Page 76 - Pakistan

Violence-linked fatalities in Pakistan hit six-year high in 2023: Report

Punjab saw a 96 per cent rise in violence, though the number of fatalities was very low, followed by Sindh where the fatalities increased by 26 per cent

Pak, Afghan Taliban to make renewed efforts to ease tensions over TTP

A senior Afghan Taliban leader is expected to arrive in Islamabad early next month, while a leading Pakistani cleric is set to visit Kabul in a fresh bid to reduce bilateral tensions over the outlawed terror group TTP, media reports said on Sunday. Pakistan has consistently called for Afghanistan's Taliban government to take decisive action against the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and related militant groups operating from Afghan soil, including extraditing leaders responsible for attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban government, however, has been hesitant to comply because of historical alliances and ideological ties. The visits are part of efforts to reduce tensions between Kabul and Islamabad concerning the outlawed TTP, which intensified attacks against the security forces in Pakistan in the wake of the Taliban taking over Afghanistan more than two years ago. Mullah Sherin Akhund, a senior Afghan Taliban figure and governor of Kandahar province, is expected in Islamabad early ne

Displaced, crossing borders: Afghan people make tough journeys to survive

The barren desert plain among the mountains of eastern Afghanistan is filled with hundreds of thousands of people. Some live in tents. Others live out in the open, among the piles of the few belongings they managed to take as they were forced from neighbouring Pakistan. The sprawling camp of people returning to Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing is the latest facet of Afghans' long, painful search for a stable home. More than 40 years of war, violence and poverty in Afghanistan have created one of the world's most uprooted populations. Some 6 million Afghans are refugees outside the country. Another 3.5 million people are displaced within the country of 40 million, driven from their homes by war, earthquakes, drought or resources that are being depleted. Over the course of months, an Associated Press photographer travelled across Afghanistan from its eastern border with Pakistan to its western border with Iran, getting to know displaced people and returned refuges and

AITA hopeful of getting clearance for travel to Pakistan for Davis Cup

The Indian team is likely to get clearance to travel to Pakistan for the upcoming Davis Cup tie against the neighbouring nation, the national federation said on Saturday. The All India Tennis Association (AITA) had recently written to the Sports Ministry, seeking advise if they can send the national team to Pakistan for the World Group I Play-off tie on February 3-4. "We have not yet got the approval in writing but it is likely that we will get clearance soon. We have been told that since it is not bilateral tournament and the one organised by the ITF, the government does not have a policy to interfere in such events," AITA Secretary General Anil Dhupar told PTI. "There is process involved. The sports ministry has forwarded the request to the MEA and the Home Ministry's view will also be taken before a final decision is made. We are hoping to get the clearance soon. "We are preparing for the tie and the travel," he added. Meanwhile, the Pakistan Tennis Federation (PTF) on Saturday

Pakistan's current economic model not working, says World Bank official

Pakistan's current economic model is not working, a top World Bank official has said, underlining that the cash-strapped nation must change policies that have plagued development and benefitted only a few. The remarks by World Bank Country Director Najy Benhassine came in a Policy Vision article, published in the latest UNDP publication. Pakistan's current economic model is not working since it has fallen behind its peers, significant progress in poverty reduction has now started to reverse, and the benefits of growth have accrued to a narrow elite, Benhassine said. There is a broad consensus that action is needed to change policies that have plagued development, benefitted only a few, and led to very volatile and low growth, the Dawn newspaper quoted Benhassine as saying. Pakistan is heavily exposed to climate change, with the potentially devastating impacts of climate shocks and natural disasters already apparent, he said in Development Advocate Pakistan, the UNDP's quarterly ...

Ex-Pak foreign minister Qureshi arrested after being released from jail

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party's vice chairman and a close aide of former prime minister Imran Khan, Shah Mahmood Qureshi was on Wednesday manhandled by police as they re-arrested him

Watch: Former Pakistan foreign minister Qureshi manhandled by police

Shah Mahmood Qureshi, who served as foreign minister in Imran Khan's govt, was again arrested from outside the Adiala jail after being released on bail in the cipher case

Six people injured in firing incident in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Six people were injured after unknown assailants fired at a passenger van near Saddar police station in the Hangu district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Who is Saveera Parkash, first Hindu woman to contest elections in Pakistan?

Saveera Parkash is also the first woman from Buner to submit nomination papers for the upcoming elections on a general seat

Pakistan records 29 suicide attacks in 2023, highest since 2014: Report

Comparing the data to the preceding year, 2022, the report revealed a distressing 93 per cent increase in the number of suicide attacks, a shocking 226 per cent rise in resultant deaths

Party backed by LeT chief Hafiz Saeed fields candidates in Pak elections

A new political front organisation of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed has fielded candidates for most of the national and provincial assembly constituencies across Pakistan for the February 8 general elections, saying it wants to make the country an Islamic welfare state. Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), has been in jail since 2019 after being convicted for several years in multiple terror finance cases along with some other leaders of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). The Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) party - set up by Saeed - says it is a political party. The electoral symbol for the PMML is 'chair'. In a video message, PMML President Khalid Masood Sindhu said that his party is contesting on most of the national and provincial assembly seats. "We want to come to power not for corruption but to serve the people and make Pakistan an Islamic welfare state," he said. Sindhu is a candidate for NA-130 Lahore, from which Pakistan Muslim ...

Pak police free 290 Baloch activists arrested while protesting killings

Pakistani police on Monday freed 290 Baloch activists who were arrested when they attempted to hold a protest last week in the capital, Islamabad. Their release came days after protest organizers gave authorities a deadline to release all those detained. The activists had travelled 1,600 kilometers (about 1,000 miles) on Thursday from Turbat, a town in Baluchistan province, to protest forced disappearances and extrajudicial killings in the militancy-ravaged southwest. The protesters were mostly women and some had brought along their children, aged 7-12, when security forces used batons and water canons to disperse and arrest them. They wanted to draw attention to the case of 24-year-old Balaach Mola Bakhsh, who died in November while in police custody in Baluchistan. Authorities said he was killed after militants ambushed the police vehicle transporting him. Police said Bakhsh was carrying explosives when he was arrested. His family insists he is innocent, demanding justice for hi

Pak polls: Nawaz Sharif files nomination, Bilawal's challenge in Lahore

Earlier on Friday, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) founder Imran Khan also announced contesting polls from three constituencies, including Lahore, Geo News reported

Pak SC returns appeal against 3-year conviction of former PM Imran Khan

Pakistan's Supreme Court office has returned an appeal seeking to set aside the three-year conviction of former prime minister Imran Khan in the Toshakhana corruption case, according to a media report on Sunday. The registrar's office on Saturday returned the appeal moved by 71-year-old Khan through his counsel Latif Khosa under Article 185 of the Constitution, challenging December 11, 2023, Islamabad High Court (IHC) decision of rejecting a similar plea for lacking requirements, including the absence of actual controversies or chronology of the past litigation. The petition was filed with a plea to overturn the August 5 conviction of Khan by an additional sessions judge of the IHC for illegally selling state gifts, Dawn News reported. The Toshakhana case is based on the allegations that the the former premier violated the Toshakhana or state repository rules. All gifts given by foreign leaders to Pakistani top leaders on their trips are kept in the Toshakhana. The registrar's off

Pakistan's ex-PM Imran Khan, former minister granted bail in cypher case

The case involves a diplomatic document that was allegedly never returned by Imran, with the PTI asserting the document contained a threat from the US to remove Imran as PM

Pakistan's EC extends deadline for filing nomination papers by two days

Pakistan's election commission on Friday extended the deadline for filing nomination papers for the February 8 general elections by two days till Sunday after major political parties sought more time to complete the time-consuming exercise. According to the schedule issued by the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP), potential candidates are required to file nomination papers from December 20 to 22. The top election body began accepting nomination papers from prospective candidates on Wednesday. The deadline for the filing of papers was set to expire at 4:30 pm on Friday. However, in a press release on Friday morning, the electoral watchdog announced that nomination papers can now be filed till Dec 24 (Sunday). It said the decision was taken in response to requests from political parties and to facilitate the candidacy process. Political parties must submit priority lists for specific seats to returning officers within the stipulated time, it said. With little than over a month l

Correspondent's house raided for reports on PTI leaders in Pakistan

Following the incident, senior Pakistani journalist Hamid Mir said that journalism is becoming "very difficult" in Pakistan

Magnitude 4.4 earthquake rattles Islamabad; no loss of life, property

In the early hours of Friday morning, an earthquake measuring 4.4 on the Richter scale shook Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and surrounding areas, as reported by ARY News

Nations around us reached moon, we have not risen from earth: Nawaz Sharif

"We have been responsible for our own downfall, otherwise this nation would have reached a different place," he added

Earthquake of magnitude 5.8 strikes Pakistan, no damage reported: NSMC

An earthquake of 5.8 magnitude hit Pakistan on Monday, officials said. However, there was no report of any damage or casualty. According to the National Seismic Monitoring Centre (NSMC), the tremor occurred at a depth of 133 km and its epicentre was Jammu and Kashmir in India. The quake was felt in capital Islamabad as well as in other cities. Pakistan frequently experiences earthquakes due to its location in a seismically active zone. A tremor of 6.8 magnitude shook the country earlier this year. The deadliest quake was felt in 2005, which killed more than 74,000 people.