ISLAMABAD: Pakistani police arrested dozens of men on Tuesday on charges of attacking a police station in a bid to lynch two brothers held in custody and accused of desecrating a Muslim mosque, officials said.
A mob broke into the police station on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad on Monday ahead of an hours-long standoff with police.
Some 36 have been arrested and charged with attacking the station under anti-terrorism laws. Police took the brothers, accused of blasphemy, to safety along with some wounded officials, police said.
“Give us the accused. We will decide what to do with them,” police officer Asim Ghaffar quoted the mob as saying. “They said they wanted to behead the accused.”
Islamabad Deputy Commissioner Hamza Shafaat told Reuters most of the 36 arrested men were refugees from neighboring Afghanistan.
The two brothers were accused of allegedly tearing up a banner inscribed with the names of the companions of Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) from the outer wall of a mosque, police said. They also pelted the mosque with stones, police said.
Insulting Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) or desecrating places of worship carries a mandatory death penalty or life in prison in Pakistan.
A EU parliament resolution adopted last month called for stripping Pakistan of tax exemption on its exports to the bloc for failure to stem a rise in blasphemy accusations. The resolution also called on Pakistan to “unequivocally condemn” incitement to violence and discrimination against religious minorities and expressed “deep concern” at the prevailing anti-French sentiment.
A hard-line religious political group clashed with police last month in several days of violent anti-France protests, calling for the expulsion of the French ambassador over cartoons depicting Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) published in France, which killed at least eight police and wounded hundreds.
Dozens held in Pakistan for attempt to lynch brothers accused of blasphemy — police
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Dozens held in Pakistan for attempt to lynch brothers accused of blasphemy — police
- A mob broke into police station on outskirts of Islamabad on Monday ahead of hours-long standoff with police
- Some 36 have been arrested and charged with attacking the station under anti-terrorism laws
Pakistan PM orders accelerated privatization of power sector to tackle losses
- Tenders to be issued for privatization of three major electricity distribution firms, PMO says
- Sharif says Pakistan to develop battery energy storage through public-private partnerships
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s prime minister on Monday directed the government to speed up privatization of state-owned power companies and improve electricity infrastructure nationwide, as authorities try to address deep-rooted losses and inefficiencies in the energy sector that have weighed on the economy and public finances.
Pakistan’s electricity system has long struggled with financial distress caused by a combination of factors including theft of power, inefficient collection of bills, high costs of generating electricity and a large burden of unpaid obligations known as “circular debt.” In the first quarter of the current financial year, government-owned distribution companies recorded losses of about Rs171 billion ($611 million) due to poor bill recovery and operational inefficiencies, official documents show. Circular debt in the broader power sector stood at around Rs1.66 trillion ($5.9 billion) in mid-2025, a sharp decline from past peaks but still a major fiscal drain.
Efforts to contain these losses have been a focus of Pakistan’s economic reform program with the International Monetary Fund, which has urged structural changes in the energy sector as part of financing conditions. Previous government initiatives have included signing a $4.5 billion financing facility with local banks to ease power sector debt and reducing retail electricity tariffs to support economic recovery.
“Electricity sector privatization and market-based competition is the sustainable solution to the country’s energy problems,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said at a meeting reviewing the roadmap for power sector reforms, according to a statement from the prime minister’s office.
The meeting reviewed progress on privatization and infrastructure projects. Officials said tenders for modernizing one of Pakistan’s oldest operational hubs, Rohri Railway Station, will be issued soon and that the Ghazi Barotha to Faisalabad transmission line, designed to improve long-distance transmission of electricity, is in the initial approval stages. While not all power-sector decisions were detailed publicly, the government emphasized expanding private sector participation and completing priority projects to strengthen the electricity grid.
In another key development, the prime minister endorsed plans to begin work on a battery energy storage system with participation from private investors to help manage fluctuations in supply and demand, particularly as renewable energy sources such as solar and wind take a growing role in generation. Officials said the concept clearance for the storage system has been approved and feasibility studies are underway.
Government briefing documents also outlined steps toward shifting some electricity plants from imported coal to locally mined Thar coal, where a railway line expansion is underway to support transport of fuel, potentially lowering costs and import dependence in the long term.
State authorities also pledged to address safety by converting unmanned railway crossings to staffed ones and to strengthen food safety inspections at stations, underscoring broader infrastructure and service improvements connected to energy and transport priorities.
