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Pakistan faces Internet disruptions ahead of ex-PM Khan party’s ‘virtual rally’

Pakistan faces Internet disruptions ahead of ex-PM Khan party’s ‘virtual rally’
This undated file illustration shows social media media applications, X and Facebook, logo. (Reuters/File)
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Updated 17 February 2024
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Pakistan faces Internet disruptions ahead of ex-PM Khan party’s ‘virtual rally’

Pakistan faces Internet disruptions ahead of ex-PM Khan party’s ‘virtual rally’
  • London-based NetBlocks says its metrics suggest countrywide shutdown of all social media platforms in Pakistan
  • Ex-PM Imran Khan’s party said the central leadership was scheduled to address the rally to mobilize public for polls
Updated 17 February 2024
Aamir Saeed
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan experienced nationwide Internet and social media disruptions ahead of a “virtual rally” organized on Saturday by former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, an independent Internet watchdog confirmed, weeks before the upcoming national elections.

The outage of Facebook, X, Instagram and YouTube is the second in two weeks coinciding with online campaign events organized by Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party.

The event by Khan’s party was due to broadcast PTI speeches by livestream but Internet disruptions began in the early evening, before it began.

“Live metrics show a nation-scale disruption to social media platforms across Pakistan, including X/Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and YouTube,” NetBlocks, a London-based Internet watchdog, said on X.

“The incident comes as persecuted opposition leader Imran Khan’s political party, PTI, launches its second virtual gathering.”

The PTI criticized the caretaker government for the outage on Saturday.

The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), which regulates internet in the country, said the disruption was caused by a “technical fault.”

“The recent disruption in internet services was caused by a technical fault, which has been promptly rectified,” the PTA said on X. “Internet services have been fully restored nationwide.”

Elections scheduled for February 8 have been marred by allegations of pre-poll rigging, with Khan and his party accusing the caretaker government and the military of trying to prevent the PTI from winning a considerable number of seats. The government and the military deny it.

Khan is facing a number of court cases against him and is currently incarcerated in a high-security prison in Rawalpindi after being convicted in a graft case in August. His party has been striving to launch its election campaign in his absence and announced Saturday’s virtual public gathering on X.

Earlier this month, similar Internet disruptions marred the PTI’s online campaign launch event.

Topics: social media Pakistan elections 2024 elections 2024 Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party Social Media Down in Pakistan

Pakistan files terrorism charges against guard for attacking Chinese nationals in Karachi

Pakistan files terrorism charges against guard for attacking Chinese nationals in Karachi
Updated 06 November 2024
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Pakistan files terrorism charges against guard for attacking Chinese nationals in Karachi

Pakistan files terrorism charges against guard for attacking Chinese nationals in Karachi
  • The incident followed last month’s suicide bombing in the city that killed two Chinese workers
  • Pakistan’s foreign ministry says it is ‘resolute’ in bringing the perpetrator of the crime to justice
Updated 06 November 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: Pakistani police have filed terrorism charges against a security guard accused of opening fire on four Chinese nationals at a textile mill in Karachi, injuring two on Tuesday.
The attack took place at Liberty Textile Mill in the SITE Industrial Area, according to a police report.
The Chinese nationals — identified as Wang Xing Zhong, Zheng Luwen, Zhou Baolin and Wei Sixian — were at the mill to install new machinery. They reportedly arrived daily in a bulletproof vehicle with security provided by a private firm and the Special Protection Unit (SPU) of Sindh Police.
According to the report, filed on the request of the factory’s security head Najib-ur-Rab, the Chinese nationals had just started working on machinery installation in the knitting department on the first floor when the attack occurred.
“At around 8:15 a.m., a security guard named Sharifullah, employed by Executive Security Company and stationed at Liberty Mill for four to five months, went to the first floor and, for unknown reasons, began firing indiscriminately at the Chinese nationals with a 9mm pistol, intending to kill,” the police report said.
Two of the Chinese nationals, Wang Xing Zhong and Zheng Luwen, were seriously injured and were rushed to the hospital in the factory’s ambulance. The guard fled the scene.
Police recovered 16 used 9mm shell casings at the site.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry condemned the attack, saying the country “remains resolute in bringing the responsible individual to justice.”
It added that it was working closely with the interior ministry and the Chinese embassy in Islamabad to ensure a thorough investigation.
China, breaking with tradition, recently spoke out publicly against security threats to its workers and nationals in Pakistan, where hundreds work on Beijing-funded projects linked to the over $60 billion China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC).
Last month, two Chinese nationals were killed in a suicide bombing near the international airport in Karachi. In March this year, a suicide bombing killed five Chinese engineers and a Pakistani driver in northwestern Pakistan as they headed to the Dasu Dam, the largest hydropower project in the country.
In 2022, three Chinese educators and their Pakistani driver were killed when an explosion tore through a van at the University of Karachi. A bus blast in northern Pakistan in 2021 killed 13 people, including nine Chinese nationals.
Pakistan announced in a joint statement with China last month it had agreed to increase security for Chinese citizens and projects in the South Asian nation, as Beijing called for urgent security measures following a surge in militant threats.
Sindh Home Minister Zia Ul Hassan Lanjar has directed police to conduct a “thorough investigation,” his office said soon after the recent shooting incident.
According to a statement, the minister also directed an audit of security companies providing protection to Chinese nationals and other foreigners.
“The physical and mental fitness tests of guards assigned to important duties like security should be done,” the statement quoted Lanjar as saying.

Nearly 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan year after deportation drive launched

Nearly 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan year after deportation drive launched
Updated 06 November 2024
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Nearly 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan year after deportation drive launched

Nearly 800,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan year after deportation drive launched
  • Islamabad blames Afghans for being behind militant violence, smuggling, other crimes in Pakistan
  • Taliban government in Kabul says Pakistan’s security and other challenges are a domestic issue
Updated 06 November 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has repatriated nearly 800,000 Afghan nationals that were residing in the country ‘illegally,’ according to government figures released on Wednesday, a year after the launch of a deportation drive that has drawn widespread criticism from international governments and rights organizations.

Authorities began expelling foreigners living in the country illegally from Nov. 1, 2023, following a spike in suicide bombings which the Pakistan government says were carried out by Afghan nationals or by militants who cross over into Pakistan from neighboring Afghanistan. Islamabad has also blamed illegal Afghan immigrants and refugees for involvement in smuggling and other crimes. The Taliban government in Kabul says Pakistan’s security and other challenges are a domestic issue and cannot be blamed on the neighbor. 

A cash-strapped Pakistan that was navigating record inflation, alongside a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program last year, had also said at the time it announced the deportation drive that undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades and it could no longer afford to house them.

“Repatriation of Afghans residing illegally in Pakistan is continuing,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Wednesday as it shared latest figures of the deportation drive. “The total figure of returnees has reached 799,208.”

Until the government initiated the expulsion drive last year, Pakistan was home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees out of which around 1.7 million were undocumented. 

Afghans make up the largest portion of migrants, many of whom came after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed at any particular nationality but at all ‘illegal aliens’ but the drive has disproportionately hit Afghans. 

Last July, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif announced an extension for expired UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards given to almost 1.5 million Afghans for a year after the UN refugee commissioner asked for a pause in the country’s plan to repatriate refugees. The cards, which the UN describes as a “critical” identity document, would now be valid until June 30, 2025.

In October 2023, when Pakistan announced phase one of the “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan,” it gave a 30-day deadline for “undocumented” aliens to leave the country or be subject to deportation, putting 1.4 million Afghan refugees at risk.

In phase two of the “repatriation plan,” around 600,00 Afghans who hold Pakistan-issued Afghan citizenship cards (ACCs) will be expelled while phase three will target those with Proof of Registration cards.

The deportation drive has also effected trade and the flow of people between Pakistan and Afghanistan. 

Before the repatriation plan, Pashtun tribes straddling both sides of the British-era border’s Durand Line historically moved freely for businesses and communal life. But since last year, for the first time since the border was drawn over a century ago, Pakistani authorities are requiring residents to show a passport and visa before crossing over, paperwork virtually none of them possess. Previously, residents living in border towns could pass through using only their Pakistan national identity cards.

The deportation drive and border restrictions have also led to a spike in tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan. The Taliban deny militants are using Afghan soil to launch attacks or that Afghans are involved in militancy in Pakistan.

Topics: Afghan Pakistan deportation drive

Josh Inglis named Australia’s white-ball captain in ongoing series against Pakistan

Josh Inglis named Australia’s white-ball captain in ongoing series against Pakistan
Updated 06 November 2024
AFP
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Josh Inglis named Australia’s white-ball captain in ongoing series against Pakistan

Josh Inglis named Australia’s white-ball captain in ongoing series against Pakistan
  • Most Australian stars will be absent from Pakistan matches to prepare for Test series with India
  • The 29-year-old wicketkeeper Inglis will captain both the ODI and T20 series against Pakistan
Updated 06 November 2024
AFP

SYDNEY: Josh Inglis will captain Australia for the first time in the third ODI against Pakistan and in the following Twenty20 series, selectors said Wednesday, with a number of stars absent.
Regular one-day skipper Pat Cummins plus Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne and Steve Smith will not play the third ODI in Perth on Sunday so they can prepare for the Test series against India.
Xavier Bartlett, Spencer Johnson and Josh Philippe all come into the squad.
With Twenty20 skipper Mitchell Marsh on paternity leave, the 29-year-old wicketkeeper Inglis will also captain the hosts in the three-match T20 series against Pakistan starting November 14.
“Josh is an integral member of the ODI and T20I teams and a highly respected player on and off the field,” George Bailey, chairman of selectors, said.
“He has led Australia A previously and will bring strong tactical nous and a positive approach to the role.”
Australia won the first one-dayer on Monday by two wickets. The second match is on Friday.
Australia’s Test team, led by Cummins, will play five matches against India.
The first Test starts on November 22 in Perth.

Topics: Pakistan v Australia Josh Inglis

Pakistan’s Punjab sets up ‘smog war room’ to combat hazardous air

Pakistan’s Punjab sets up ‘smog war room’ to combat hazardous air
Updated 06 November 2024
Reuters
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Pakistan’s Punjab sets up ‘smog war room’ to combat hazardous air

Pakistan’s Punjab sets up ‘smog war room’ to combat hazardous air
  • The war room will issue daily adviseries, share analyzes and forecasts with stakeholders
  • Last week, Lahore’s air quality scored 1,900, which is 120 times more than recommended
Updated 06 November 2024
Reuters

LAHORE: Pakistan’s Punjab set up a “smog war room” to tackle severe pollution, officials said, as poor air quality in Lahore pushed the capital of the eastern province to the top of the rankings as the world’s most polluted city.
Live rankings by Swiss group IQAir gave the city a pollution index score of 1,165, followed by the Indian capital of New Delhi, with 299.
“The war room committee will review weather and air quality forecasts ... daily and monitor the performance and actions of field officers,” said Sajid Bashir, a spokesperson for the province’s environment department.
Officials told Reuters it brings together staff from eight departments, with a single person charged with overseeing tasks from controlling burning of farm waste to managing traffic.
Twice daily sessions will analyze data and forecasts to brief stakeholders on efforts to fight pollution, and issue daily adviseries, they added.
But Wednesday’s index score for Lahore fell short of last week’s unprecedented score of 1,900, which had exceeded recommended levels by more than 120 times, prompting closure of primary schools and orders to work from home.
At the time, Punjab’s senior minister, Marriyum Aurangzeb, blamed the toxic air on pollution drifting across the border with India just 25 km (16 miles) away. Northern areas of the neighboring nation are also battling severe pollution.
The Punjab government would ask Pakistan’s foreign office to take up the matter with India’s foreign ministry, she told the Indian Express newspaper in an interview published on Wednesday.
South Asia is shrouded in intense pollution every winter as cold air traps emissions, dust, and smoke from farm fires, while pollution could cut more than five years from people’s life expectancy in the region, a study found last year.
On Tuesday the environment minister of New Delhi, rated the world’s most polluted capital for four successive years by IQAir, said officials were looking to artificial rain to fight the problem this year.

Topics: smog

Pakistan forms seven-member constitutional bench following reforms in superior judiciary

Pakistan forms seven-member constitutional bench following reforms in superior judiciary
Updated 06 November 2024
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Pakistan forms seven-member constitutional bench following reforms in superior judiciary

Pakistan forms seven-member constitutional bench following reforms in superior judiciary
  • Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan is chairman of the bench which has representation from all four provinces
  • The bench has been formed after parliament adopted the 26th constitutional amendment last month
Updated 06 November 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), established under the 26th amendment passed by parliament last month, nominated a seven-member bench on Tuesday to take up constitutional cases amid recent Supreme Court verdicts widely viewed as opposing the interests of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s administration.

The government initially planned to establish a separate constitutional court to address high-profile cases with potential impacts on national politics through the 26th amendment, which introduced judicial reforms, though it ultimately opted for a constitutional bench within the apex court.

Senior Pakistani minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif defended the government’s decision to introduce the amendment, which required a two-thirds majority, citing the need to reinforce parliamentary supremacy and “eliminate the encroachment on our turf.”

However, the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party of former prime minister Imran Khan argued that the government aimed to influence the judiciary’s functioning to secure favorable verdicts in constitutional and political matters.

“The Judicial Commission of Pakistan (JCP), reconstituted under the 26th Constitutional Amendment, convened its first meeting today at the Supreme Court of Pakistan, Islamabad,” said a notification circulated after the meeting chaired by Chief Justice of Pakistan Yahya Afridi.

“Following a vote, the majority (7 out of 12) approved a seven-member Constitutional Bench with representation from all the four provinces for a term of two months,” it added.
The commission designated Justice Amin-ud-Din Khan as the chairman of the bench comprising Justices Jamal Khan Mandokhail, Muhammad Ali Mazhar, Ayesha Malik, Syed Hasan Azhar Rizvi, Musarrat Hilali and Naeem Akhtar Afghan.

At the outset of the meeting, Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly Umar Ayub Khan, who is also a JCP member, objected to its quorum, highlighting the absence of one member.

However, this objection was later put to a vote and by majority, the meeting affirmed that the proceedings were in keeping with the constitution and could continue in the absence of a member.

Earlier this year, before the adoption of the 26th constitutional amendment, the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the opposition PTI party in an important case involving the reserved parliamentary seats for minorities and women, asking the Election Commission of Pakistan to revisit their allocation.

The implementation of the ruling could have deprive the ruling coalition of some of the seats and benefited the PTI.

Such high-profile cases with political implications will now be brought before the separate constitutional bench that will adjudicate such matters.

Topics: JCP Pakistan

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