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Pakistani court summons interior secretary over X shutdown 

Pakistani court summons interior secretary over X shutdown 
This photo illustration shows the X logo (formerly Twitter) on a smartphone screen in Los Angeles, California, on July 31, 2023. (AFP/File)
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Updated 03 April 2024
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Pakistani court summons interior secretary over X shutdown 

Pakistani court summons interior secretary over X shutdown 
  • X, formerly Twitter, was suspended across Pakistan on Feb. 17 after a government official admitted to manipulating votes
  • Joint interior secretary appears before Islamabad High Court, says X banned due to national security threats online
Updated 03 April 2024
Arab News Pakistan
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ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday summoned the interior secretary to appear before the court on April 17 and provide solid reasons behind placing a ban on social media platform X, state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported. 

The platform, formerly known as Twitter, was downed on Feb. 17 after jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party called for protests against a government official’s admission of vote manipulation in February’s election, which was itself marred by a nationwide mobile network shutdown and delays in release of constituency results.

 The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA), which regulates the Internet, last month informed a high court in the Sindh province in writing that it had blocked X on the orders of the interior ministry.

“The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Wednesday summoned secretary interior in a case against closure of services of social media application X in the country,” APP said. 

The petition against X’s ban was filed by journalist Ehtisham Ali Abbasi in the high court. During teh hearing, the joint interior secretary submitted a report on X’s ban, saying that access to the platform was restricted following a report by security agencies. 

“The chief justice expressed dissatisfaction over the report and said that it was only based on assumptions as no solid reasons has been mentioned regarding the threats to national security,” APP said. 

Justice Farooq said Pakistan was being defamed worldwide over the ban on X, adding that the interior secretary should appear before the court to present his stance. 

The chief justice asked the joint secretary to produce documents regarding the security threats posed by the platform, adding that “just verbal arguments” wouldn’t be accepted in court.

“The joint secretary said that there was a threat to national security due to the material on the Internet,” APP reported, adding that the judge hit back by saying that evidence to support the claims should also have been submitted. 

The court summoned the interior secretary in person on April 17 and adjourned hearing of the case.

Topics: X shutdown Social Media Ban

Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab secures Grammy nominations for fourth year in a row

Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab secures Grammy nominations for fourth year in a row
Updated 58 sec ago
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Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab secures Grammy nominations for fourth year in a row

Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab secures Grammy nominations for fourth year in a row
  • Aftab’s song ‘Raat Ki Rani’ has earned the nomination in the Best Global Music Performance category
  • The song is part of her album ‘Night Reign,’ nominated in the Best Alternative Jazz Album category
Updated 58 sec ago
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab has once again secured Grammy nominations for the upcoming 2025 awards ceremony, with the singing sensation expressing her delight over the recognition.
Aftab’s song ‘Raat Ki Rani’ has earned the nomination in the Best Global Music Performance category. The song is part of her album ‘Night Reign’ that has received recognition in the Best Alternative Jazz Album category, which awards vocal or instrumental albums containing greater than 75 percent playing time of new alternative jazz recordings.
“OMG [oh moy God] YES!!! This will be the fourth year in a row that the @recordingacademy and industry peers have celebrated my music with these accolades and IT FEELS SO GOOD,” the singer wrote on Instagram on Friday.
“Thank you thank you thank youuuuu and keep spinning Night Reign we are just getting started,” she added.
In 2022, Aftab became the first Pakistani singer to win a Grammy for her song ‘Mohabbat’ in the Best Global Music Performance category. She had been nominated in two categories for the 2024 Grammy Awards, the highest honors in the music industry.
The 39-year-old, who has lived in New York for some 15 years, has been steadily gaining global attention for her work that fuses ancient Sufi traditions with folk and jazz music. After growing up in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, Aftab moved to the US at age 19 to attend Berklee College of Music in Boston.
The now Brooklyn-based singer/songwriter first gained critical acclaim for Bird Under Water and Siren Islands in the mid-2010s, but it was 2021’s Vulture Prince — a delicate, seven-track project dedicated to the memory of her late brother — that propelled Aftab to stardom.
 

Topics: Arooj Aftab Pakistani singer Arooj Aftab Grammy Award

Pakistan police kill top bandit who used TikTok to terrorize, transfix Punjab’s riverine marshlands

Pakistan police kill top bandit who used TikTok to terrorize, transfix Punjab’s riverine marshlands
Updated 09 November 2024
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Pakistan police kill top bandit who used TikTok to terrorize, transfix Punjab’s riverine marshlands

Pakistan police kill top bandit who used TikTok to terrorize, transfix Punjab’s riverine marshlands
  • Shahid Lund among bandits using Internet to parade hostages, exhibited arsenals of weapons in musical TikToks
  • High-standing crops in Katcha lands along Indus River provide cover for ambushes, kidnappings, highway robberies, smuggling
Updated 09 November 2024
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police said on Friday they had killed a top bandit who was famous for his videos on TikTok and had operated for years in the notorious riverine marshlands of the Punjab province.
Shahid Lund had been hiding out in the riverine terrain in Punjab which has long offered refuge to bandits. The 28-year-old used the Internet to enthrall citizens even as he preyed on them, according to police.
On TikTok, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, he fascinated tens of thousands with messages delivered with a gun in hand, romanticizing his rural lifestyle and cultivating a reputation as a champion of the people.
The Punjab police said on Friday Lund, who led the Lund gang, one of several groups of bandits in Pakistan’s riverine area, had been killed in a joint operation by the Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur district police.
“The Government of Punjab had placed a bounty of Rs10 million ($35,811) on Shahid Lund,” the Punjab police said in a statement on X. “The deceased bandit was wanted by the police in 28 cases, including killing of policemen, terrorism, kidnapping for ransom, attacks on police, murders and robberies.”
Lund was said to dwell on a sandy island in the riverlands, often called the ‘katcha’ area that roughly translates to ‘backwaters,’ on the Indus River which skewers Pakistan from top to bottom. High-standing crops provide cover for ambushes and the region is riven by shifting seasonal waterways that complicate pursuit over crimes ranging from kidnapping to highway robbery and smuggling.
At the intersection of three of Pakistan’s four provinces, gangs with hundreds of members have for decades capitalized on poor coordination between police forces by flitting across jurisdictions. Sweeping police operations and even an army incursion in 2016 failed to impose law and order. This August, a rocket attack on a police convoy killed 12 officers.
Some bandits use the web to lay “honey-traps” luring kidnap victims by impersonating romantic suitors, business partners and advertising cheap sales of tractors or cars, while others parade hostages in clips for ransom or exhibit arsenals of heavy weapons in musical TikToks. Lund had by far the largest online profile — irking police with a combined 200,000 followers.
The Punjab police chief, Dr. Usman Anwar, lauded the Rahim Yar Khan and Rajanpur police for the successful operation in the riverlands.
“It is the mission of the police to eliminate terrorists, dacoits and miscreants from the katcha area,” Anwar was quoted as saying by the provincial police.

Topics: Shahid Lund Baloch Shahid Baloch tiktok Punjab Police katcha

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TikTok bandits terrorize, transfix Pakistan riverlands video
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TikTok bandits terrorize, transfix Pakistan riverlands

At least 24 killed, 50 injured in blast at Pakistan railway station

At least 24 killed, 50 injured in blast at Pakistan railway station
Updated 09 November 2024
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At least 24 killed, 50 injured in blast at Pakistan railway station

At least 24 killed, 50 injured in blast at Pakistan railway station
  • Outlawed Baloch Liberation Army has claimed the bomb attack in Balochistan’s capital of Quetta
  • Attack is deadliest since string of coordinated attacks on Aug. 25-26 in which over 50 people were killed
Updated 09 November 2024
Saadullah Akhtar

QUETTA: At least 24 people were killed and 50 injured in a bomb blast at a railway station in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta, officials said on Saturday, amid a surge in attacks by separatist groups operating in the restive Balochistan province.

The outlawed Balochistan Liberation Army group, the most prominent of militant groups in Balochistan, claimed responsibility for the attack, the deadliest since a string of coordinated attacks on Aug. 25-26 in which more than 50 people, civilians and security officials, were killed. The surge in deadly attacks indicates the BLA, which has targeted security forces for years in small-scale attacks and is allied with the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), could be much more organized.

“24 people have been killed in the suicide attack and 50 people were injured and have been shifted to various hospitals of Quetta city for treatment,” Quetta Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat told Arab News about Saturday’s attack at the railway station.

Muhammad Baloch, senior superintendent of police (SSP), said the blast occurred at a time when over 150 passengers were gathered at the station, waiting for the Peshawar-bound Jaffar Express train.

“We are investigating whether it was a suicide attack or any explosive device was placed at the platform,” he added.

Balochistan is a resource-rich but impoverished province where separatist militants have been fighting a decades-long insurgency to win secession of the region. Insurgents say they are fighting what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s mineral and gas wealth by the federation at the center. 

The Pakistani government and military deny they are exploiting Balochistan and have long maintained that neighbors such as India, Afghanistan and Iran foment trouble in the remote province and support and fund the insurgency there to impede its development potential. Balochistan is home to major China-led investment projects such as a strategic port and a gold and copper mine. 

“JUDGMENT DAY”

Following the attack, there was chaos at hospitals in Quetta, as paramedics rushed there with the injured and families arrived to inquire after their loved ones.

Abdul Jabbar, an injured man brought to the Civil Hospital, said it felt like “judgment day” had arrived in Quetta. 

“I bought my ticket for Bahawalpur (Punjab) and entered the platform to get on the train,” he told Arab News. “After two minutes of arriving at the platform, the explosion occurred.” 

Bilal Safdar, an eyewitness who was standing some 500 meters away from the site of the blast, said he heard a powerful explosion at the platform.

“There was a plume of smoke at the station and people were screaming for help, bodies and injured were strewn around on the ground,” he told Arab News. 

The rise of separatist attacks in Balochistan poses a major challenge for the weak coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, which is battling an economic crisis and political instability as well as a rise in militant violence by both religiously motivated and separatist groups across the country. 

Balochistan is also in the grips of civil rights protests by young ethnic Baloch who are calling for an end to what they describe as a pattern of enforced disappearances and other human rights abuses by security forces, who deny the charge.

On Friday, counterterrorism officials in Balochistan said an armed operation had been launched this week against separatist militants who were behind the August attacks.

“An operation has been launched since the last two days in Duki, Loralai and surrounding districts in which Frontier Corps, CTD, Levies, police and others are taking part,” Counterterrorism Department (CTD) DIG Aitzaz Ahmed Goraya said at a press conference in Quetta.
 

Topics: Quetta Blast Quetta attack Arab News Pakistan Quetta Railway Station

Pakistan to face 5 million ton wheat shortage next year amid reduced sowing area

Pakistan to face 5 million ton wheat shortage next year amid reduced sowing area
Updated 09 November 2024
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Pakistan to face 5 million ton wheat shortage next year amid reduced sowing area

Pakistan to face 5 million ton wheat shortage next year amid reduced sowing area
  • Federal government wants 33.58 million tons, while provinces expect 27.92 million due to reduced sowing area
  • Farmers urge minimum support price announcement from Punjab to encourage wheat sowing this season
Updated 09 November 2024
Aamir Saeed

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is expected to face a wheat shortage of over five million tons next year with a reduction in the crop sowing area and production, according to provincial governments estimates, as economists and food security experts say this will strain on the economy and lead to inflation.
Wheat is a staple food in Pakistan and its shortage can lead to political unrest and protests against governments. The South Asian nation of 241 million is expected to face a shortfall of 5.66 million tons of the commodity next year and would have to spend foreign exchange to import wheat to fulfill local demand.
This year, the government allowed the private sector to import over three million tons of wheat to overcome shortages while tens of thousands of farmers staged protests in several cities over the government’s decision not to buy their wheat, causing them huge income losses.
The government routinely purchases around 20 percent of all the wheat produced by local farmers at a fixed cost to ensure price stability, prevent hoarding, and maintain the supply chain. However, it lowered its purchase target to two million tons from around six million tons this year, with farmers in Punjab, the country’s largest wheat producer, asking the authorities to stop imports and purchase the commodity from them at the minimum support price fixed officially.
“The provinces have come up with a lower sowing area and production target of wheat for the next year, therefore the country will face a shortage of the commodity,” Yasir Shakeel, a deputy director at Ministry of National Food Security and Research, told Arab News. “The provincial governments have been taking measures to achieve the sowing and production targets of wheat to fulfill the local need.”
He said the Federal Committee on Agriculture had set a wheat production target of 33.58 million tons from target area of 10.368 million hectares for 2025-26 based on national requirement for the produce to attain self-sufficiency.
“According to provincial governments’ proposals the target area for wheat will be 9.263 million hectares with production of 27.92 million tons,” he said.
The official said the Indus River System Authority’s advisory committee has anticipated a shortage of water to the extent of about 16 percent for Punjab and Sindh during the winter crop season, running from October to April, which could impact the wheat production along with other crops.
Farmers on the other hand have urged the government to announce a minimum support price of over Rs4,500 per 40 kilogram to encourage their community to sow the crop to achieve the government’s production target.
“There are still 15 to 20 days before the wheat sowing season concludes, so the government’s intervention at this stage may help encourage farmers sow the crop instead of looking for the alternatives,” Khalid Bath, President Kissan Ittehad, a farmers’ association, told Arab News.
As per the Kissan Ittehad estimates, the wheat sowing area can drop more than 30 percent this year compared to the previous year due to the Punjab administration’s policy of reducing the procurement target.
Dr. Abid Qaiyum Suleri, food security expert, said the farmers had not received a fair price for their cash crop, adding they were short of investments to sow the wheat crop on a large area.
“Farmers are looking for substitutes to earn profits on their crops as the government is apparently not willing to announce the minimum support price for the next year’s crop,” he told Arab News. “This will definitely lead to food shortages in the country, and the private sector will have a role to play to import the product to meet the local demand.”
Asif Arsalan Haider, a senior economist, maintained Pakistan’s inflation rate was heavily influenced by the agricultural products in the country, pointing out that wheat shortage would have a major impact on it.
“Pakistan’s rural economy is dependent on agriculture,” he said. “Therefore, farmers may face hardships if the government does not procure their produce at a fixed price.”
“The government should come up with a long term agricultural policy instead of resorting to stopgap arrangements each year,” he added.
Earlier this year in May, local media reported that the Punjab government had reduced its usual wheat procurement, allowing the private sector to play a larger role in purchasing the crop due to significant financial constraints, with annual procurement costs reaching around Rs400 billion ($1.4 billion).
The move was described partly as a response to the International Monetary Fund’s recommendations to cut provincial expenditures.
Reports also quoted Punjab’s Finance Minister Mujtaba Shuja-ur-Rehman as saying that most farmers had sold their wheat to middlemen, leading to market prices of Rs3,200-3,300 per maund, a traditional unit of mass commonly used in South Asia, amounting to about 40 kilograms, though this shift slightly reduced profit margins for farmers.
 

Topics: Pakistan wheat Pakistan farmers

Dozens arrested in southwest Pakistan as clashes between police, Imran Khan’s party injure 14

Dozens arrested in southwest Pakistan as clashes between police, Imran Khan’s party injure 14
Updated 08 November 2024
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Dozens arrested in southwest Pakistan as clashes between police, Imran Khan’s party injure 14

Dozens arrested in southwest Pakistan as clashes between police, Imran Khan’s party injure 14
  • PTI members tried to stage a rally near the Chief Minister House in Quetta, seeking Khan’s release
  • Quetta’s deputy commission says two of the arrested people were carrying guns and hand grenades
Updated 08 November 2024
SAADULLAH AKHTER

QUETTA: Dozens of protesters were rounded up by police in southwestern Balochistan on Friday after clashes broke out between former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) supporters and law enforcement personnel, leaving at least 14 people injured, including eight policemen.
The incident occurred in the provincial capital of Quetta after PTI protesters attempted to stage a rally near the Chief Minister House, demanding the release of the ex-premier from a high-security jail in Rawalpindi. Khan has faced prison trials on multiple charges since his arrest last year in August, which he claims are fabricated to keep him out of the country’s political landscape.
Police officials said the PTI organized the rally without securing official permission, violating Section 144 of the Code of Criminal Procedure imposed in the city, which prohibits gatherings of four or more people to maintain order or address urgent threats to public safety.
“The protesters were carrying weapons that they used against the police,” said Station House Officer (SHO) of Civil Line Police Naseebullah Khan while speaking to Arab News. “They pelted stones and even hit our officials with their vehicles. Fifty-five protesters have been arrested and a first information report has been lodged against the PTI workers.”

Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party's supporters protest to demand the release of former prime minister Imran Khan, in Quetta on November 8, 2024. (AFP)

The SHO informed a senior police officer was among the injured, adding that both of his legs were fractured after a protester tried to run him down with a car.
Quetta’s Deputy Commissioner Saad bin Asad said the PTI was protesting without official permission, which had been denied despite the party’s decision to appeal to the court.
He added that authorities informed the judge they would not permit the gathering and provided reasons for the decision.
“But they deliberately came out for a rally,” Asad said, adding that among the arrested individuals, “two were carrying guns and hand grenades while participating in the protest.”
He confirmed that at least 14 people, including eight policemen, were injured in the clashes.
Asad said PTI supporters began pelting police with stones, prompting law enforcement to use tear gas to disperse them.
Dawood Shah, PTI’s provincial president in Balochistan, told Arab News the party was holding a peaceful rally near Quetta Railway Station because the government had “refused its workers permission to hold the rally at the designated venue.”
“Unknown people disguised as protesters started pelting stones and instigated PTI workers,” he said, adding that 67 PTI supporters were arrested and nine were injured in the clashes.
“Peaceful protest is our democratic right,” Shah continued. “We scheduled a peaceful rally at the Hockey Ground for the release of Imran Khan, but the administration did not give us permission.”
He accused the authorities of “attempting to repeat the 9th May episode,” referencing last year’s riots where people carrying PTI flags targeted government buildings and military installations after Khan’s brief arrest on corruption charges.
The incident triggered a crackdown on the party, whose leaders distanced themselves from the protests, alleging that they were intended to discredit the PTI.

Topics: Pakistan PTI protest Quetta Arab News Pakistan

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