for one.
“The critically wounded person was referred to Dera Ismail Khan for treatment,” he added.
The incident came as Pakistan launched an anti-polio vaccination drive in 115 districts across the South Asian country, which has witnessed a virus outbreak this year.
The administration in South Waziristan, which borders Afghanistan and was once a stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban, also kicked off door-to-door campaign to vaccinate more than 70,000 children against the crippling disease.
In the past, Pakistani Taliban and other militants have targeted scores of anti-polio vaccinators and their security escorts in the restive region.
In July, two cops on polio duty were injured in separate attacks in the Tank and Dera Ismail Khan districts of the province.
In January this year, five policemen were killed and 22 others were injured after a blast targeted a polio protection team in Mamund village of KP’s Bajaur district, according to police. The police contingent was heading out to far-flung areas in the province to protect polio volunteers when it was targeted by a bomb.
Opposition to inoculation grew in the region after the US Central Intelligence Agency organized a fake vaccination drive to help track down former Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad in 2011.
Pakistan and Afghanistan are the only two countries in the world where polio remains an endemic.
China to train Pakistanis among 3,000 more overseas cops in next 12 months
- The development comes as China seeks to cement its role as a global security provider
- Public security minister says they will also send police consultants to various countries
LIANYUNGANG: China will train thousands of law enforcement officers from different countries over the next 12 months, its police chief said Monday, as it seeks to cement its role as a global security provider.
Police from China have trained 2,700 officers in the past year and are planning to coach 3,000 more from various countries over the next 12 months, public security minister Wang Xiaohong said in a speech at a conference in eastern China.
“We will (also) send police consultants to countries in need to conduct training to help them quickly and effectively improve their law enforcement capabilities,” Wang said.
The security conference held in the port city of Lianyungang in Jiangsu province drew law enforcement officers from 122 countries, regions, and international organizations including Malaysia, Myanmar, Pakistan and global police body Interpol.
The annual Lianyungang conference is seen as part of the Global Security Initiative (GSI) proposed by Chinese leader Xi Jinping in 2022, which aims to address international issues through cooperation with other countries.
However analysts have described the GSI as a way of expanding China’s global influence and chipping away at the current US-led security order.
“It’s almost like saying ‘if you don’t like the Western way of doing things, we’ve got the Chinese alternative’,” Benjamin Ho, an assistant professor at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies’ China Programme, told AFP.
“So certainly, China is trying to highlight some of these (policing) initiatives in a big way, and that’s part and parcel of its jostling for influence vis-a-vis the West,” Ho said.
Wang said in his speech to hundreds of conference delegates that law enforcement had been “politicized.”
“Normal international cooperation has been demonized,” Wang said, adding that China “rejects any form of hegemonism and bullying.”
He also said that regional security risks continue to “spill over,” including from the Ukraine war, the Israel-Palestinian conflict and tensions in the Red Sea.
Rose-gold handcuffs, batons and bulletproof vests were on display for potential overseas buyers at the conference venue.
Exhibition halls showcasing some of China’s latest policing equipment drew the attention of curious foreign visitors.
Armored vehicles lined the pavement leading to the exhibition and booths featured face-recognition software designed to help in identifying fugitives.
Ho said the Chinese were trying to highlight how “safe and secure” their country was, especially with their latest surveillance techniques.
“I suppose that kind of logic would have to be quite attractive to countries who may be struggling with their own domestic security,” Ho said.
“From the Chinese side, all these are opportunities for them to showcase their global security influence.”
Pakistani teen wins 19th World Youth Scrabble Championship in Sri Lanka
- This is the ‘record fifth time’ Pakistani players have claimed the championship title
- Pakistan won the trophy for being the top-ranked team, with four players in top ten
ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani teenager has won the title at the 19th World Youth Scrabble Championship 2024, held in Sri Lanka, according to a report by the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) on Monday.
The international scrabble competition is designed specifically for young players, typically under the age of 18, offering them a platform to compete at a high level with other scrabble enthusiasts from around the world, while promoting both linguistic skills and strategic gameplay among the participants.
The championship was first held in 2006, with the inaugural event taking place in Australia. Since then, it has become an annual event, attracting young players from various countries.
Pakistan’s 16-year-old Affan Salman secured the title after playing 23 out of 24 games due to an unassailable lead.
“Affan’s brother Ali Salman won the World Youth title in 2022 providing the only instance of two brothers winning the world Youth championship in history,” the APP reported.
The report said Pakistan had won several awards, including the trophy for being the top-ranked team, with four players from the country finishing in the top 10.
According to Pakistan Television (PTV), this marked a “record fifth time” that the Pakistani team had claimed the championship title.
It also informed that 138 players from around the world had participated in the scrabble competition.
Pakistan PM reaffirms resolve to combat militancy after attack on police in Balochistan
- Attack that took place in Panjgur on Sunday targeted a police van and resulted in the killing of a sub-inspector
- The PM has previously blamed separatist groups in Balochistan for trying to end Pakistan’s journey of progress
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif reaffirmed his administration’s commitment to combating militant violence in Pakistan on Monday while responding to an attack on a police van in the southwestern Balochistan province a day earlier that claimed the life of a sub-inspector.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant violence in recent months, including a series of coordinated attacks in Balochistan last month, where over 50 people were killed.
Baloch separatist militants, who are seeking the resource-rich region’s secession, have been targeting government forces and projects under the $65-billion China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
The latest attack occurred on Sunday night, resulting in the death of Sub-Inspector Shakeel Ahmed while he was on a routine patrol in Panjgur, located in the western part of the province near the border with Iran, along with a police contingent.
“The entire nation stands with those who sacrifice their lives in the fight against terrorism,” the prime minister was quoted as saying in a statement released by his office.
“Our war against terrorists will continue until terrorism is completely eradicated from the country,” he added.
The official statement said the prime minister expressed deep sorrow over the killing of the police officer, adding that he condemned the incident.
Previously, he said the separatist groups operating in the southwest only wanted to “put an end to the journey of progress in Pakistan.”
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said last month that militant factions targeting his country were launching attacks from safe havens in neighboring Afghanistan, though Kabul denies the allegation.
So far, no group has claimed responsibility for the attack on police in Panjgur.
