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Fresh turmoil for Pakistan as ex-PM Khan aide Chaudhry Fawad Hussain arrested in Lahore

Leaders of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party Fawad Chaudary (R) and Hamad Azhar speak to the media outside the parliament house building in Islamabad on April 11, 2022. (Photo courtesy: AFP/FILE)
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Updated 25 January 2023
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Fresh turmoil for Pakistan as ex-PM Khan aide Chaudhry Fawad Hussain arrested in Lahore

  • Hussain’s brother says ex-information minister picked up outside home by “unknown persons in vehicles without number plates”
  • Hussain’s arrest came amid widespread speculation Khan might be arrested overnight from his Zaman Park residence in Lahore
Updated 25 January 2023
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Chaudhry Fawad Hussain, a former federal minister and close aide to ex-premier Imran Khan, was arrested early on Wednesday morning in Lahore, his brother and Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party said.

Hussain’s arrest came after he held a press conference outside Khan’s Zaman Park residence in Lahore where PTI supporters had gathered in the night between Tuesday and Wednesday morning amid widespread speculation that the ex-PM might be arrested.

At 616am on Wednesday morning, the PTI’s official Twitter account published videos of “police cars” it said were taking away Hussain.

“These police cars have arrested Fawad and are taking him away,” the PTI said.

Hussain’s brother also took to Twitter to confirm the “arrest.”

"My elder brother former Federal Minister Chaudhry Fawad Hussain Sahib @fawadchaudhry has been illegally picked up from his house in Lahore by unknown persons in vehicles without number plates,” Faisal Hussain, a lawyer, said. “The abductors have [neither] shown warrants, nor have revealed their identities.”

Khan has refused to accept the coalition government of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and campaigned for snap polls since being ousted from power in a parliamentary vote last April, holding protest marches and rallies across the country.

In recent months, his relationship with Pakistan’s all-powerful military, which is widely believed to have propelled his rise to the PM’s office, has sharply deteriorated as he blames it, and its then army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa, of being part of a foreign conspiracy by the United States to remove his government. Washington and the army deny the charge.

The latest arrest will most certainly raise political tensions and heighten uncertainty in Pakistan even as it struggles to stave off financial default. The political fight comes as the South Asian nation faces high inflation, dwindling foreign reserves and widening deficits. The country is in a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program.

“There are reports that the puppet government will try to arrest Chairman Imran Khan tonight,” the PTI said on Twitter early on Wednesday morning. “Tehreek-e-Insaaf workers are reaching Zaman Park to protect their leader.”

As supporters gathered outside Zaman Park, Hussain held a strongly-worded press conference, calling on police to arrest Khan if they had the “courage and audacity.”

Addressing authorities that might try to arrest Khan, the aide added: “The PTI’s plan of action [if Khan is arrested] is that there will be protests across Pakistan, we will lock down all cities of Pakistan, Pakistan’s public is standing behind the biggest leader in Pakistan, and god willing, they will get the kind of reaction, the plan of action that they can’t even imagine.”

At 525am, Hussain posted a video on Twitter, showing supporters gathered outside Zaman Park. Media widely reported that he left soon after for his house in Lahore and was arrested from outside the residence.

Pakistani media widely reported that a case had been registered against Hussain at the Kohsar police station in Islamabad on Tuesday night on the complaint of the secretary of the Election Commission for using threatening language against the ECP and its members.

Khan and his party have in recent months been at loggerheads with the ECP and its current leadership, which they blame for being biased in favor of the Sharif government. The ECP denies this. The ECP ruled against Khan in a case late last year related to his disclosure of wealth earned from the sale of state gifts.

Hussain’s arrest comes months after another close Khan aide, Dr. Shahbaz Gill, was arrested by police and accused of inciting mutiny against the military. Gill is out on bail. Another PTI leader, Senator Azam Swati, was also arrested and released on bail in multiple cases, including for posting tweets considered to be anti-military.

Analysts say Khan, who was brought to power in a 2018 election with what is widely believed to be the military’s support, had fallen out with the powerful generals in his final months in office. In a recent interview, Khan said his party had “no relationship” with the new army leadership under General Asim Munir, who was appointed the new chief of army staff late last year.
 

Topics: #pakistan PTI Chaudhry Fawad Hussain

Malala Yousafzai vows support for Gaza after backlash over Broadway musical

Updated 6 sec ago
AFP
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Malala Yousafzai vows support for Gaza after backlash over Broadway musical

  • Yousafzai was criticized in Pakistan for co-producing a play with Hillary Clinton who supports Israel’s Gaza campaign
  • The Nobel laureate says ‘we do not need to see more dead bodies’ to understand the urgency of a ceasefire in Gaza
Updated 6 sec ago
AFP

LAHORE: Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai on Thursday condemned Israel and reaffirmed her support for Palestinians in Gaza, after a backlash in her native Pakistan over a Broadway musical she co-produced with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Yousafzai, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, has been condemned by some for partnering with Clinton, an outspoken supporter of Israel’s war against Hamas.
The musical, titled “Suffs,” depicts the American women’s suffrage campaign for the right to vote in the 20th century and has been playing in New York since last week.
“I want there to be no confusion about my support for the people of Gaza,” Yousafzai wrote on X, the former Twitter. “We do not need to see more dead bodies, bombed schools and starving children to understand that a ceasefire is urgent and necessary.”
She added: “I have and will continue to condemn the Israeli government for its violations of international law and war crimes.”
Pakistan has seen many fiercely emotional pro-Palestinian protests since the war in Gaza began last October.
Yousafzai’s “theatre collaboration with Hillary Clinton – who stands for America’s unequivocal support for genocide of Palestinians – is a huge blow to her credibility as a human rights activist,” popular Pakistani columnist Mehr Tarar wrote on social media platform X on Wednesday.
“I consider it utterly tragic.”
Whilst Clinton has backed a military campaign to remove Hamas and rejected demands for a ceasefire, she has also explicitly called for protections for Palestinian civilians.
Yousafzai has publicly condemned the civilian casualties and called for a ceasefire in Gaza.
The New York Times reported the 26-year-old wore a red-and-black pin to the “Suffs” premier last Thursday, signifying her support for a ceasefire.
But author and academic Nida Kirmani said on X that Yousafzai’s decision to partner with Clinton was “maddening and heartbreaking at the same time. What an utter disappointment.”
The war began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of around 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures. Hamas militants also abducted 250 people and Israel estimates 129 of them remain in Gaza, including 34 who the military says are dead.
Clinton served as America’s top diplomat during former president Barack Obama’s administration, which oversaw a campaign of drone strikes targeting Taliban militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan’s borderlands.
Yousafzai earned her Nobel Peace Prize after being shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban as she pushed for girls’ education as a teenager in 2012.
However, the drone war killed and maimed scores of civilians in Yousafzai’s home region, spurring more online criticism of the youngest Nobel Laureate, who earned the prize at 17.
Yousafzai is often viewed with suspicion in Pakistan, where critics accuse her of pushing a Western feminist and liberal political agenda on the conservative country.

Topics: War on Gaza Malala Yousafzai Broadway

Pakistan commends UAE leadership for ‘swift’ response to record-breaking rains

Updated 24 April 2024
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Pakistan commends UAE leadership for ‘swift’ response to record-breaking rains

  • Pakistan’s foreign minister telephones UAE counterpart, expresses sympathy over devastation caused by torrential rains
  • Heavy rains lashed UAE last week, turning streets into rivers and hobbling Dubai airport, world’s busiest for global passengers
Updated 24 April 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday commended the United Arab Emirates (UAE) leadership for its swift and efficient response to the devastation caused by record-breaking rains in the desert country. 

Heavy rains lashed the desert country last week, turning streets into rivers and hobbling Dubai airport, the world’s busiest for international passengers.

The rainfall was the UAE’s heaviest since records began 75 years ago, dumping two years’ worth of rain on the desert country. 

“Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar held telephone conversation with Foreign Minister His Highness Sheikh Abdullah Bin Zayed of United Arab Emirates to express deepest sympathy on the devastation caused by recent torrential rains,” Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said. 

“He commended the leadership of the UAE for the swift, efficient and timely administrative response to this natural calamity,” it added. 

The foreign ministry said both representatives also exchanged views on matters of bilateral and global importance. 

Pakistan’s PM Sharif last Friday telephoned UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan, urging both countries to collaborate to tackle the impacts of climate change. 

Sharif had lauded the UAE president for his “outstanding leadership qualities” and strong commitment to ensure the welfare of the Emirati people. 

Pakistan has been prone to natural disasters and consistently ranks among one of the most adversely affected countries due to the effects of climate change. Torrential rains have killed more than 90 people in the South Asian country this month, according to authorities.

Topics: United Arab Emirates

Malala Yousafzai faces backlash for Clinton musical co-credit

Updated 24 April 2024
AFP
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Malala Yousafzai faces backlash for Clinton musical co-credit

  • Malala Yousafzai co-produced “Suffs” musical with Hillary Clinton, which depicts American women’s struggle for right to vote
  • Yousafzai has been condemned by some for partnering with Clinton, an ardent supporter of Israel’s war on Palestine
Updated 24 April 2024
AFP

LAHORE: Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai faced a backlash in her native Pakistan on Wednesday, after the premier of a Broadway musical she co-produced with former US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.

The musical, titled “Suffs” and playing in New York since last week, depicts the American women’s suffrage campaign for the right to vote in the 20th century.

However Yousafzai, who was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014, has been condemned by some for partnering with Clinton, an outspoken supporter of Israel’s war against Hamas.

Pakistan has seen many fiercely emotional pro-Palestinian protests since the war in Gaza began last October.

“Her theater collaboration with Hillary Clinton — who stands for America’s unequivocal support for genocide of Palestinians — is a huge blow to her credibility as a human rights activist,” popular Pakistani columnist Mehr Tarar wrote on social media platform X.

“I consider it utterly tragic.”

Whilst Clinton has backed a military campaign to remove Hamas and rejected demands for a ceasefire, she has also explicitly called for protections for Palestinian civilians.

Yousafzai has publically condemned the civilian casualties and called for a ceasefire in Gaza.

The New York Times reported the 26-year-old wore a red-and-black pin to the “Suffs” premier last Thursday, signifying her support for a ceasefire.

But author and academic Nida Kirmani said on X that Yousafzai’s decision to partner with Clinton was “maddening and heartbreaking at the same time. What an utter disappointment.”

Israel’s military offensive has killed at least 34,262 people in Gaza, mostly women and children, according to the Hamas-run territory’s health ministry.

The war began with an unprecedented Hamas attack on October 7 that resulted in the deaths of around 1,170 people, according to an AFP tally of Israeli official figures.

Clinton served as America’s top diplomat during former president Barack Obama’s administration, which oversaw a campaign of drone strikes targeting Taliban militants in Pakistan and Afghanistan’s borderlands.

Yousafzai earned her Nobel Peace Prize after being shot in the head by the Pakistani Taliban as she pushed for girl’s education as a teenager in 2012.

However the drone war killed and maimed scores of civilians in Yousafzai’s home region, spurring more online criticism of the youngest Nobel Laureate, who earned the prize at 17.

Yousafzai is often viewed with suspicion in Pakistan, where critics accuse her of pushing a Western feminist and liberal political agenda on the conservative country.

Topics: Malala Yousafzai

Pakistan’s foreign minister calls for early resumption of PIA flights to Europe

Updated 24 April 2024
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Pakistan’s foreign minister calls for early resumption of PIA flights to Europe

  • Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar meets EU ambassador to discuss bilateral ties, trade and matters of mutual interest
  • PIA flights to Europe and the UK have been suspended since 2020 following Pakistan’s infamous pilot license scandal
Updated 24 April 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday stressed the resumption of direct flights from the country’s national airline to Europe, the foreign ministry said, in his meeting with EU Ambassador Riina Kionka during which both sides discussed bilateral relations, trade and matters of mutual interest. 

PIA flights to Europe and the UK have been suspended since 2020 after the EU’s Aviation Safety Agency revoked the national carrier’s authorization to fly to the bloc following a pilot license scandal that rocked the country. The issue resulted in the grounding of 262 of Pakistan’s 860 pilots, including 141 of PIA’s 434.

Kionka and Dar discussed Pakistan-EU bilateral ties and important issues of mutual interest during their meeting, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said. Dar told Kionka Pakistan views the EU as a “valued partner” and an important factor of stability during the current volatile times. 

“FM emphasized the significance of direct flights between Pakistan and European countries in view of large diasporas,” MoFA said. “In this regard, he stressed on the need for an early resumption of PIA flights to Europe.”

Both sides also expressed satisfaction over the “significant progress” of Pakistan-EU institutional mechanisms and resolved to maintain the upward trajectory of their relations by increasing their high-level interactions.

“FM vowed to further strengthen the existing strategic partnership in all areas, inter alia, trade, migration, climate change,” MoFA said. 

“The EU side assured their full cooperation to Pakistan in achieving the objectives of economic diplomacy.”

The EU is Pakistan’s second most important trading partner, accounting for over 14 percent of the country’s total trade and absorbing 28 percent of Pakistan’s total exports. Pakistani exports to the EU are dominated by textiles and clothing.

Pakistan’s GSP+ status is a special trade arrangement offered by the EU to developing economies in return for their commitment to implement 27 international conventions on human rights, environmental protection and governance. 

Topics: PIA Pakistan International Airlines (PIA)

Pakistan, Egypt among countries who pay most in surcharges to IMF— report 

Updated 24 April 2024
Reuters
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Pakistan, Egypt among countries who pay most in surcharges to IMF— report 

  • Indebted member countries paid about $6.4 billion in surcharges between 2020-2023, says report by US think tanks 
  • Surcharges do not hasten repayment, instead punish countries already struggling with liquidity constraints, critics say
Updated 24 April 2024
Reuters

Countries, mostly middle and lower-income, have been burdened by surcharges on top of interest payments on their borrowings from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), widening global inequities, according to a report by US think tanks. 

WHY IT’S IMPORTANT

Indebted member countries paid about $6.4 billion in surcharges between 2020-2023, the report from Boston University’s Global Development Policy Center and Columbia University’s Initiative for Policy Dialogue released on Tuesday showed.
And the number of countries paying these surcharges has more than doubled in the last four years.
The IMF is expected to charge an estimated $9.8 billion in surcharges in the next five years, according to an earlier report by the Center for Economic and Policy Research.
Critics of the policy argue that surcharges do not hasten repayment and instead punish countries already struggling with liquidity constraints, increase the risk of debt distress and divert scarce resources that could be used to boost the struggling economies.
BY THE NUMBERS
Countries such as Ukraine, Egypt, Argentina, Barbados and Pakistan pay the most in surcharges, the report showed, accounting for 90 percent of the IMF’s surcharge revenues.
These surcharges, levied on top of the fund’s increasingly steeper basic rate, are IMF’s single largest source of revenue, accounting for 50 percent of total revenue in 2023.
KEY QUOTES
“IMF surcharges are inherently pro-cyclical as they increase debt service payments when a borrowing country is most need of emergency financing,” Global Development Policy Center’s director Kevin Gallagher said.
“Increasing surcharges and global shocks are compounding the economic pressure on vulnerable countries.”
CONTEXT
Data published by the Institute of International Finance earlier this year showed global debt levels hit a record of $313 trillion in 2023, while the debt-to-GDP ratio — a reading indicating a country’s ability to pay back debts — across emerging economies also scaled fresh peaks.
IMF shareholders agreed last week on the importance of addressing challenges faced by low-income countries, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Friday.

Topics: International Monetary Fund

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