QUETTA: A policeman opened fire inside a police station in the southwestern Pakistani city of Quetta on Thursday, killing a suspect held on accusations of blasphemy, a local official said.
The slain man was identified as Syed Khan. Police said he had been arrested the day before, after officers snatched him from an enraged mob that claimed he had insulted Islam’s Prophet Muhammad (pbuh).
According to police official Mohammad Khurram, the officer involved in the fatal shooting has been arrested. Khurram did not provide further details.
Killings of suspects while in police custody are rare in Pakistan, where accusations of blasphemy — sometimes even just rumors — are common and often spark rioting and rampage by mobs that can escalate into lynching and killings.
Under Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws, anyone found guilty of insulting Islam or Islamic religious figures can be sentenced to death, though authorities have yet to carry out a death sentences for blasphemy.
In the case of Khan, the man killed on Thursday, local residents claimed he had used derogatory remarks against the prophet and went after him. After he was arrested, the mob surrounded the station, demanding police hand Khan back to them so they could kill him.
At one point, a man hurled a grenade at the station on Wednesday while a group of religious hard-liners briefly blocked a key road in the city, demanding punishment for Khan. The crowd dispersed later in the day after officials managed to calm them down.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in attacks on blasphemy suspects in recent years.
In June, a mob broke into a police station in the northwestern town of Madyan, snatched a man who was held there and then lynched him over allegations that he had desecrated Islam’s holy book, the Qur’an. The attackers also torched the station and burned police vehicles parked there. The slain man was a tourist staying at a hotel in town when the locals turned on him and accused him of blasphemy.
Last year, a mob in the eastern Punjab province attacked churches and homes of Christians after claiming they saw a local Christian and his friend desecrating pages from a Qur’an. The attack in the district of Jaranwala drew nationwide condemnation, but Christians say the men linked to the violence are yet to be put on trial.
In 2021, a mob of factory employees in eastern Pakistan tortured and burned a Sri Lankan manager over apparent blasphemy.
A policeman in 2011 killed a former governor of Punjab province after accusing him of blasphemy. That officer, Mumtaz Qadri, was later sentenced to death and hanged. However, support for him grew after his hanging, with tens of thousands attending his funeral in the garrison city of Rawalpindi. Many in Punjab still today considered him a martyr.
Quetta, a conservative city in southwestern Pakistan, is also the capital of the restive Balochistan province, where militant groups stage near daily attacks and where separatists have waged a decades-long insurgency against the government in Islamabad.
Policeman shoots and kills blasphemy suspect held at Pakistan police station
https://arab.news/nknwe
Policeman shoots and kills blasphemy suspect held at Pakistan police station
- Syed Khan was arrested on Wednesday after officers snatched him from an enraged mob that claimed he had committed blasphemy
- Accusations of blasphemy are common in Pakistan, often spark rioting and rampage by mobs that escalate into lynching and killings
Seven Pakistani fishermen reunite with families after release from Indian jails
- Pakistani charity Edhi Foundation facilitated travel of these fishermen from Lahore to Karachi, where they were reunited with their families
- The fishermen urged Pakistan, India to refrain from detaining impoverished fisherfolk, who are routinely detained by both maritime agencies
KARACHI: Seven Pakistani fishermen reunited with their families in the southern port city of Karachi on Monday after languishing for years in Indian prisons, a Pakistani charity said.
The charity organization, Edhi Foundation, was handed over these fishermen by Pakistani authorities last Friday to facilitate their return to Karachi, according to Muhammad Ameen, an official at the Edhi Foundation.
The charity covered transportation costs for the fishermen from Lahore, where they had arrived from India, and gave each one of them Rs10,000 ($36) for household expenses upon arrival in Karachi.
Indian and Pakistani fishermen are routinely detained by both maritime agencies on charges of illegally entering each other's territorial waters. The nuclear-armed nations’ borders are not clearly defined in the Arabian Sea and many fishing boats lack the technology to steer clear of any intrusion.
“Whether it’s Indian or Pakistani fishermen, they are all poor,” said 26-year-old Allah Bachayo, who spent nearly four years away from his family after his boat drifted into Indian waters due to a malfunction in 2020.
“If both sides can come together to release Pakistani fishermen in India and Indian fishermen here, it would be a great kindness.”
Another fisherman, Ghulam Mustafa Shah, 19, was reunited with his mother, Shehrbano Bibi, and two younger siblings after having spent nearly three years in an Indian prison.
“I begged for alms to feed my children,” Bibi told Arab News at the Edhi Foundation office in Karachi, adding that Shah was her eldest son and the family’s main breadwinner, whose imprisonment forced her to ask others for support.
“I am very happy. It is a greater occasion than Eid for me,” she said, warmly embracing her son.
Shah, who had accidentally crossed into the Indian waters along with nine other fishermen in Jan. 2022, described his prison time as "painful," recalling that his requests to speak with his family were denied multiple times.
“I missed my mother a lot,” he said. “I would cry the whole day, but no one would listen to me. I banged my head [against the walls], but no one accepted my request.”
Ameen, the Edhi Foundation official, said that another 79 Pakistani fishermen were incarcerated in India, urging authorities to make efforts for their release too.
Pakistan name spin trio for second England Test
- The hosts made four changes from the side beaten by an innings in the first Test, including bringing in Kamran Ghulam
- The 29-year-old has performed well in domestic cricket, having set a national record of 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season
MULTAN: Pakistan named three spinners in their team for the second Test against England starting on Tuesday as they chase a series-levelling win on a re-used Multan stadium pitch.
The hosts made four changes from the side beaten by an innings in the first Test, including bringing in batsman Kamran Ghulam for his debut.
The 29-year-old has performed well in domestic cricket, having set a national record of 1,249 runs in the 2020-21 season.
The spin bowling will be handled by left-armer Noman Ali, leg-break bowler Zahid Mahmood and off-spinner Sajid Khan, all brought into the side.
Pakistan left out ace batsman Babar Azam from the first Test along with the pace duo of Shaheen Shah Afridi and Naseem Shah, and spinner Abrar Ahmed. He is still unwell.
England thumped the home team by an innings and 47 runs on Friday after the tourists compiled a mammoth 823-7 declared in reply to Pakistan’s first-innings 556.
Squad: Shan Masood (captain), Saim Ayub, Abdullah Shafique, Kamran Ghulam, Saud Shakeel, Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha, Aamer Jamal, Noman Ali, Sajid Khan, Zahid Mahmood
Pakistan’s rice exports surged to $4 billion in FY24 compared to $2.15 billion last year
- State media says favorable weather, “abundant” resources helped Pakistan export six million tons of rice
- Pakistan’s commerce minister said country aims to increase revenue from rice exports to $7 billion this year
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan generated $4 billion in revenue during financial year 2024 by exporting six million tons of different types of rice, state media reported on Monday, citing favorable weather conditions and “abundant” agricultural resources as the main reasons for the surge in exports.
Pakistan exported rice worth $4 billion this year compared to $2.15 billion last year, benefiting largely from India’s more-than-a-year-long ban on rice exports to fulfill its domestic needs. India announced in September it was lifting the ban, prompting Pakistan to lift the minimum export price for all rice varieties in the country.
India and Pakistan are the only two countries that produce basmati rice which is famous for its unique flavor and aroma. India has been the largest exporter of rice worldwide, followed by Pakistan, Thailand and Vietnam.
“With the support of the Special Investment Facilitation Council, Pakistan has earned revenue of four billion dollars from rice exports,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported, referring to Pakistan’s top hybrid civil-military body formed last year to attract foreign investment in the country’s vital economic sectors.
“During the fiscal year 2024, Pakistan exported more than 6 million tons of different varieties of rice due to favorable weather conditions and abundant availability of agricultural resources.”
Shahjahan Malik, former chairman of the Rice Exporters Association of Pakistan, said exporters have set a fresh target of $5 billion for rice exports for the next financial year. He added that a comprehensive strategy based on “modern seed research and quality agricultural practices” would be developed to enhance exports further.
Earlier this month, Pakistan’s Commerce Minister Jam Kamal had said the country aimed to boost its rice exports to as much as $7 billion to support its dwindling economy.
Three Pakistani policemen killed in attack at police headquarters
- Militants storm police headquarters in district Bannu, say police
- Militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban claims responsibility for attack
PESHAWAR: At least three policemen were killed in northwest Pakistan when militants stormed a district police headquarters in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province on Monday, a police source told Reuters.
The attack on the complex, which houses both the district police headquarters and a residential complex, was ongoing, the high-ranking police source said, adding that the assailants, who included suicide bombers, had been “pinned down” in the area.
Three assailants were killed by police, he added.
The source, requesting anonymity due to the sensitivity of the matter, said three policemen were killed while resisting the assault on the Police Lines of District Bannu, which borders the restive North Waziristan tribal district on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Militant group Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan claimed responsibility for the attack, a spokesperson for the group said.
The roads around the complex have been closed to traffic as security forces moved to neutralize the remaining attackers, the police source added.
Bannu is about 350 kilometers from Pakistan’s capital Islamabad, which is under strict security lockdown due to the arrival of Chinese Premier Li Qiang on Monday ahead of a regional leaders’ meeting this week.
Second batch of 61 Palestinian medical students leave for Pakistan to continue studies
- A total of 192 Palestinian medical students from war-torn Gaza will continue fully funded studies in Pakistani institutions
- Initiative launched through collaboration between Doctors of Rehman, Global Relief Trust and Al-Khidmat Foundation
ISLAMABAD: A second batch of 61 Palestinian medical students from Gaza out of 192 left Cairo on Monday to travel to Pakistan where they plan to continue their studies, the Pakistani embassy in Egypt said.
The second batch of Palestinian students left for Islamabad hours after the first batch arrived in Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore from Cairo. The embassy said the Palestinian students will continue their studies in Pakistani medical universities on fully funded programs under Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s directions.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry announced in July that the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) will provide scholarships to over 100 Palestinian students so that they are able to continue their medical studies in Pakistan as Israel’s war wreaks havoc in the Middle East. The initiative is a collaboration between Doctors of Rehman, Global Relief Trust and leading Pakistani non-governmental organization, the Al-Khidmat Foundation.
“Under the directions of Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, and special efforts of Global Relief Trust, Doctors of Rahman, and Al-Khidmat Foundation, the second batch of 61 Palestinian students from Gaza left Cairo for Islamabad today,” Pakistan’s Embassy in Cairo said.
It said Pakistan embassy officials and the Al-Khidmat Foundation representatives facilitated the Palestinian students’ departure at the Cairo International Airport.
Since Oct. 7, 2023, Israel has killed over 42,000 people in Gaza through relentless bombardment despite ceasefire calls and angry protests in several countries around the world. The World Health Organization (WHO) has reported that cases of meningitis, jaundice, impetigo, chickenpox and other upper respiratory tract infections have been recorded in Gaza. Almost 600,000 cases of acute watery diarrhea have been recorded due to lack of clean water and other causes, as well as other waste-borne diseases.
Several international media outlets have reported significant destruction of hospitals and universities in Gaza since October last year.
The WHO and other sources have documented severe damage to the area’s health care facilities, including the largest hospital Al-Shifa, which has been rendered non-functional due to extensive damage in the ongoing conflict.
There have also been widespread reports of substantial damage to educational institutions along with reports of deliberate targeting of Palestinian academics.
