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Ramadan
Pakistan saw the highest number of militant attacks during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan in a decade, a think tank reported Monday. Some militant groups previously paused hostilities for Ramadan, but the country has seen an overall increase in violence in recent years. The Pak Institute for Peace Studies reported at least 84 attacks during Ramadan, which ended Sunday in Pakistan. It reported 26 attacks during last year's Ramadan. The Pakistani Taliban unilaterally ended a ceasefire with the government in November 2022, while the Baloch Liberation Army has developed its capabilities to stage elaborate attacks. Both have contributed to the rise in violence. The outlawed BLA was behind a train hijacking on March 11 in the southwest province of Balochistan that killed at least 25 people. Another think tank, the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies, recorded 61 attacks in the first three weeks of Ramadan. There were 60 total attacks in the previous Ramadan, it said.
After successfully blocking X, formerly Twitter, for over four months, the Pakistan government is now set to ban all social media platforms -- YouTube, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok -- for six days from July 13 to 18, citing the need to control "hate material" during the Islamic month of Ramadan. Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz's cabinet committee on law and order has recommended banning of all social media platforms -- YouTube, X, WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram, and TikTok, among others --during 6 to 11 Muharram (July 13-18) in Punjab, a province of over 120 million people, to "control hate material, misinformation to avoid sectarian violence", according to a Punjab government notification issued here late Thursday night. The Punjab government of Maryam Nawaz has requested her uncle Shehbaz Sharif's government at the Centre to notify the suspension of all social media platforms on internet for six days (July 13-18). Pakistan Army Chief Gen Asim Munir has already declared soci
The UN Security Council is set to vote Monday on a resolution demanding an immediate humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan. The vote comes after Russia and China vetoed a US-sponsored resolution Friday that would have supported an immediate and sustained cease-fire in the Israeli-Hamas conflict. The United States warned that the resolution to be voted on Monday morning could hurt negotiations to halt hostilities by the US, Egypt and Qatar, raising the possibility of another veto, this time by the Americans. The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China and the 22-nation Arab Group at the United Nations. A statement issued Friday night by the Arab Group appealed to all 15 council members to act with unity and urgency and vote for the resolution to halt the bloodshed, preserve human lives and avert further human suffering and destruction. It is long past time for a cease-fire, the Arab Group said. Rama
The UN Security Council is set to vote on a resolution demanding a humanitarian cease-fire in Gaza during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, but the United States warned the measure could hurt negotiations to halt Israeli-Hamas hostilities. The resolution, put forward by the 10 elected council members, is backed by Russia and China, who vetoed a US-sponsored resolution Friday that supported an immediate and sustained cease-fire in the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. The 22-nation Arab Group at the UN issued a statement Friday night appealing to all 15 council members to act with unity and urgency" and vote for the resolution "to halt the bloodshed, preserve human lives and avert further human suffering and destruction. It is long past time for a cease-fire," the Arab Group said. Ramadan began March 10 and ends April 9. The council scheduled a vote on the resolution Saturday morning (10 am EDT). Many members are hoping that the UN's most powerful body, which is charged with maintaining ...
Muslims around the world are welcoming the arrival of Ramadan, a month of dawn-to-dusk fasting, intense prayer, charity and feasts. But as they savour the traditions of their own diverse communities from holiday treats to evening diversions the tribulations faced by fellow Muslims are never far from anyone's mind. This year, war and starvation in the Gaza Strip casts an especially dark shadow on the festivities. Many are also struggling to buy food as inflation remains high in many countries and has worsened in some. Still, even Muslims who are struggling economically or otherwise look forward to what are widely seen as the true blessings of the holy month prayer and reflection, nurtured by the daylong fast, and time spent with loved ones. IN PAKISTAN, A CITY THAT DOESN'T SLEEP No one does Ramadan better than the people of Karachi, at least according to Maulana Tanveer Ul Haq Thanvi, an Islamic scholar in the city in southern Pakistan. The congregation at his family-run mosque
The U.N. Security Council urged Sudan's warring parties on Friday to immediately halt hostilities during the Muslim holy month of Ramadan and allow aid to get to 25 million people in desperate need of food and other assistance. Ramadan is expected to begin on or around Monday, depending on the sighting of the crescent moon. The 15-member council voted overwhelmingly in favor of the British-drafted resolution, with 14 countries in support and only Russia abstaining. Sudan plunged into chaos in April, when long-simmering tensions between its military, led by Gen. Abdel Fattah Burhan, and the Rapid Support Forces paramilitary commanded by Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo broke out into street battles in the capital, Khartoum. Fighting spread to other parts of the country, especially urban areas, but in Sudan's western Darfur region it took on a different form, with brutal attacks by the Arab-dominated Rapid Support Forces on ethnic African civilians. Thousands of people have been killed. U.N.