ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani journalist, who was arrested after coverage of last week’s anti-government protests in Islamabad, on Sunday denied “fabricated” charges against him, a day after his release in a terrorism and narcotics case.
Matiullah Jan, a broadcaster working with Neo TV, was “picked up” from outside a hospital in Islamabad on Wednesday, where he was investigating alleged fatalities during the recent protests in support of jailed ex-premier Imran Khan, according to his son.
The police report registered against Jan included Code of Criminal Procedure’s Sections 279 (rash driving or riding on a public way), 353 (assault or criminal force to deter public servant from discharge of duty), 382 (theft after preparation made for causing death, hurt or restraint in order to the committing of the theft), 427 (mischief causing damage), 506 (criminal intimidation) along with 7ATA (terrorism-related section) and a narcotics-related section.
On Saturday, an anti-terrorism court judge, Tahir Abbas Sipra, who presided over the hearing of Jan’s bail petition, approved the plea against surety bonds worth Rs10,000 ($36), following which he was released from custody.
“Allah Almighty has been very kind to me once again. I am back home safe and sound,” Jan said on X. “I want to completely deny the false and fabricated charges brought against me by the government.”
Jan has a history of criticizing Pakistan’s government and the country’s powerful military establishment. He was also briefly detained by uniformed men during Imran Khan’s tenure in 2020.
He thanked his lawyers, journalists, politicians, members of the civil society as well as the diplomatic community for standing by him and a timely response to ensure safety and security of journalists in Pakistan.
Successive Pakistan governments have often been criticized by rights monitors for using broad anti-terrorism legislation to quash dissent.
Islamabad witnessed a protest march by Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters, who faced a major government crackdown in which nearly a thousand political activists were arrested during three days of unrest this week.
Jan was investigating the aftermath of the crackdown on PTI workers when, according to his family, he was taken away by people in unmarked vehicles hours before the police announced his arrest.
Amnesty International has criticized Pakistani security forces for using “unlawful and excessive force” on crowds, but Information Minister Attaullah Tarar told reporters on Wednesday that the PTI was “lying” about it, as its leaders claimed their followers had been killed.
Khan’s party has so far named 12 people, claiming it has evidence they lost their lives during the crackdown in the federal capital and demanding the judiciary take notice and hold top government ministers accountable.
Pakistani journalist, arrested after coverage of anti-government protests, denies ‘fabricated’ charges
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Pakistani journalist, arrested after coverage of anti-government protests, denies ‘fabricated’ charges
- Matiullah Jan was booked in a terrorism and narcotics case after being arrested from outside a hospital in Islamabad
- Jan thanks his lawyers, journalists and the civil society as well as the diplomatic community for standing by him
Authorities broker second ceasefire between warring Shiite, Sunni tribes in Pakistan’s northwest
- The violence in Kurram district erupted after gunmen attacked a convoy of vehicles carrying mostly Shiites, killing 52 people on Nov.21
- Some Shiites, after burying the victims, launched attacks on Sunni Muslims and clashes ensued, killing 78 people and wounding 200 others
PESHAWAR: Pakistani authorities with help from community leaders brokered a second ceasefire between warring minority Shiites and Sunni Muslims in a troubled northwestern region bordering Afghanistan following a deadly sectarian violence that left dozens of people dead, officials said Monday.
The violence in Kurram, a district in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, erupted after gunmen attacked a convoy of vehicles carrying mostly Shiites, killing 52 people on Nov.21. Though nobody claimed the assault, some Shiites, after burying the victims, launched attacks on Sunni Muslims and clashes ensued, killing 78 people and wounding 200 others.
A ceasefire was reached on Nov. 24, but didn’t last long before violence flared up again. This time, authorities are hopeful it will hold.
Javed Ullah Mehsud, the deputy commissioner of Kurram, said tribal leaders helped negotiate the respite Sunday night and that police have been deployed to ensure peace in the area.
Shiite Muslims make up about 15 percent of the 240 million people in Sunni-majority Pakistan, which has a history of sectarian animosity between the communities.
Shiites dominate parts of the Kurram district. Though Shiites and Sunnis generally live in peace there, land disputes have led to sectarian violence in recent months.
Pakistan PM congratulates UAE leadership and people on 53rd National Day
- The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States, and a major source of foreign investment
- PM Sharif says Pakistan will keep striving to further strengthen ties with the UAE to transform them into an economic partnership
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday congratulated the leadership and the people of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on its 53rd National Day, hoping to further strengthen fraternal Pakistan-UAE ties into an economic partnership.
The UAE is Pakistan’s third-largest trading partner after China and the United States, and a major source of foreign investment, valued at over $10 billion in the last 20 years, according to the UAE foreign ministry. It is also home to more than a million Pakistani expatriates.
Policymakers in Pakistan also consider the Gulf country an optimal export destination due to its geographical proximity, which minimizes transportation and freight costs while facilitating commercial transactions.
In a message on X, PM Sharif extended his heartiest felicitations to the leadership and the people of the UAE, saying Pakistan was proud of the Gulf nation’s “remarkable journey of progress and prosperity.”
“Pakistan has always remained a steadfast brother and partner of the UAE,” he said. “Together, we will continue to strive to further strengthen our historical and fraternal ties and transform them into a mutually beneficial economic partnership. Long live Pakistan-UAE friendship!“
He said the UAE was founded on the wisdom and sagacity of the late former president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan and today that vision to achieve excellence through innovation and modernization was carried forward by UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan and Prime Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al-Maktoum.
The UAE-Pakistan trade volume rose to $7.9 billion in 2023, up 12 percent from 2022. In May this year, PM Sharif said the Emirates had committed $10 billion to invest in promising economic sectors in Pakistan.
The Pakistan Business Council (PBC), set up this September at the Sharjah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, also aims to increase Pakistan’s bilateral trade volume with the UAE to $40 billion in three years.
Pakistan offers support to Malaysia after floods displace over 122,000
- The number even surpassed the 118,000 evacuated during one of Malaysia’s worst floodings in 2014
- Both countries agree to encourage the two relief authorities to hold discussions on support from Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, on Sunday telephoned Malaysian Foreign Minister Hajji Mohamad bin Hajji and offered Islamabad’s assistance following the evacuation of more than 122,000 people due to recent floods in Malaysia, the Pakistani foreign ministry said.
The massive floods, caused by relentless rains, swept through Malaysia’s northern states, killing at least four people, according to Malaysian disaster management officials.
The number surpassed the 118,000 evacuated during one of the country’s worst floodings in 2014, and officials feared it could rise further as there was no let-up in torrential downpours.
During the telephonic conversation, Dar offered his deepest sympathies on the tragic loss of lives and property in Malaysia, according to the Pakistani foreign ministry.
“He conveyed Pakistan’s full solidarity with the people of Malaysia and the readiness to extend immediate humanitarian assistance to Malaysia in this difficult time,” the Pakistani ministry said in a statement.
“The two ministers also agreed to encourage the disaster relief authorities of the two countries to continue discussions on humanitarian support from Pakistan.”
Pakistan and Malaysia enjoy a strong bilateral relationship, rooted in shared Islamic values and historical ties.
Since 1957, they’ve fostered economic cooperation, defense collaborations, and cultural exchange. The Pakistan-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement of 2008 boosted trade and investment, while regular high-level visits have solidified their partnership, underpinned by mutual respect and trust.
Pakistan Deputy PM to leave for Iran today to attend ECO meeting
- Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite a number of commercial agreements
- In January, both countries came to the brink of war after cross-border strikes on militant hideouts
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deputy prime minister and foreign minister, Ishaq Dar, will leave for Iran today, Monday, on a two-day official visit to attend the 28th meeting of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Council of Ministers, according to the Pakistani Foreign Office.
Pakistan and Iran have had a history of rocky relations despite a number of commercial pacts. In 2004, both countries signed the $7 billion Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project agreement but 20 years on, the project remains incomplete.
Tehran has completed the gas pipeline’s construction on its side of the border while Pakistan is seeking a United States (US) waiver to go ahead with it due to international sanctions targeting Iran.
In his address with the ECO meeting in Mashhad, Dar would highlight the potential of greater connectivity in the ECO region, according to Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch.
“Deputy PM will reiterate Pakistan’s commitment to the ECO charter and highlight the potential of greater connectivity in the ECO region to development of road and rail networks, liberalization of visa regimes, simplification of border procedures and to maintain sustainable growth and enhance geo-economic potential of the ECO region,” Baloch said at a press briefing last week.
“Deputy PM will sign the charter for ECO clean energy center and hold bilateral meetings with participating ministers and other dignitaries on the sidelines.”
Dar would also reiterate Pakistan’s concerns over hostilities in the Middle East that endanger peace and security of the region.
Dar’s visit comes weeks after Iranian FM Seyed Abbas Araghchi’s two-day visit to Islamabad to hold consultations with the Pakistani leadership on the Middle East situation following Israel’s invasion of Gaza and Lebanon, and to discuss bilateral ties with Pakistan.
Despite several agreements between them, Pakistan and Iran have often been at odds over instability along their shared, porous border and routinely trade blame for not rooting out militancy. Tensions surged in January when Pakistan and Iran exchanged airstrikes, both claiming to target alleged militant hideouts in each other’s territory.
Late Iranian president Ebrahim Raisi had later traveled to Pakistan on a three-day visit in April to ease tensions and strengthen bilateral relations. The two sides had also signed memorandums of understanding in the fields of trade, science technology, agriculture, health, culture, and judicial matters.
Pakistan forms task force to identify those involved in ‘propaganda’ over Islamabad protests
- Ex-PM Imran Khan’s party last week led supporters to Islamabad, resulting in clashes with law enforcers at several locations
- The government says the campaign against it aims to create law and order situation, foment provincialism and ethnic cleavages
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistani government has formed a joint task force to identify the one involved in “propaganda against the state,” following last week’s violent protests in Islamabad by supporters of former prime minister Imran Khan.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Nov. 24 led thousands of supporters to Islamabad, seeking to pressure the government to release the ex-premier from jail. The protests resulted in clashes that Pakistan’s government says killed three paramilitary soldiers and a police officer, and injured hundreds of others. The PTI has named 12 people and says it has evidence they lost their lives during the crackdown, however, several PTI members have given varied accounts of casualties during the protests. Pakistani authorities deny the claims.
The Pakistani interior ministry said on Sunday said it would hold social media users accountable for propagating “fake” deaths during the anti-government protests, reiterating that law enforcers deployed to disperse violent protesters did not have live ammunition. It said the army, deployed under Article 245 of the constitution to secure key government installations and foreign diplomats in Islamabad’s Red Zone, neither came in direct clash with the protesters, nor was it employed for riot control.
In a notification issued late Sunday, PM Shehbaz Sharif’s office said the “malicious campaign” was aimed at discrediting the state in general and security forces in particular, for which multiple local and foreign media platforms were being used to “perpetrate concocted, baseless and inciting news” implicating the state apparatus for committing serious human rights violations.
“This campaign is aimed at creating serious law and order situation in the country and foment provincialism and ethnic cleavages for specific vested political interests. To attract foreign audience, perpetrators of this inimical campaign attempted to create serious human rights violations through fictitious violent images and contents,” it said.
“The prime minister has desired to form a joint task force (JTF) to inquire and pursue defaulters.”
The task force will include officials from the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority, ministries of information technology, interior and information and broadcasting, police and the Federal Investigation Agency as well as civilian and military intelligence agencies, according to the notification.
It will identify individuals, groups and organizations involved in creating and spreading “fake and misleading news” relating to the Islamabad protests, track and trace individuals and groups in the malicious campaign both in Pakistan and abroad, and bring them to justice. The task force will also suggest measures to bridge policy gaps and share its findings with the government within 10 days.
Khan’s PTI party has staged several protests this year to demand the release of the ex-premier, who has been in jail since August last year on a slew of charges, as well as to challenge results of the Feb. 8 national election, which it says were manipulated to keep the party from coming to power in the country. The Pakistani government and election authorities deny this.
Last week’s protest was by far the largest to grip the capital since the poll and the Pakistani government said it caused Rs192 billion per day indirect losses to the economy.
