Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan granted bail, but release uncertain

Security officers escort Pakistan’s former Prime Minister Imran Khan, as he appeared in Islamabad High Court, Islamabad, in May 2023. (Reuters/File)

Short Url

https://arab.news/yatdr

Updated 22 December 2023

Reuters

December 22, 2023 16:52

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan granted bail, but release uncertain

The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022
He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August

Updated 22 December 2023

Reuters

December 22, 2023 16:52

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Supreme Court on Friday granted former Prime Minister Imran Khan bail in a case related to a leak of state secrets, but it was not clear how he could be released while serving a three-year sentence for corruption and facing other charges.
The 71-year-old former cricket star has been embroiled in a tangle of political and legal battles since he was ousted as prime minister in April 2022.
He has not been seen in public since he was jailed for three years in August for unlawfully selling state gifts while in office from 2018 to 2022.
Khan remains disqualified from contesting national elections scheduled for Feb. 8 because of the corruption conviction, which a high court refused to suspend on Thursday. Khan nevertheless filed nomination papers for the elections on Friday, his party’s media team said.
In a written court order, the Supreme Court judges said they could not find “sufficient incriminating material” to show that Khan leaked state secrets intending to benefit a foreign power.
The order said Khan’s release on bail “during the period of elections would ensure ‘genuine elections’ and thus enable the people to exercise the right to express their will effectively and meaningfully. There are no exceptional circumstances to decline the concession of bail.”
But it was not clear how Khan could be released on bail because of the number of arrest warrants issued against him and the three-year sentence.
The state secrets charge is related to a classified cable sent to Islamabad by Pakistan’s ambassador in Washington last year, which Khan is accused of making public. He denies the charge, saying the contents appeared in the media from other sources.
Even if he were unable to contest the election, any release on bail would be a major shot in the arm for his party as it would enable him to lead its campaign in the lead-up to the polls.
Khan is widely believed to be the country’s most popular leader and won the last general elections in 2018.
He says he is being targeted by the powerful military, which wants to keep him out of the polls. The military denies the charge.

Bangladeshis gear up for legendary Bengali rock star’s Riyadh Season debut

Updated 5 sec ago

SHEHAB SUMON

November 20, 2024 14:40

Bangladeshis gear up for legendary Bengali rock star’s Riyadh Season debut

James is widely celebrated both in Bangladesh and India’s West Bengal
He will perform on Friday, under Riyadh Season’s Bangladeshi culture segment

Updated 5 sec ago

SHEHAB SUMON

November 20, 2024 14:40

Dhaka: Bangladeshi fans are anticipating the upcoming Riyadh Season concert by the legendary singer James, seeing it as an opportunity to showcase their pop culture to a Saudi audience.

A songwriter, guitarist, composer, and playback singer, James started his career with Feelings — currently known as Nagar Baul — a band considered to be the pioneer of psychedelic rock in Bangladesh.

One of the most popular artists performing in Bengali, he has been widely celebrated both in Bangladesh and in the Indian state of West Bengal since the 1990s.

He will perform in the Kingdom on Friday, as part of the Bangladeshi culture segment of the Riyadh Season — an annual series of entertainment, cultural, and sporting events running in the Saudi capital throughout winter months.

It will be the first time James will perform in the Kingdom — to the great enthusiasm of the Bangladeshi expat community.

“James is a Bangladeshi music icon. He is our superstar. It’s something like a dream that I will be able to watch his performance here. During my teenage years, I grew up listening to his songs, but I never got the opportunity to attend any of his concerts. This is like the experience of a lifetime,” Alamgir Hossain, a shopkeeper who has been working in Riyadh for the past seven years, told Arab News.

Other fans living in different parts of Saudi Arabia will be coming to the capital to witness the performance too.

“Two of my friends will travel to Riyadh from their workplace in Al-Kharj. All Bangladeshis in the Kingdom are excited. We are preparing to attend the concert in a group. I have already requested leave from my employer so that we can enjoy the event,” Hossain said.

“James is popular not only in Bangladesh, he has performed for the Bollywood industry in Hindi songs, so he is popular among South Asian music lovers also. Some of my Indian and Pakistani friends will also attend the concert.”

Nagar Baul’s manager Rubaiyat Thakur Robin told the local Bangladeshi media Prothom Alo that the show would be free for attendees, and he was expecting a big turnout, given that 3 million Bangladeshis were living and working in the Kingdom.

Some of them, like Abdul Hannan, a driver in Riyadh, were excited about the whole Bangladeshi culture segment.

“It will bring us closer and strengthen the bond with Saudi Arabia … I thank the Saudi authorities for giving us this opportunity,” he said.

But the concert was for him the most important highlight, also as his friends will drive to Riyadh from places as far as Dammam, over 400 km away, to take part as well.

“I am waiting to meet old friends from different parts of the Kingdom. We have been living here for many years, far, far away from family and friends. This concert gives an opportunity for us to meet. I am very excited about it,” he told Arab News.

“I am also waiting to hear my favorite song, ‘Amar sonar Bangla, ami tomai valobashi’ — ‘My Bengal of gold, I love you.’ I can’t hold my tears when I listen to this song. It’s the best patriotic song after our national anthem written by Rabindranath Tagore. I strongly believe that James will perform this song here as well.”

Topics: Riyadh Season 2024 Bangladish

Youth voices at COP29 demand a seat at the table

Updated 21 min 25 sec ago

MANAL AL-BARAKATI

November 20, 2024 14:17

Youth voices at COP29 demand a seat at the table

Advocates on the ground are clear: climate action cannot succeed without fully integrating the voices of the generation that will live with its consequences

Updated 21 min 25 sec ago

MANAL AL-BARAKATI

November 20, 2024 14:17

BAKU: At COP29 in Baku, Azerbaijan, young climate leaders are amplifying their calls for meaningful inclusion in global climate negotiations. Despite their innovative solutions and unique perspectives, many youth-led initiatives continue to face barriers such as underfunding and tokenism. Advocates on the ground are clear: climate action cannot succeed without fully integrating the voices of the generation that will live with its consequences.

Children as climate stakeholders

Catarina Lorenzo, a 16-year-old Youth Climate Champion, emphasizes the critical need for young people to be involved in decision-making processes. “Children are among the most vulnerable groups, yet their voices are often excluded,” Lorenzo says. She highlights the unique perspectives that children bring to the table, including an innate connection to nature and firsthand experiences of climate impacts such as floods and school disruptions.

Lorenzo points to a concerning statistic: only 2 percent of global philanthropic investments in development directly benefit children, despite their making up a third of the world’s population. “We need concrete actions,” she asserts, calling for greater investment and a dedicated youth and children-focused section in national contributions to climate goals. While she acknowledges an increase in youth presence at COP events compared to earlier years, she stresses that their voices remain sidelined during key negotiations.

Progress amid tokenism

While initiatives like the COP29 Youth Delegates Program, led by Presidency Youth Climate Champion Leyla Hasanova, aim to train young people in policy-making and technical advocacy, gaps in meaningful inclusion persist. Youth advocate Yitong Li recognizes a growing interest in youth participation but criticizes the tokenistic nature of many engagements.

“There’s more interest in involving young people, but it’s often superficial,” says Li, referencing instances where youth demands were disregarded, such as the controversy surrounding the creation of a Youth Climate Champion role. Despite these setbacks, Li remains optimistic about the growing influence of youth coalitions such as the Global Youth Statement, which has gained traction with world leaders and international organizations. “Young people remind us of what truly matters beyond the technicalities of negotiations,” she adds.

Concrete demands from youth advocates

Representing the Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women, Anjali Chalise brings a focus on actionable outcomes. At COP29, she outlined three key demands from the Global Youth Statement: integrating children’s rights into climate policies, prioritizing children in adaptation measures, and establishing early warning systems for climate impacts.

However, Chalise expresses frustration at the lack of responsiveness from decision-makers. “We participate in negotiations and present our demands, but they are not fully reflected in final decisions,” she explained. Despite this, Chalise underscored the importance of continuing to advocate for increased climate finance, particularly for youth-driven projects that address green initiatives and adaptation strategies.

Building a framework for youth inclusion

Programs like the COP29 Youth Delegates initiative are attempting to bridge the gap between youth participation and actionable outcomes. These efforts align with the conference’s broader emphasis on amplifying the role of young leaders in addressing interconnected climate crises, such as biodiversity loss, desertification, and sustainable development.

The Presidency Youth Climate Champion has highlighted the role of youth networks in fostering collaboration across Central Asia, where the program has helped align national actions with international commitments. In parallel, events like “Youth at the Forefront of Climate Action” have underscored the urgency of meaningful youth inclusion in the climate agenda, particularly as youth advocates call for safeguards against greenwashing in nature-based solutions and demand greater accountability from world leaders.

A call for action

The growing presence of youth voices at COP29 signals a shift in global climate discourse. However, advocates insist that recognition must translate into action. They demand not just applause for their speeches but a tangible seat at the table — one that allows them to co-create policies and implement solutions.

By addressing systemic barriers and investing in youth-led initiatives, COP29 has the potential to set a new standard for inclusive climate governance. The stakes are high, but the message is clear: the future of the planet depends on listening to those who will inherit it.

Topics: Green & Blue COP29

Putin gifts North Korea a lion, bears and ducks

Updated 30 min 2 sec ago

AFP

November 20, 2024 10:56

Putin gifts North Korea a lion, bears and ducks

Putin previously gifted Kim 24 purebred horses, known to be Kim’s favorite
The two countries, both under heavy Western sanctions, signed a mutual defense pact earlier this year

Updated 30 min 2 sec ago

AFP

November 20, 2024 10:56

Moscow: Russian President Vladimir Putin has gifted North Korea dozens of animals, including a lion and two bears, as a sign of friendship between Moscow and Pyongyang, Russian officials said Wednesday.
The two countries have deepened political, military and cultural ties amid Russia’s offensive on Ukraine, with Putin and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un repeatedly professing their personal camaraderie.
“An African lion, two brown bears, two domestic yaks, five white cockatoos, 25 pheasants of various species and 40 mandarin ducks were transferred from the Moscow Zoo to the Pyongyang Zoo,” Russia’s natural resources ministry said in a post on Telegram.
It posted a video of the animals in cargo boxes being unloaded off a government plane, and another of the lion in its new enclosure at the Pyongyang Zoo.
Putin previously gifted Kim 24 purebred horses, known to be Kim’s favorite, while Kim sent Putin a pair of local dogs.
The two countries, both under heavy Western sanctions, signed a mutual defense pact earlier this year that obligates them to provide immediate military assistance if the other is invaded.
Western capitals, as well as Ukraine and South Korea, say North Korea has recently deployed more than 10,000 of its troops to Russia, to be sent into combat against Kyiv’s forces.

Topics: Vladimir Putin North Korea

Trump names former wrestling executive as Education Secretary

Updated 53 min 42 sec ago

AFP

November 20, 2024 13:49

Trump names former wrestling executive as Education Secretary

Linda McMahon, former CEO of WWE, will lead Department of Education that Trump has pledged to abolish
McMahon is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team ahead of his return to the White House in January

Updated 53 min 42 sec ago

AFP

November 20, 2024 13:49

WASHINGTON: Donald Trump nominated Linda McMahon, former CEO of World Wrestling Entertainment, on Tuesday to lead the Department of Education, which he has pledged to abolish.
Describing McMahon as a “fierce advocate for Parents’ Rights,” Trump said in a statement: “We will send Education BACK TO THE STATES, and Linda will spearhead that effort.”
McMahon is a co-chair of Trump’s transition team ahead of his return to the White House in January. It is tasked with filling some 4,000 positions in the government.
Regarding McMahon’s experience in education, Trump cited her two-year stint on the Connecticut Board of Education and 16 years on the board of trustees at Sacred Heart University, a private Catholic school.
McMahon left WWE in 2009 to run in vain for US Senate, and has been a major donor to Trump.
Since 2021, she has chaired the Center For The American Worker at the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute.
During the election campaign Trump promised to do away with the federal education department when he returns to the White House.
“I say it all the time. I’m dying to get back to do this. We will ultimately eliminate the federal Department of Education,” he said in September during a rally in Wisconsin.
At the Republican convention in Milwaukee, McMahon said she was “privileged to call Donald Trump a colleague and a boss,” as well as “a friend.”
Her ties with Trump go back to her years in the professional wrestling industry — she said she first met him as chief executive at WWE.
At the culmination of a staged feud, Trump once body-slammed her husband, legendary wrestling promoter Vince McMahon, and shaved his head in the middle of a wrestling ring on live television.
In 2017, she was confirmed as the head of the Small Business Administration, which is responsible for supporting America’s millions of small businesses, which employ around half the country’s private-sector workforce.
In nominating her, Trump pointed to her experience in business, helping to grow the WWE.
After leaving the administration, she served as chair of the pro-Trump America First Action SuperPAC, or political action committee.

Topics: Trump Linda McMahon US World Wrestling Entertainment

Elections in two Indian states test of Prime Minister Modi’s popularity

Updated 20 November 2024

November 20, 2024 13:40

Elections in two Indian states test of Prime Minister Modi’s popularity

Millions are voting in elections in Maharashtra, western industrial hub and mineral-rich eastern province of Jharkhand
Election surveys on the eve of polling put the opposition alliance comprising Congress party and two others ahead of the BJP

Updated 20 November 2024

November 20, 2024 13:40

NEW DELHI: Millions of people are voting in state elections in Maharashtra, India’s western industrial hub, and the mineral-rich eastern province of Jharkhand on Wednesday, in a test of the popularity of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Hindu nationalist party and its regional partners.
Politically significant Maharashtra is India’s wealthiest state and home to the financial and entertainment capital, Mumbai. It is currently ruled by a coalition of Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party and a Hindu nationalist ally. An opposition alliance, including the Congress party, is in power in eastern Jharkhand state.
Modi has held big rallies in the two states. The challenge comes barely four months after his party suffered a setback and returned to power in national elections for a third term without a parliamentary majority. He formed the government with the help of regional partners.
Modi, in a post on social platform X ahead of the state elections, wrote: “On this occasion, I appeal to all the youth and women voters to vote in large numbers.”
Nilanjan Mukhopadhyay, a political analyst who wrote a Modi biography, said a reversal in these state elections would negatively impact Modi’s leadership style.
“It will have repercussions for the BJP in coming elections in Delhi and Bihar states next year,” he said.
Votes in the two states will be counted on Saturday.
After suffering a setback in national elections, the BJP regained momentum in October as it won Haryana state elections, where pollsters had predicted an easy victory for the opposition Congress party.
Rahul Gandhi’s Congress party won a consolation victory in alliance with the regional National Conference party in local elections in India’s insurgency-wracked Jammu and Kashmir after a 10-year gap.
The BJP is trying to wrest power from the Congress party and its allies in Jharkhand, a state rich in iron ore, coal and other minerals.
The BJP’s use of slogans like “If you divide, then you will die” and “If we are united, then we are safe” to attract Hindu votes has prompted opposition parties to accuse the BJP of trying to polarize the voters along Hindu-Muslim religious lines.
Hindus constitute nearly 80 percent and Muslims 11.5 percent of Maharashtra state’s estimated 131 million people.
Mukhopadhyay saw a tendency from top BJP leaders to communalize the elections, saying, “It shows the growing desperation of the party, and it looks like their reading is they are not doing very well in Maharashtra and Jharkhand states.”
Election surveys on the eve of polling put the opposition alliance comprising the Congress party and two truncated regional groups, the Shiv Sena and the Nationalist Congress party, ahead of the BJP and its allies currently governing the state. The Congress party defeated the BJP and its allies in the June national elections by winning 30 out of 48 seats in the state. The BJP and its regional partners won 17 seats.
The Congress party and its allies hope to capitalize on the simmering disaffection with high youth unemployment, inflation and low crop prices during the BJP’s rule.
The BJP hopes to attract women voters with a scheme that provides 1,500 rupees ($18) a month to over 20 million women aged 21-65 whose annual family income is less than 250,000 ($3,010). If the Congress party is voted to power in the state, it has promised women double that amount and free transportation in government buses.

Topics: India elections Indian PM Narendra Modi

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan granted bail, but release uncertain

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan granted bail, but release uncertain

Pakistani PM says ‘illegal’ to stop Imran Khan’s party from participating in elections

Pakistan’s jailed former Prime Minister Imran Khan uses AI to give speech ahead of general election

Bangladeshis gear up for legendary Bengali rock star’s Riyadh Season debut

Bangladeshis gear up for legendary Bengali rock star’s Riyadh Season debut

Riyadh Zoo returns with new interactive experiences as part of Riyadh Season

Cody Rhodes and Liv Morgan take titles at WWE Riyadh Season event

Youth voices at COP29 demand a seat at the table

Youth voices at COP29 demand a seat at the table

COP29: Azerbaijan unveils Baku Harmoniya Climate Initiative

UN climate chief to nations at COP29: ‘cut the theatrics’

Putin gifts North Korea a lion, bears and ducks

Putin gifts North Korea a lion, bears and ducks

French president urges Putin to ‘listen to reason’ on Ukraine

Ukraine slams Scholz after first call with Putin in two years

Trump names former wrestling executive as Education Secretary

Trump names former wrestling executive as Education Secretary

Elections in two Indian states test of Prime Minister Modi’s popularity

Elections in two Indian states test of Prime Minister Modi’s popularity

Latest updates

Levantine culture shines at Riyadh’s Bilad Al-Sham event

Youth voices at COP29 demand a seat at the table

Lebanese army says soldier killed by Israeli fire

Saudi Arabia leading clean-energy revolution with $180bn for green economy, climate tech: Agility

Israel attacks Syria’s Palmyra: SANA

Recommended

First responders in the line of fire as Israel and Hezbollah battle it out in Lebanon

Annual Dubai forum dedicated to futurism explores ways to ‘empower generations’

Frankly Speaking: How do Palestinians perceive a new Trump presidency?

Search form

Print Edition

Search form

Search form

You are here

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan granted bail, but release uncertain

Pakistan ex-PM Imran Khan granted bail, but release uncertain

Related

Bangladeshis gear up for legendary Bengali rock star’s Riyadh Season debut

Related

Youth voices at COP29 demand a seat at the table

Related

Putin gifts North Korea a lion, bears and ducks

Related

Trump names former wrestling executive as Education Secretary

Elections in two Indian states test of Prime Minister Modi’s popularity

Latest updates

Recommended

Search form

Print Edition