Ex-PM Khan aide says party will hold Pakistan-wide protests against constitutional amendment

Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Ali Amin Gandapur (C) addresses a protest against the alleged skewing in Pakistan's national election, in Peshawar on March 10, 2024. (AFP/File)
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Updated 22 October 2024
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Ex-PM Khan aide says party will hold Pakistan-wide protests against constitutional amendment

  • Khan’s PTI party, legal fraternity say government’s amendment aims to curtail independence of judiciary 
  • Ali Amin Gandapur says “continuous” and “final” protest will continue till government is not sent packing

ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s close aide and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Tuesday said his party was planning to launch a “final” anti-government protest against the ruling coalition’s contentious constitutional amendments related to judicial reforms. 

Pakistan’s parliament passed the 26th amendment to the constitution on Sunday night with a two-thirds majority amid protests from the opposition and the country’s legal fraternity, who both allege the government intends to exercise power over key judicial appointments through them. Pakistan’s government denies the allegations, saying that the amendments establish the parliament’s supremacy and will enable speedy justice for the people. 

Khan’s party led protests in Punjab and Pakistan’s capital Islamabad against the constitutional amendments earlier this month. The protest triggered clashes with Pakistani police in Islamabad after authorities sealed off the capital’s main arteries with shipping containers, beefed up security and cut off mobile phone services. The clashes caused the death of one police constable and injuries to other cops. 

“This time we will make another final plan to protest which will be carried out across Pakistan,” Gandapur told reporters in the northwestern Peshawar city. “People will come forth from all over Pakistan and where they cannot advance [to Islamabad] due to restrictions, they will carry on the protest there, and will be joined by others.”

Without sharing any date for the protest, Gandapur said it would be a continuous one. 

“This protest will now continue till we do not rid ourselves of this government because it is now taking decisions for its selfish interests and not for 250 million people,” the chief minister said. 

PAKISTAN’S COMMITTEE TO NOMINATE TOP JUDGE

Pakistan’s National Assembly speaker on Tuesday formed a 12-member parliamentary committee, in line with the new constitutional amendment, to nominate the next chief justice from a panel of the three most senior judges of the apex court. The committee includes eight members from the treasury benches and four from the opposition, including PTI Chairman Gohar Ali Khan and Senator Ali Zafar. 

In a message to reporters, however, the party said its members will not participate in a meeting of the committee to pick the new chief justice. 

The committee has been formed to pick a new chief justice as Pakistan’s incumbent top judge, Justice Qazi Faez Isa, is set to retire on Friday. 

Khan’s PTI has accused Justice Isa of being aligned with the government and says the amendment was passed to grant him an extension in office. The government has rejected these allegations.

Under the previous law, Justice Isa would have been automatically replaced by the most senior judge behind him, currently Justice Mansoor Ali Shah, who has consistently issued verdicts deemed favorable to Khan and the PTI.

Sharif’s government has passed the bill, which it says ensures the parliament will not remain a rubber stamp one, in the wake of its tensions with the judiciary that have been on the rise since the February national election.

In July, Pakistan’s top court ruled that the country’s election commission was wrong to have sidelined Khan’s party in the election campaign by forcing its lawmakers to stand as independents due to a technical violation. It also awarded Khan’s party a handful of non-elected reserved parliamentary seats for women and religious minorities, which would give Khan’s party a majority in parliament, angering the government.

Khan, who was ousted from office after a parliamentary vote in April 2022, remains popular among the masses. He has since waged an unprecedented campaign of defiance against the country’s powerful military, which is thought to be aligned with the government. Khan has been languishing in prison since August 2023 after being convicted on several charges ranging from corruption to treason that he says are politically motivated. 


Pakistan closes pedestrian traffic at key Iran border crossings as Israel strikes escalate

Updated 15 June 2025
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Pakistan closes pedestrian traffic at key Iran border crossings as Israel strikes escalate

  • The closures affect the Taftan crossing in Chaghi district and the Gabd-Rimdan crossing in Gwadar district
  • Both are key rotes for cross-border movement, local trade in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

QUETTA: Pakistani authorities have closed two major border crossings with Iran for pedestrian traffic amid escalating cross-border strikes between Iran and Israel, officials in the southwestern Balochistan province said on Sunday.

The closures affect the Taftan crossing in Chaghi district and the Gabd-Rimdan crossing in Gwadar district, both key routes for cross-border movement and local trade between Balochistan and Iran. 

The Gabd-Rimdan border crossing is a point on the Iran-Pakistan border, specifically at “BP-250,” the second crossing along the 900-kilometer border between the two countries. The crossing facilitates trade and people-to-people contact between Iran and Pakistan.

“All kinds of pedestrian movement at the Gabd-Rimdan-250 border have been suspended due to the Iran-Israel conflict,” Jawad Ahmed Zehri, assistant commissioner for Gwadar, told Arab News.

Trade activity at the crossing would remain open and Pakistani citizens stranded in Iran would be allowed to return, he said, but no new entries into Iran would be permitted through this point until further notice.

In a separate order, authorities also closed the Taftan border crossing in Chaghi district for pedestrian traffic.

“We have closed pedestrian movements at the Taftan border until further notice,” said Naveed Ahmed, assistant commissioner for Taftan, adding that trade and customs operations from the crossing were continuing as usual.

The closures are expected to affect daily wage laborers, small-scale traders and local residents who depend on frequent cross-border movement for commerce, supplies and family visits.

Small items such as fruit, vegetables and household goods are commonly traded by hand or in small vehicles along these routes.

The closures come amid heightened tensions following Israeli strikes on Iranian cities since Friday with scores killed, including senior Iranian military commanders.

The bilateral trade volume between Pakistan and Iran reached $2.8 billion in the last fiscal year, which ended in June. Both countries have signed a memorandum of understanding with the aim of increasing this volume to $10 billion.

Iran also supplies about 100 megawatts of electricity to border towns in Balochistan.


Trump says can broker Iran‑Israel peace using trade as he did with India‑Pakistan

Updated 15 June 2025
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Trump says can broker Iran‑Israel peace using trade as he did with India‑Pakistan

  • Trump’s reference to India and Pakistan pertains to military confrontation which ended with US-facilitated ceasefire on May 10
  • Iranian officials report at least 138 people have been killed in Israel’s military onslaught since Friday, including 60 on Saturday

ISLAMABAD: US President Donald Trump said on Sunday he could use American trade leverage to broker a peace deal between Iran and Israel, drawing a parallel to his administration’s role in facilitating a ceasefire between India and Pakistan last month.

The renewed conflict saw Iran and Israel exchanging missile and drone strikes over the past three days.

Iranian officials report at least 138 people have been killed in Israel’s onslaught since Friday, including 60 on Saturday, half of them children, when a missile brought down a 14-story apartment block in Tehran. Israel has reported at least 13 deaths.

“Iran and Israel should make a deal, and will make a deal, just like I got India and Pakistan to make,” Trump wrote on Truth Social. “In that case by using TRADE with the United States to bring reason, cohesion, and sanity into the talks with two excellent leaders who were able to quickly make a decision and STOP!”

Trump’s reference to India and Pakistan pertains to a brief military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors in May, which ended with a US-facilitated ceasefire on May 10. Washington said trade and security assurances were key to the de-escalation.

He also cited other conflicts, between Serbia and Kosovo, and disputes over the Nile dam involving Egypt and Ethiopia, saying his interventions helped maintain peace “at least for now.”

“Likewise, we will have PEACE, soon, between Israel and Iran!” Trump added. “Many calls and meetings now taking place.”

Since Friday, Pakistan’s government has repeatedly pledged solidarity with Iran but urged its citizens to postpone travel to Iran and Iraq until the security situation improves. 

On Saturday, Islamabad issued a formal travel advisory asking Pakistanis to avoid travel to Iran “for a limited period” due to the Israeli attacks.

Pakistan has also condemned the Israeli strikes, calling them an unjustified violation of Iranian sovereignty, and has urged the international community to help de-escalate tensions through dialogue.


Two police officers killed, two wounded in ambush in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

Updated 15 June 2025
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Two police officers killed, two wounded in ambush in Pakistan’s Balochistan province

  • Attack, claimed by BRA separatists, took place late on Saturday in Sui, mountain town about 50km from Dera Bugti city
  • Police were ambushed after they had rushed to the area in two vehicles to respond to reports of a grenade explosion

QUETTA: Two police officers were killed and two others injured when gunmen ambushed a police patrol in Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province, officials said on Sunday. 

The attack took place late on Saturday in Sui, a mountainous town about 50km from Dera Bugti city where police had rushed to respond to reports of a grenade explosion.

Jalab Khan, station house officer at Sui Police, said officers were traveling in two vehicles when they were ambushed.

“Nearly a dozen armed men were hiding behind a large rock and attacked our vehicles with heavy gunfire, hand grenades and rocket-propelled grenades,” Khan told Arab News.

“Two policemen were killed on the spot and two sustained bullet wounds,” he said, adding that the attackers fled under the cover of darkness.

The Baloch Republican Army (BRA), an ethnic Baloch separatist group, claimed responsibility for the attack. The BRA has been involved in multiple attacks on security forces and gas infrastructure in Dera Bugti, one of Pakistan’s key natural gas-producing districts.

The group emerged after the killing of veteran Baloch nationalist leader Nawab Akbar Khan Bugti during a military operation in 2006.

Balochistan, which borders Afghanistan and Iran, is a mineral-rich region that is home to Beijing’s investment in the Gwadar deep water port and other projects. It is Pakistan’s largest province by size but smallest by population and the most impoverished. It has long been the site of a separatist insurgency by groups like the BRA, who are fighting for independence.

Pakistan accuses neighboring India and Afghanistan of supporting Baloch separatist militants, a claim they deny. Islamabad also says neighboring Iran does not do enough against militants operating on their shared border. 

“The slain policemen were local residents of Dera Bugti and their bodies have been handed over to families for burial,” said Atta Tareen, the district police officer for Dera Bugti.

A first information police report hasd been registered and Balochistan’s Counter Terrorism Department was leading the investigation, Tareen added.


Bitcoin pioneer Michael Saylor holds ‘landmark’ talks with Pakistan Crypto Council officials

Updated 15 June 2025
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Bitcoin pioneer Michael Saylor holds ‘landmark’ talks with Pakistan Crypto Council officials

  • Pakistan set up PCC in March to create legal framework for cryptocurrency trading in bid to lure international investment
  • Michael Saylor, bitcoin advocate and billionaire US business executive, speaks to Pakistani ministers for finance, crypto

KARACHI: Pakistani officials held a “landmark discussion” this week with Michael Saylor, bitcoin advocate and billionaire US business executive, on using digital currencies to strengthen Pakistan’s financial resilience and its digital economy, according to a statement released on Sunday. 

Pakistan set up the Pakistan Crypto Council (PCC) in March to create a legal framework for cryptocurrency trading in a bid to lure international investment. In April, Pakistan introduced its first-ever policy framework to set rules for how digital money like cryptocurrencies and the companies that deal in it should operate in Pakistan. The policy has been formulated to align with compliance and financial integrity guidelines of the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

Last month, the government approved setting up the Pakistan Virtual Assets Regulatory Authority (PVARA), a specialized regulatory body to oversee blockchain-based financial infrastructure, and separately also unveiled the country’s first government-led strategic bitcoin reserve at the Bitcoin 2025 conference in Las Vegas.

Talks this week between Saylor and Pakistan’s Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb and Minister of State for Crypto and Blockchain Bilal Bin Saqib focused on how bitcoin could be used as part of sovereign reserves and monetary policy.

“Pakistan aspires to lead the Global South in the development and adoption of digital assets, setting a benchmark for innovation, regulation, and inclusive growth in the digital economy,” Finance Minister Aurangzeb, who is the chairman of the PCC, was quoted as saying in a statement released by Saqib’s office.

Saylor, one of the world’s most prominent corporate bitcoin investors, welcomed Pakistan’s move to explore digital assets, the statement added.

“Pakistan has many brilliant people. It also has commitment and clarity needed by businesses globally … Bitcoin is the strongest asset for long-term national resilience,” Saylor said during the meeting, according to the statement, adding that emerging markets like Pakistan could benefit from early adoption of blockchain finance.

Saylor also reportedly praised Pakistan’s efforts to take a “forward-looking, innovation-friendly stance” in the global digital economy and welcomed the opportunity to advise and support ongoing developments in the country related to digital assets. 

Saylor’s company, Strategy, formerly MicroStrategy, is the world’s largest corporate holder of bitcoin, reportedly holding about 582,000 BTC valued at over $62 billion as of June 2025. The company’s market capitalization has risen from $1.2 billion to over $105 billion since it adopted bitcoin as a core asset in 2020.


Pakistan forms committee to tackle possible economic fallout of Israel-Iran conflict — adviser

Updated 15 June 2025
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Pakistan forms committee to tackle possible economic fallout of Israel-Iran conflict — adviser

  • Oil prices jump 7 percent on fears of disrupted Middle East exports
  • Analysts warn of economic and security risks for Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif has formed a high-level committee led by the finance minister to monitor any possible economic impact of the escalating conflict between Israel and Iran, a senior government adviser said on Sunday, as rising oil prices threaten to add new pressure on the South Asian nation’s fragile economy.

Oil prices have climbed about 7 percent since Friday, with Brent crude closing at $74.23 a barrel after hitting a session high of $78.50, amid fears of supply disruptions if Middle East tensions escalate further.

“The prime minister has constituted a committee under the supervision of the finance minister, which will monitor the situation,” Khurram Schehzad, an adviser at the finance ministry, told Arab News.

“The committee will assess the impact of the changes and volatility in oil prices on fiscal and external sides, and devise a strategy to pacify the impacts on Pakistan’s economy.”

Pakistan relies heavily on imported oil, and any sustained spike in prices could widen its current account deficit and push inflation higher at a time when the country is struggling with low foreign reserves and slow growth.

Israel and Iran launched fresh attacks on each other overnight into Sunday, killing scores. The conflict started on Friday when Israel launched a massive wave of attacks targeting Iranian nuclear and military facilities but also hitting residential areas, sparking retaliation and fears of a broader regional conflict.

A 909 kilometer (565 mile) long international boundary separates Iran’s southeastern Sistan-Baluchestan province from Pakistan’s southwestern Balochistan province. 

“Israel-Iran conflict presents complex challenges for Pakistan as rising oil prices may increase import costs and inflation, influencing monetary policy and growth, while disruptions to key routes like the Strait of Hormuz can affect energy supplies and critical projects,” said Khaqan Najeeb, an economist and former finance ministry adviser.

“It can potentially affect consumer purchasing power and production costs ... Possible disruptions to shipping routes and higher freight charges might result in delays to imports and exports, thereby exerting additional pressure on Pakistan’s external sector.”

DIPLOMATIC BALANCING

As the crisis deepens, analysts widely believe Islamabad should maintain “careful diplomatic balancing” between its ties with Iran and its other partners in the Gulf, as well as the United States.

“Diplomatically, Pakistan has to navigate a balanced and principled stance, honoring its historic ties with Iran alongside its strategic relationships with the US and Gulf partners, emphasizing dialogue and regional stability.”

Former Defense Secretary Lt Gen (retired) Naeem Lodhi said Israel was unlikely to target Pakistan directly but an expanding conflict could complicate matters for Islamabad, adding that it should remain vigilant but avoid “deeper” involvement.

“If the war expands to include more Middle Eastern countries, some of which are friendly to Pakistan, then it would be a difficult proposition for Islamabad... whose side it takes,” Lodhi added. 

Former Foreign Secretary Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry said Pakistan would respond “forcefully” if directly targeted.

“Israel knows that Pakistan has the capacity to hit back hard,” Chaudhry said, referring to a May 2025 military confrontation with India in which Islamabad retaliated to New Delhi’s strikes, taking down fighter jets and hitting airfields, air bases and other military facilities.

Pakistan’s former ambassador to Iran, Asif Durrani, warned that the crisis could spill over if not contained.

“Not only Pakistan, but the entire Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region can be engulfed if the ongoing spat between Israel and Iran turns into an all-out war,” Durrani said.

However, he said the likelihood of a refugee crisis was limited unless the conflict escalated into a ground invasion.

“A refugee influx is possible if it becomes a full-fledged war, but Israel or the United States are unlikely to commit boots on the ground in Iran,” Durrani added. 

Qamar Cheema, executive director of the Sanober Institute think tank, said Pakistani security forces should increase patrols and surveillance in border districts as the conflict could impact militant groups operating along the Iran-Pakistan border region, such as Baloch separatists and other sectarian outfits.

“Whenever such a situation arises, separatist and sectarian outfits often try to take advantage of it, either by increasing their activities or by shifting them from their hideouts inside Iranian territories,” he said. 

“Their movement is likely to intensify if the threat reaches the border region.”