MULTAN: Despite a government ban and arrests of hundreds of activists, Assefa Bhutto Zardari, the daughter of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, who was assassinated at an election event in 2007, made her political debut at an opposition rally in Multan city on Monday.
Pakistani opposition supporters rallied in a central city on Monday, calling on Prime Minister Imran Khan to resign over alleged bad governance and incompetence.
Aseefa received an emotional welcome and applause as she represented her brother Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, the chairman of Pakistan People’s Party who was unable to attend after testing positive for the coronavirus. Aseefa said that the countdown for Khan’s ouster has started.
"You have given your verdict," Aseefa said, addressing the crowd, saying the public had decided it was time for Khan to quit.
Maryam Nawaz, the daughter of former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who lives in exile in London despite being sought on corruption charges by a Pakistani court, attended the rally. Earlier in the day, she told reporters she was not afraid of being arrested and that the rally would take place at all costs.
“There is no doubt that this government will no more be in power in the coming days, God willing, and I have no doubt about it,” she said.
The rally in Multan was held a day after police carried out the arrests and banned the gathering, with the government defending the move as necessary to combat the coronavirus pandemic in Pakistan.
Police earlier in the day acknowledged arresting over 370 people, while opposition groups put the number at more than 1,800. Authorities in Multan also switched off the area’s mobile phone network.
On Sunday night, security forces placed shipping containers on major roads to block off the path to a public park where the opposition planned to hold the protest. But opposition leaders defied that to march to the park, setting off clashes that led to the arrests.
Among those arrested was Ali Musa Gillani, the son of former Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani.
The government blamed the pandemic for banning the protest, though security forces have over recent months repeatedly disrupted opposition events and arrested its leaders. Since February when the outbreak started, Pakistan has reported more than 398,000 cases and 8,025 deaths.
Ahead of the rally, government spokeswoman Firdous Ashiq Awan accused the opposition of “doing politics at the cost of people’s lives.”
Firebrand opposition politician Maulana Fazlur Rehman of the Pakistan Democratic Movement vowed to hold a massive in Lahore on December 13, after which he and his supporters would march toward the capital, Islamabad, to “kick out” Khan’s government.
Youngest Bhutto, Aseefa, marks political debut at Pakistani opposition's Multan rally
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Youngest Bhutto, Aseefa, marks political debut at Pakistani opposition's Multan rally
- Opposition supporters rally in Multan calling on PM Imran Khan to resign over alleged bad governance and incompetence
- Despite a government ban on public rallies and arrests of hundreds of activists a day earlier, the opposition went on with its rally
Pakistan says $50 million meat export deal with Tajikistan nearing finalization
- Islamabad expects to finalize agreement soon after Dushanbe signals demand for 100,000 tons
- Pakistan is seeking to expand agricultural trade beyond rice, citrus and mango exports
ISLAMABAD: Tajikistan has expressed interest in importing 100,000 tons of Pakistani meat worth more than $50 million, with both governments expected to finalize a supply agreement soon, Pakistan’s food security ministry said on Tuesday.
Pakistan is trying to grow agriculture-based exports as it seeks regional markets for livestock and food commodities, while Tajikistan, a landlocked Central Asian state, has been expanding food imports to support domestic demand. Pakistan currently exports rice, citrus and mangoes to Dushanbe, though volumes remain small compared to national production, according to official figures.
The development came during a meeting in Islamabad between Pakistan’s Federal Minister for National Food Security and Research Rana Tanveer Hussain and Ambassador of Tajikistan Yusuf Sharifzoda, where agricultural trade, livestock supply and food-security cooperation were discussed.
“Tajikistan intends to purchase 100,000 tons of meat from Pakistan, an import valued at over USD 50 million,” the ambassador said, according to the ministry’s statement, assuring full facilitation and that Islamabad was prepared to meet the demand.
The statement said the two sides agreed to expand cooperation in meat and livestock, fresh fruit, vegetables, staple crops, agricultural research, pest management and standards compliance. Pakistan also proposed strengthening coordination on phytosanitary rules and establishing pest-free production zones to support long-term exports.
Pakistan and Tajikistan have long maintained political ties but bilateral food trade remains below potential: Pakistan produces 1.8 million tons of mangoes annually but exported just 0.7 metric tons to Tajikistan in 2024, while rice exports amounted to only 240 metric tons in 2022 out of national output of 9.3 million tons. Pakistan imports mainly ginned cotton from Tajikistan.
