DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Police in the Lakki Marwat district of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province said they were calling off a days-long protest against a spike in militant attacks and targeted killings of police officers after the army agreed to leave check posts in villages and city centers of the restive area.
Pakistan’s army has a heavy presence across KP, where it has been battling militants from the Al-Qaeda, Pakistani Taliban and other groups for nearly two decades. The province, which borders Afghanistan, has witnessed a number of attacks on police, security forces and anti-polio vaccination teams as well as kidnappings of officials in recent months.
There have been protests in several districts of KP since July, when Pakistan’s cabinet announced that a new military operation would be launched amid a surge in terror attacks across the country. People in KP have rejected plans for an armed operation and demand that civilian agencies like the provincial police and the counter-terrorism department be better equipped.
In Lakki Marwat, police launched a sit-in on Monday and blocked the Peshawar-Karachi Indus Highway for all types of vehicular traffic. The sit-in continued for almost four days and ended late Thursday after the police said they had reached an agreement with the district administration, following the intervention of elders from the native Marwat tribe.
“Pak Army will leave Lakki Marwat within six days. Police must be empowered and given armored vehicles and other resources,” the district police spokesman said in a statement, detailing conditions of the agreement.
“External interference in police must be eliminated, injured policemen should be taken care of, and no disciplinary action should be taken against the police personnel and civilians who participated in the sit-in.”
The statement said police would relaunch their sit-in if the agreement was not implemented.
Lakki Marwat Police Spokesman Shahid Marwat told Arab News the army would not “totally withdraw” from the district but will leave check posts in villages and city centers.
The army and the provincial government have not yet commented on the military’s plans to exit Lakki Marwat.
The protest, which was joined by representatives of civil society and political parties as well as tribal elders and members of the public, came days after unidentified gunmen attacked a police van in Lakki Marwat, killing an officer, while two brothers of a serving policeman were also killed in a separate attack in the district last week.
Hours after the sit-in was called off, a police constable, Hikmat Ullah, was gunned down at a shop in the Samandar village of Lakki Marwat, according to police. The death brought the number of police killings in KP to 78 this year, police data showed.
The volatile Lakki Marwat district is located on the edge of Pakistan’s restive tribal regions that border Afghanistan, from where Islamabad says militants mainly associated with the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan frequently launch attacks, targeting police and security forces.
Islamabad has even blamed Kabul’s Afghan Taliban rulers for facilitating anti-Pakistan militants. Kabul denies the charges.
Police call off anti-militancy protest, say army will decrease presence in northwestern Pakistani district
https://arab.news/wnbmx
Police call off anti-militancy protest, say army will decrease presence in northwestern Pakistani district
- Army has heavy presence in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa where it has been battling militant groups for nearly two decades
- Army has not yet commented on the agreement, at least 78 policemen have been killed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa this year
Pakistan Senate unanimously passes resolution condemning Israel’s campaigns against Gaza, Syria
- Pakistan Peoples Party Senator Sherry Rehman moves resolution urging international community to protect Palestinian lives
- Senate condemns Israel’s “exploitation of political vacuum” in Syria after the fall of Bashar Assad’s government in the country
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s upper house of parliament, the Senate, passed a unanimous resolution on Thursday condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza and Syria, urging the international community to intervene and protect Palestinian lives, state-run media reported.
Israel’s military campaign in Gaza has killed more than 44,000 people and injured thousands more since the Oct. 7, 2023 attacks by Hamas in which Israel says 1,200 people were killed and 250 taken hostage.
Israel has also attacked Syria since the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s government this month and conducted a military incursion into the buffer zone separating the two countries since 1974, despite protests from the UN.
“The Senate on Thursday passed a resolution unanimously condemning Israel’s bombardment extending to many countries,” the Associated Press of Pakistan (APP) reported.
The resolution was moved by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) Senator Sherry Rehman on behalf of all political parties.
As per the resolution, the Senate strongly condemned Israel’s blatant disregard for international law, particularly in its actions against Palestine and urged the Jewish state be held accountable for them.
The Senate also condemned Israel for its “exploitation of the political vacuum” in Syria following Assad’s government.
“This agenda now extends beyond Palestine to violations of the sovereignty of Syria and many other countries,” the resolution said.
Calling for immediate accountability for Israel’s actions, the Senate also condemned the killing of United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) team members in the Middle East.
Israel has killed 249 UNRWA staff members in its military campaigns carried out up till November this year, it added.
“Such attacks are a blatant violation of United Nations General Assembly Resolution 302; which mandates UNRWA’s role in providing critical humanitarian assistance to vulnerable populations,” the resolution said.
Pakistan’s upper house of parliament also condemned the targeted killing of over 180 journalists during Israeli bombings in Gaza along with the destruction of critical infrastructure including hospitals, schools and even residential areas.
“The Senate reaffirms Pakistan’s unwavering support for the Palestinian cause, recognizing it as a moral, political, and legal obligation. Pakistan reiterates its consistent support for the two-state solution of the Palestinian issue, as enshrined in relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions,” the resolution stated.
The Senate also urged the international community to take action to “protect Palestinian lives, hold Israel accountable for war crimes and ensure compliance with international humanitarian law.”
Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, Pakistan has repeatedly raised the issue at the UN, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and other multilateral platforms, demanding international powers and bodies stop Israeli military actions in Gaza.
Pakistan has dispatched a total of 1,273 tons of relief items to the war-affected people of Gaza until Nov. 27, according to the National Disaster Management Authority.
The South Asian nation does not recognize nor have diplomatic relations with Israel and calls for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters” and the pre-1967 borders with Al-Quds Al-Sharif as its capital.
Ex-Pakistan PM Khan’s party rejects reports of holding talks with government to ease tensions
- Reports of possible talks surfaced after Khan’s party leaders met ruling party member Ayaz Sadiq after his sister’s death
- Khan announced earlier this month his party will launch civil disobedience campaign against government from Dec. 14
ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party on Thursday refuted reports it had held talks with the government on easing political tensions in the country, stressing that the ex-premier would announce details of his anti-government civil disobedience movement on Dec. 14.
Pakistani media reported that the government and PTI had agreed to ease political tensions in the country after PTI leaders Asad Qaiser and Salman Akram Raja met ruling party Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz’s (PML-N) member and National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq this week to offer condolences on his sister’s death.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif subsequently visited Sadiq’s residence, fueling speculation that the reported negotiations were discussed between Sadiq and the Pakistani premier.
Reports of negotiations have surfaced after Khan earlier this month announced the PTI would launch a civil disobedience campaign from Dec. 14 if the government did not meet two of his demands. In a message to supporters on Dec. 5, the jailed Khan said he was setting up a five-member negotiations committee to hold talks with the federal government for the release of political prisoners, and also demanded judicial commissions to investigate protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 24 this year in which the government says his supporters partook in violence and caused vandalism.
“There were no talks with the government when they [PTI leader] went for the condolence, nothing else was discussed or no political talk except the condolence happened,” Khan’s close aide and PTI spokesperson Sayed Zulfikar Bukhari told Arab News.
He said PTI was open to talks with everyone, however, he questioned whether the government had the authority or power to engage meaningfully with the opposition.
Khan’s party alleges the Sharif-led coalition government came to power after rigging polls with the help of Pakistan’s all-powerful military. It frequently accuses the Sharif-led government of being a stooge of the military.
Both deny the allegations and Pakistan’s military has repeatedly said it does not interfere in political matters.
“As for talks with the government, we are happy to have talks with everybody but the question is does the government have any power or any authority, that will still remain to be seen,” Bukhari added.
“Because at the moment they seem to have even less authority and power than us.”
Another PTI leader and an important member of its legal team, Muhammad Shoaib Shaheen, also endorsed Bukhari’s stance that there were no talks at any level between Khan’s party and the government.
“Qaiser visited the speaker of the National Assembly only to offer condolences and any talks will happen only if the government shows seriousness toward the PTI’s demands,” Shaheen told Arab News.
Commenting on the PTI’s call for civil disobedience, Shaheen said Khan himself will announce the civil disobedience process and its details on or after Dec. 14.
“If the government engages in talks with genuine intent, even then Khan will decide whether to postpone the movement,” Shaheen said.
’ABANDON OLD WAYS’
Arab News reached out to government spokespersons, including Information Minister Ataullah Tarar and other members of Sharif’s cabinet for a comment. They did not respond till the filing of this report.
In an interview with local media on Wednesday night, Tarar dismissed the rumors of talks between the two sides as baseless, stating that there have been no formal discussions between the government and PTI.
Speaking on the floor of the Senate on Thursday, senior PML-N leader Irfan Siddiqui said the government is willing to engage in dialogue, but urged PTI to abandon its “old ways” and avoid creating undue pressure.
“Even today, we are ready for dialogue and will engage with an open heart, but do not hold a sword over our heads,” Siddiqui said.
“Before any dialogue, PTI members must abandon their old ways,” he added.
Siddiqui said reconciliation was “a very good policy” and that if dialogue between the two sides did take place, solutions to political issues could be found.
“Peaceful protest is everyone’s right but this right is not unconditional,” he said.
UK aims to boost home-schooling safety after British-Pakistani girl’s murder
- Ten-year-old Sara Sharif’s father, step-mother were convicted of murdering her this week
- Months before death, her father had taken Sharif out of school to be taught at home
LONDON: British Prime Minister Keir Starmer on Thursday called for better safeguards for home-schooled children and said there were “questions that need to be answered” after the brutal murder of a 10-year-old girl.
Sara Sharif’s father and step-mother were convicted of murder on Wednesday in a trial that revealed gruesome details of the abuse inflicted on her, and the failure of child protection services to intervene despite warning signs.
Months before her death, her father Urfan Sharif had taken her out of school to be taught at home, after Sara’s teacher reported her bruises to child services.
At the time, child services had probed the incident but did not take any action.
Starmer said the “awful” case was “about making sure that (there are) protecting safeguards for children, particularly those being home-schooled.”
The Department for Education said it was “already taking action to make sure no child falls through the cracks” and “bringing in greater safeguards for children in home education.”
The government plans to “make sure that schools and teachers are involved in safeguarding decisions,” a Downing Street spokesperson said, adding that details would be included in upcoming legislation.
Parents will also need local authority consent for home-schooling at-risk children under the proposed changes, and a register of children who are not in school will be drawn up.
Sara was found dead in her home in August 2023, with extensive injuries including broken bones, burns and even bite marks after being subjected to years of abuse.
She had also been in and out of foster care after Sharif separated from her mother, Olga Sharif, to marry the step-mother Beinash Batool.
Despite previous allegations of abusive behavior against the father made by Olga, Sharif won custody of Sara in 2019, just four years before she was killed.
Children’s Commissioner Rachel de Souza said Sara’s death highlighted “profound weaknesses in our child protection system.”
De Souza said it was “madness” that an at-risk child could be taken out of school, calling for a ban on home-schooling of suspected abuse victims.
According to a child safeguarding report published on Thursday, 485 children in England died or were seriously harmed by abuse or neglect in the year to April 2024.
Urfan Sharif, Beinash Batool and Sara’s uncle Faisal Malik, who was cleared of murder but convicted of causing or allowing her death, are due to be sentenced on Tuesday.
Combatting smog, air pollution at center of discussions as Punjab chief minister visits China
- CM Maryam Nawaz Sharif on China visit from Dec. 8-15, meets China’s Ecology and Environment Minister
- Almost two million people from Pakistan fell sick when smog choked Punjab for over two weeks last month
ISLAMABAD: Combatting smog and air pollution has remained at the center of discussions this week as the chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, visits China on a week-long trip.
Smog had choked Pakistan’s eastern Punjab province for weeks last month, sickening nearly two million people and shrouding vast swathes of the province in a toxic haze.
On Thursday, Lahore, the capital of Punjab, was listed as the world’s third most polluted city by Swiss air monitor IQAir, and its PM2.5 concentration, which comprises air particles that damage lungs, was 20.5 times the World Health Organization annual guideline value. Last month, the province had closed down schools and offices, banned outdoor activities and shortened timings for restaurants, shops and markets in a bid to control smog.
China has taken significant steps to combat its worsening air quality, declaring a “war on pollution” in 2015. Key measures include reducing coal consumption, increasing renewable energy capacity, and improving air quality monitoring systems. However, the Helsinki-based Center for Research on Energy and Clean Air (CREA) said last month in its annual assessment China’s emissions of carbon dioxide were on course to rise slightly this year, despite rapid progress on renewables and electric vehicles, putting a key 2025 climate target further out of reach.
“China is also a miracle in curbing pollution, smog mitigation, smog eradication and the steps that China has taken is not only an inspiration for us to learn from but also commend them,” CM Sharif said in televised comments during a meeting with Chinese Ecology and Environment Minister Huang Runqiu on Wednesday.
“I am also completely and absolutely committed to making Punjab into a climate resilient Punjab.”
Briefing Chinese officials on Pakistan’s short-, medium- and long-term plans to combat air pollution, Sharif said:
“There is a complete plan that is in place which is environment conservation, biodiversity conservation, sustainable development and, most critical areas where we are working on daily basis, is air pollution, improving air quality standards and eradicating smog.”
Sharif said Pakistan would adopt the Chinese model of shifting industries out of cities to give people cleaner air to breathe.
Earlier this week, Sharif’s office said Punjab would develop an advanced air quality management system with the help of China and had set up a Beijing-Punjab Clean Air Joint Working Group.
“I suggest we form a working group where we can sit together on taking some tangible measures for smog mitigation, smog eradication and improving the air quality in Pakistan,” Sharif added. “We can exchange technologies, ideas, success stories and follow in China’s footsteps.”
She urged the working group to adopt a knowledge sharing policy regarding policy formulation, technology transfer, data, sharing, emission reduction strategies and e-transport.
On Thursday, the Punjab CM also invited a Chinese solar company to establish a manufacturing plan in Pakistan during her visit to the Jinko Solar Company in Shanghai, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
“The CM directed the concerned authorities of Punjab government to take necessary steps for setting up the solar manufacturing plant in the province,” the report said.
Pakistan’s second consignment of flood relief items for Malaysia arrives in Kuala Lumpur
- Pakistan dispatched 40 tons of essential items such as lifejackets, tents, blankets and sleeping bags
- Torrential rains and floods in Malaysia and Thailand this month killed at least 30, displaced thousands
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s second consignment of humanitarian assistance for the flood-hit people of Malaysia arrived in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, the National Disaster Management Authority (NDMA) said.
Pakistan dispatched a consignment of 40 tons of relief items from Islamabad on Wednesday night for the flood-hit people of Malaysia. Torrential rains and floods killed over 30 in Malaysia and Thailand and displaced tens of thousands in the two countries this month.
“Upon arrival, the consignment was received by representatives of the Pakistan Embassy in Malaysia and the Malaysian National Disaster Management Agency (NADMA),” the NDMA said.
It said the consignment featured essential supplies such as tents, blankets, quilts, mats, sleeping bags and life jackets.
The anti-disaster authority said it remains steadfast in its commitment to providing humanitarian assistance to Malaysia’s flood affectees.
Pakistan sent its first shipment of 40 tons of relief items to Malaysia on Dec. 8.
Pakistan is one of the worst affected countries due to climate change impact, suffering cataclysmic floods in 2022 that killed over 1,700 people and destroyed critical infrastructure inflicting losses worth Rs33 billion.
