ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan, in a televised address to the nation on Wednesday, warned protesters not take the law into their own hands. “I appeal to these elements ... do not clash with the state.”
He said the apex court verdict that Christian woman Asia Bibi, who was in jail on blasphemy charges but won her appeal against the death sentence, was according to the constitution.
The prime minister added that a small segment of society is inciting the masses for their own political purposes.
“Let me make it clear to you ... the state will fulfil its duty and protect people’s lives and properties,” he said. “I appeal to you ... do not take the state to a level where it has no option but to initiate action.”
Khan said that the language being used against the Supreme Court judges who announced the verdict and against Army Chief General Qammar Javed Bajwa was unbearable.
“Saying that the judges of the Supreme Court are ‘Wajib ul Qatl’ (liable to be killed) and that the army chief is a ‘non-Muslim,’ and calling for a revolt against the chief justice and army chief ... This is unacceptable,” the PM said.
The central leader of the far-right Tehreek-e-Labbaik Pakistan party (TLP), Afzal Qadri, issued a decree against the judges who released Asia.
Supporters of Khadim Hussain Rizvi, a hard-line cleric and chief of the TLP, are demonstrating against the verdict, holding sit-in protests in Karachi, Lahore, Multan and leading protest rallies in Islamabad and other cities. Clashes between the protesters and police have been reported.
The area known as Red Zone in Islamabad, where the Supreme Court, Parliament and other important building are located, has been sealed off to keep protesters away from the court.
Bibi was the first woman in the country who had been given the death sentence for blasphemy.
The three-member bench headed by Supreme Court Chief Justice Saqib Nisar reversed two lower-court verdicts against Bibi and said she would be set free if she is not wanted in relation to any other case.
Don’t clash with state, Pakistan’s PM Khan warns protesters
Don’t clash with state, Pakistan’s PM Khan warns protesters
- A small segment of society is inciting masses, PM Khan said
- TLP supporters are protesting against the apex court verdict to free Christian woman
Dense toxic fog shrouds Delhi as air quality hits severe levels
- Danish badminton star withdraws from India Open due to Delhi’s air pollution
- Air quality worst since the peak winter smog season in November last year
NEW DELHI: Residents of Delhi woke up to hazardous air quality on Sunday as a thick blanket of toxic smog and fog engulfed the Indian capital region, pushing air pollution into “severe” levels for the first time this year.
Home to 30 million people, Delhi has not recorded a single “clean air” day since September 2023, with Air Quality Index readings hitting high above the 50 score throughout the past two years.
On the AQI scale from 0 to 500, good air quality is represented by levels below 50, while levels above 300 are dangerous.
Based on Central Pollution Control Board data, the overall AQI was around 439–444, with several stations across Delhi reaching almost 500 — the worst since the peak winter smog season in early November.
The air quality is so bad that a Danish badminton star, Anders Antonsen, withdrew from the ongoing India Open, saying the city was not fit to host the tournament. Antonsen, who is the discipline’s No. 3, said in an Instagram story that the decision was due to “extreme pollution.”
While the athlete chose to pay a $5,000 fine rather than spend a few days in Delhi, its residents are left with little choice but to endure its toxic air.
“To protect myself, I use an N90 mask and drink lots of water. Still, in the first week of January, the smog impacted me with a bad throat and cold, hitting me badly. You are always exposed and risk your health,” said Akriti Chaudhary, a student activist in Delhi.
“The situation is worse for those people who live in the industrial area of Delhi and don’t have the luxury of green cover. They suffer a lot. Different parts of the population suffer differently, but the fact is that all suffer one way or another.”
For Dr. D. Raghunandan, a climate expert and member of a newly launched citizen initiative, SSANS, which acts as a pressure group to urge the government to act to improve air quality, the pollution has already become unavoidable.
“You just have to live with it. There is no way you can avoid it. Like 90 percent of Delhi’s population can’t escape it. Those who have a lot of money can stay indoors with air purifiers,” he said.
“We are concerned that not much is being done to contain the problem. What little is being done is cosmetic. You just have a few small water guns going around the city on tempos and spraying water.”
He compared Delhi’s problem to what China’s capital faced before.
“Look at the way the badminton event has panned out. Gradually, the pollution will start hitting. Ten years ago, Beijing was worse than Delhi in air pollution. And many large companies and corporations decided to leave Beijing,” Raghunandan told Arab News.
“Do you think those guys are going to stay in Delhi? If the pollution stays like this, they’ll move out.”
