ISLAMABAD: Members of religious groups pelted campaigners with stones, shoes and sticks as they marched through Pakistan’s capital on Sunday to mark International Women’s Day.
Women and men joined the event in Islamabad, the largest such rally in the country, for what is known in Pakistan as the Aurat March, using the Urdu word for women.
Dozens of men and women from the Red Mosque brigade, consisting of several local militant groups, staged a rival rally just across from the women’s march venue, District Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafqaat said.
Police official Mazhar Niazi said the officers blocked the groups as they tried to break through a cordon to attack the marchers.
A Reuters witness and Niazi said members of religous groups threw stones, bricks, sticks and shoes at the marchers. Niazi said no one was injured.
He said a criminal case would be registered against those indugling in the violence for violating the law and attempting to attack the women march.
There has been an uproar in conservative circles over slogans used at the past two such events, including “My body, my choice” and “My body is not your battleground.”
Following last year’s event, organizers said they faced a backlash including murder and rape threats.
Ahead of this year’s event, organizers say posters and murals were vandalized, including one by the Islamists from the Red Mosque.
Marches in other parts of the country were held peacefully amid tight security.
A court in the eastern city of Lahore allowed the march there to take place on condition that organizers and participants adhered to “decency and moral values.”
Stone pelting, violence mar women’s march in Islamabad
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Stone pelting, violence mar women’s march in Islamabad
- Dozens of people from the Red Mosque brigade staged a rival rally just across from the women’s march venue in Islamabad
- Marches in other parts of the country were held peacefully amid tight security
Pakistan PM orders strategy to improve project execution as multilateral lenders propose reforms
- Shehbaz Sharif says he will personally lead a steering committee to speed up priority projects
- Four working groups proposed to streamline approvals, procurement, land issues and staffing
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday directed officials to draw up a detailed strategy to improve the planning and execution of development projects, saying he would personally chair a steering committee aimed at ensuring timely and transparent completion of priority schemes.
The move came during a meeting where the World Bank and Asian Development Bank presented recommendations to the government on strengthening project implementation.
According to the prime minister’s office, participants received a briefing that said project approvals involve multiple steps and need simplification, while timely procurement and better readiness tools could also help accelerate implementation.
“National projects of critical importance must be completed transparently and on time,” Sharif told officials, according to the statement. “This is our priority.”
He said the federal and provincial steering committee on development-sector reforms would be headed by him.
The statement said four working groups were also proposed during the meeting: one to review approval and preparation processes, a second to modernize procurement, a third to address land acquisition and resettlement challenges, and a fourth to focus on human-resource alignment and staff deployment for development schemes.
Sharif thanked the World Bank and Asian Development Bank for their support and said development projects must be aligned with the objectives of Pakistan’s Public Sector Development Program (PSDP) and provincial Annual Development Plans (ADPs).
The meeting was attended by senior federal ministers, provincial representatives, senior civil servants and the country directors of both multilateral lenders.
