Hundreds gather in southern Pakistan for rare protest against killing of doctor over ‘blasphemy’

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Updated 25 September 2024
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Hundreds gather in southern Pakistan for rare protest against killing of doctor over ‘blasphemy’

  • Dr. Shahnawaz Kanbhar was killed in alleged police shootout last week in southern Umerkot district
  • Protesters demand transparent inquiry, arrest of the police officers responsible for doctor’s killing 

KARACHI: Hundreds of civil society activists and residents of Pakistan’s southern Sindh province on Wednesday protested against the killing of a doctor allegedly by police after he was accused of blasphemy, demanding a transparent inquiry into the incident and action against the culprits. 

Dr. Shahnawaz Kanbhar, accused of sharing blasphemous content online, was arrested last Wednesday in Umerkot district and killed hours later by police in a purported shootout. According to a report in the Associated Press, police said Dr. Kanbhar was killed unintentionally when police asked two men on a motorcycle to stop but one of them opened fire, prompting them to shoot back. Police said it was only after the shooting that they learned the slain man was the doctor being sought by them for alleged blasphemy. 

His family disputes the police account, claiming he was murdered in custody. The incident has sparked widespread condemnation from Pakistani rights activists, who have demanded a transparent investigation.

Accusations of blasphemy — sometimes even just rumors — can spark riots and mob rampages in Pakistan. Although killings of blasphemy suspects by mobs are common, extra-judicial killings by police are rare.

“Today’s protest is purely to arrest the killers of Shahnawaz Kanbhar and punish them,” rights activist Kazwa Nawaz Asif told Arab News during a demonstration attended by hundreds at Umerkot. The protest was held in front of the district’s press club. 

Asif said the protest also aimed to prevent such incidents from occurring again in the future.

The Sindh government last week suspended ten officers, including a deputy inspector general of police and registered a case against 34 suspects, out of which 15 were not identified, for burning Dr. Kanbhar’s body. 

Suleman Rahimoo, another activist, questioned the government’s decision to conduct an inquiry against a deputy inspector of general police by another officer of the same rank, pointing out that he was his colleague. 

“This is why we believe that a judicial inquiry should be carried out,” Rahimoo told Arab News.

Rights activist Sindhu Nawaz said the doctor had pleaded for an opportunity to explain his position, asserting that he was not the one using the account that posted the blasphemous content online.

“But he was killed overnight by the police officials and the body was handed over to fanatics who burnt it,” she said. 

Nawaz said Sindh is known as a land where love, peace and interfaith harmony exists. 

“To uphold this identity, we felt it was necessary to hold a protest in Umerkot because Umerkot is the land where during Eid, our Hindu brothers congratulate Muslims and when Holi is celebrated, the same Muslims celebrate with them,” she said. 

Nawaz vowed that the protest would continue until the officers responsible for killing Dr. Kanbhar are arrested and a judicial inquiry into the matter is conducted.

“This is our Sindh and we will continue to fight to restore this identity,” Nawaz said. 

Dr. Kanbhar’s killing marks the second such incident in recent weeks. Earlier this month, a police officer in Balochistan province killed a blasphemy suspect in custody, highlighting the grave dangers faced by persons accused of blasphemy in Pakistan.

Human rights groups and civil society organizations have urged the Pakistani government to repeal the country’s blasphemy laws, which they argue contribute to discrimination and violence. They have also called for a comprehensive review of law enforcers’ response to blasphemy accusations.


From Nigeria to Pakistan, TB testing ‘in a coma’ after US aid cuts

Updated 03 June 2025
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From Nigeria to Pakistan, TB testing ‘in a coma’ after US aid cuts

  • President Trump’s gutting of the USAID has also stalled vital research in South Africa and left TB survivors lacking support in India
  • WHO says ‘the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding’ threaten to reverse the gains made by global efforts to fight the disease

LAGOS/JOHANNESBURG/MANILA: At a tense meeting in Nigeria’s capital Abuja, health workers poured over drug registers and testing records to gauge whether US aid cuts would unravel years of painstaking work against tuberculosis in one of Africa’s hardest hit countries.

For several days in May, they brainstormed ways to limit the fallout from a halt to US funding for the TB Local Network (TB LON), which delivers screening, diagnosis and treatment.

“To tackle the spread of TB, you must identify cases and that is in a coma because of the aid cuts,” said Ibrahim Umoru, coordinator of the African TB Coalition civil society network, who was at the Abuja meeting.

“This means more cases will be missed and disaster is looming.”

This desperate struggle to save endangered programs is being replicated from the Philippines to South Africa as experts warn that US aid cuts risk reviving a deadly infectious disease that kills around one million people every year.

President Donald Trump’s gutting of the US Agency for International Development has put TB testing and tracing on hold in Pakistan and Nigeria, stalled vital research in South Africa and left TB survivors lacking support in India.

The World Health Organization says “the drastic and abrupt cuts in global health funding” threaten to reverse the gains made by global efforts to fight the disease — namely 79 million lives saved since 2000 — with rising drug resistance and conflicts exacerbating the risks.

In Nigeria, TB LON is in the firing line.

The project was set up in 2020, during Trump’s first term, and received $45 million worth of funding from USAID. The US development agency said at the time it was committed to a “TB free Nigeria.”

Five years later and with the same president back in charge but now with a more radical “America first” agenda, USAID support for TB LON’s community testing work was terminated in February, according to a TB LON official. The official did not want to be named because he was not authorized to speak on behalf of the project.

HARD WORK IN JEOPARDY’
TB kills 268 Nigerians every day and cases have historically been under-reported increasing the risk of transmission. If one case is missed, that person can transmit TB to 15 people over a year, according to the World Health Organization.

The Thomson Reuters Foundation spoke to half a dozen health workers who collect TB test samples for TB LON but had stopped doing so in January due to the US aid freeze.

Between 2020-2024, TB LON screened around 20 million people in southwestern states in Nigeria, and more than 100,000 patients were treated as a result.

“All that hard work is in jeopardy if we don’t act quickly,” Umoru said, adding that non-profits working with TB LON had laid off more than 1,000 contract workers who used to do TB screening.

Nigeria’s health ministry did not respond to request for comment on the effect of the USAID cuts on TB programs.

In March, First Lady Oluremi Tinubu declared TB a national emergency and donated 1 billion naira ($630,680) to efforts to eradicate the disease by 2030.

In South Africa, medical charity Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) said TB and HIV programs had been disrupted across the country, making patient tracking and testing more difficult, according to a statement sent to the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

South Africa had a TB incidence rate of 427 per 100,000 people in 2023, government data showed, down 57 percent from 2015. TB-related deaths in South Africa dropped 16 percent over that period, the data showed.

Minister of Health Aaron Motsoaledi said in May that the government would launch an End TB campaign to screen and test 5 million people, and was also seeking new donor funding.

“Under no circumstances will we allow this massive work performed over a period of more than a decade and half to collapse and go up in smoke,” he said at the time, referring to efforts to tackle TB and HIV.

BLOW TO CRITICAL RESEARCH

South Africa is also a hub for research into both TB and HIV and the health experts say funding cuts risk derailing this vital work.

The Treatment Action Group (TAG), a community-based research and policy think tank, says around 39 clinical research sites and at least 20 TB trials and 24 HIV trials are at risk.

“Every major TB treatment and vaccine advance in the past two decades has relied on research carried out in South Africa,” said TAG TB project co-director Lindsay McKenna in a March statement.

People struggling with poor nutrition and those living with HIV — the latter affects 8 million people in South Africa — were also more at risk of contracting TB as aid cuts made them more vulnerable by derailing nutrition programs, community outreach and testing, said Cathy Hewison, head of MSF’s TB working group.

“It’s the number one killer of people with HIV,” she said.

In the Philippines, US cuts have disrupted TB testing in four USAID-funded projects, and affected the supply of drugs, Stop TB Partnership, a UN-funded agency said.

“The country has a nationwide problem with recurrent drug shortages, which is leading to a direct impact on efforts to eliminate TB,” said Ghazali Babiker, head of mission for MSF Philippines.

In Pakistan, which sees 510,000 TB infections each year, MSF said US cuts had disrupted TB screening in communities and other services in the hard-hit southeastern province of Sindh.

“We are worried that the US funding cuts that have impacted the community-based services will have a disproportionate effect on children, leading to more children with TB and more avoidable deaths,” said Ei Hnin Hnin Phyu, medical coordinator with MSF in Pakistan.

“We cannot afford to let funding decisions cost children’s lives.”


Pakistani delegation urges US, OIC states to play role for ‘comprehensive dialogue’ with India

Updated 03 June 2025
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Pakistani delegation urges US, OIC states to play role for ‘comprehensive dialogue’ with India

  • Tensions between neighbors Pakistan, India remain high despite the two countries agreeing to a ceasefire on May 10
  • A Pakistani delegation is currently visiting key capitals to present Islamabad’s stance on recent conflict with India

ISLAMABAD: A high-level Pakistani delegation, set up by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, has urged the United States (US) and the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) envoys at the United Nations to play their role for the resumption of a “comprehensive dialogue” between Pakistan and India to resolve the Kashmir dispute and other issues, Pakistan’s mission to the UN and state media said on Tuesday.

Led by former foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, the nine-member parliamentary delegation arrived in New York on Monday as the first stop in a diplomatic mission to present Pakistan’s position in world capitals following Islamabad’s recent military conflict with India. The group headed by Bhutto-Zardari will visit New York, Washington DC, London and Brussels. Another delegation, led by Special Assistant to the Prime Minister Syed Tariq Fatemi, will also visit Moscow.

Tensions between Pakistan and India are high after they struck a ceasefire on May 10 following the most intense military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in decades. Both countries accuse the other of supporting militancy on each other’s soil — a charge both capitals deny.

The latest escalation last month took place following weeks of tensions after India blamed Pakistan for supporting an April 22 attack on the Kashmir territory it governs that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement in the incident and called for an international probe. Both countries traded missiles, artillery fire and drone strikes before Washington brokered a ceasefire on May 10.

” Bhutto-Zardari has urged the US to play its role in ensuring comprehensive dialogue between Pakistan and India to address all outstanding issues,” the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported after the Pakistani delegates’ meeting with US Acting Permanent Representative to the UN Ambassador Dorothy Shea in New York.

Bhutto-Zardari briefed Ambassador Shea on the developments following the April 22 attack, expressing deep concern over India’s immediate attribution of blame to Pakistan without any “credible investigation or verifiable evidence.”

“Such premature and baseless allegations exacerbate tensions and undermine prospects for constructive dialogue and peace,” he was quoted as saying.

On Monday, the Pakistani delegates held a meeting with OIC envoys at the UN, wherein they reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to peace, restraint, and diplomacy, and called for the restoration of the Indus Waters Treaty by India, full respect for the ceasefire, and the resumption of a “comprehensive dialogue, with the resolution of the Jammu and Kashmir dispute at its core,” Pakistan’s Permanent Mission to the UN said.

India suspended the decades-old Indus Waters Treaty with Pakistan a day after the attack at the Pahalgam resort town. The move drew a sharp response from Islamabad, which said any attempts to divert or stop the flow of its waters by India would be considered an “act of war.”

About 80 percent of Pakistani farms depend on the Indus system, as do nearly all hydropower projects serving the country of some 250 million.

“Bhutto-Zardari expressed grave concern at the unilateral suspension of the Indus Waters Treaty — a move that Pakistan considers a blatant act of weaponizing water and a violation of international and treaty obligations,” the Pakistani mission said.

The former Pakistani foreign minister thanked OIC countries for their efforts and role aimed at de-escalation, mediation and ceasefire during the conflict. He highlighted that the only path to peace was in dialogue, engagement and diplomacy.

“OIC has emerged as the moral conscience of the world in these difficult times,” Bhutto-Zardari said, thanking the OIC member states for their steadfast support for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The statement said that the OIC’s permanent representatives appreciated Pakistan’s briefing and reaffirmed their solidarity with the country.

“They reiterated their concern over the worsening security situation in South Asia and stressed the importance of upholding the principles of the UN Charter and international law and in this regard, the sanctity of treaties, including the Indus Waters Treaty,” Pakistan’s UN mission said.

The Pakistani delegation also met Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, president of the UN Security Council for June, according to a statement issued by Bhutto-Zardari party.

“The Pakistani delegation stressed that in the face of a growing trend of unilateralism and escalation, the Security Council must play its crucial role to ensure peace and conflict resolution,” it said.

The delegation urged the Security Council to play a “proactive role” in promoting de-escalation, ensuring respect for international law and treaties and facilitating peaceful resolution of disputes.

The statement said Birkett reaffirmed the Security Council’s commitment to upholding international peace and security in line with its mandate.

Bitter rivals India and Pakistan have fought three wars, including two of them over the disputed region of Kashmir, since gaining independence from British rule in 1947. Both claim the Himalayan territory in its entirety but rule it in part.


Pakistan stock market hits record high on ADB funding boost, insurance sector buying

Updated 03 June 2025
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Pakistan stock market hits record high on ADB funding boost, insurance sector buying

  • The benchmark KSE-100 index gained 1,573.07 points, or 1.32 percent, during Tuesday’s trading
  • Anticipated relief for oil refineries, real estate and agri sectors played catalyst role, analysts say

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) surged to an all-time high of more than 120,000 points on Tuesday, with analysts attributing the rally to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) financing package for Pakistan and strong buying by insurance companies in banking, fertilizer and power sectors.

The benchmark KSE-100 index closed at an unprecedented high of 120,450.87 points, marking a gain of 1,573.07 points, or 1.32 percent, from the previous day’s close of 118,877.80.

The development follows the ADB’s approval of an $800 million package to help Pakistan enhance fiscal reforms and economic stability, alongside the government’s approval of over Rs800 billion for public sector development projects in the upcoming budget.

“Stocks closed all time high led by scrips across the board after ADB approval of $800 million financing package,” Ahsan Mehanti, CEO of Arif Habib Commodities, told Arab News.

“Government set FY26 growth target at 4.2percent and government approval for Rs880 billion PSDP in the federal budget FY26 announcements next week.”

Mehanti said the anticipated budgetary relief for oil refineries, real estate and agriculture sectors, along with gains in rupee’s value, played a catalytic role in the bullish close at the PSX.

Raza Jafri, head of Intermarket Securities, said this was the first time the KSE-100 Index has ever closed above the 120,000-point mark.

“Strong buying by insurance companies in sectors such as banks, fertilizers and power led the market higher,” he said.

The budget for fiscal year 2025–26 is expected to be presented in Pakistan’s lower house of parliament on June 10, following the Eid Al-Adha holidays.

Pakistan’s annual inflation rate rose to 3.5 percent in May, though the country’s macroeconomic outlook has improved in recent months, supported by a stronger current account balance, increased remittances and declining inflation.

Authorities remain cautious as they aim to build on recent economic stabilization, guide the country toward gradual growth, and reaffirm their commitment to ongoing economic reforms.


Russia urges normal India-Pakistan ties, eyes deeper counterterrorism cooperation with Islamabad

Updated 03 June 2025
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Russia urges normal India-Pakistan ties, eyes deeper counterterrorism cooperation with Islamabad

  • Senior Pakistani official Syed Tariq Fatemi briefs Russia’s Sergey Lavrov on India standoff during Moscow visit
  • The Russian foreign minister expressed satisfaction over growing ties, including cooperation on new steel mills

ISLAMABAD: Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday called for normal relations between India and Pakistan and expressed interest in closer counterterrorism cooperation with Islamabad during a meeting with a senior aide of Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif in Moscow.

The meeting came as Syed Tariq Fatemi, special assistant to the prime minister, began a visit to Russia weeks after India and Pakistan exchanged missiles, drones and artillery fire, following heightened tensions that ended with a US-brokered ceasefire on May 10.

Pakistan has since call for a “composite dialogue” with India to discuss all outstanding issues, though New Delhi has rejected direct talks after Washington said the two countries had agreed to meet at a neutral venue to defuse tensions.

Both sides have also formed delegations to present their respective positions over the conflict to the international community.

“At the outset of his visit to the Russian Federation, Syed Tariq Fatemi, Special Assistant to the Prime Minister (SAPM) called on Sergey Lavrov, Russian Foreign Minister, this afternoon,” Pakistan’s embassy in Moscow said in a statement. “He also briefed the Russian Foreign Minister, in detail, about the recent developments in South Asia, conveying Pakistan’s perspective on the dangers of escalation as well as the dire consequences of India’s threat to reduce the flow of the Indus Waters Treaty, by holding the Treaty in a so-called ‘abeyance.’”

“Foreign Minister Lavrov stressed Russia’s support for promotion of normal relations between the two countries and its positive effect in the region,” the statement added.

Fatemi also delivered a letter from Prime Minister Sharif to President Vladimir Putin and conveyed Pakistan’s desire to expand cooperation with Russia in areas including energy, trade and connectivity.

Lavrov, for his part, expressed satisfaction over the “steadily growing bilateral cooperation” and cited specific initiatives, including new steel mills and connectivity projects.

“He [Lavrov] also stated that Russia looked forward to working closely with Pakistan, within the framework of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), especially in the field of counter-terrorism,” the embassy said.

Russia and Pakistan have strengthened ties in recent years through growing bilateral cooperation, particularly in energy, and by working together on regional platforms such as the SCO, where both are full members.


Pakistan launches cybercrime helpline seeking swift action on complaints

Updated 03 June 2025
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Pakistan launches cybercrime helpline seeking swift action on complaints

  • The development comes as Pakistani authorities announce busting a child sexual abuse ring in Azad Kashmir’s Muzaffarabad
  • Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi urges the use of advanced technology, software and hardware to fight crime in digital realm

ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday launched a cybercrime helpline, 1799, that aims to ensure swift resolution of complaints, Pakistani state media reported.

The development came during Naqvi’s visit to the headquarters of the National Cyber Crimes Investigation Agency (NCCIA), which was established earlier this year, the APP news agency reported.

The minister toured various departments, including the helpline center, forensic lab and network security section, and appreciated the staff for their efforts to combat cybercrime.

“The helpline is now fully operational, and citizens can lodge cybercrime complaints by calling 1799,” the interior minister was quoted as saying.

Pakistan transformed the Cybercrime Wing of its Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) into an autonomous organization and named it the NCCIA in April. It followed the introduction of a new law to regulate social media content, with journalist groups and rights activists saying it was aimed at curbing press freedom and dissent on social media.

Enacted in 2016 and further tightened with amendments this January, the Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) was drafted with the stated aim to combat cybercrimes such as hacking, online harassment, and data breaches. Pakistani officials defended the PECA law, under which offenders can be handed prison sentences of up to three years and fines of Rs2 million ($7,200).

Naqvi directed NCCIA officials to ensure quick resolution of all complaints, saying the agency was established to meet the demands of the modern digital era, according to the report.

He emphasized the need for the use of advanced technology, software and hardware to fight cybercrime effectively and stressed the need to hire talented staff and equiping them with all necessary resources.

The development came as authorities announced busting a child sexual abuse ring, allegedly run by a German national, in Azad Kashmir’s capital of Muzaffarabad.

“A state-of-the-art facility was formed with modern cameras and over there, children from poor families were exploited by giving money first and then blackmailing,” State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said at a presser on Tuesday.

“Their videos were sold on the dark web.”

The NCCIA busted the ring in a five-hour operation on May 23 and arrested two suspects, according to the minister. Ten kids were also found at the facility, of which six were sent to the Child Protection Bureau.

“The German man used to facilitate and sell this [content],” Chaudhry said, without disclosing the identity of the suspect. “We are trying to reach him legally.”

Child sexual abuse has been a widespread issue in Pakistan, where perpetrators are often family members, teachers or trusted people. Poverty, lack of education and societal attitudes contribute to the problem. While laws exist, their implementation remains a challenge. Various NGOs are also working to raise awareness about the issue and support survivors.