ISLAMABAD: Former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party leader, Omar Ayub Khan, on Wednesday ruled out further negotiations with the government unless its forms judicial commissions to probe the May 9, 2023 and November 2024 anti-government protests, amid efforts by both sides to break the prevalent political deadlock in the country.
Khan last month set up a negotiation committee of PTI members, including Omar Ayub Khan who is also the Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly, to hold talks with the government to ease political tensions. During the third round of talks between the two sides on Jan. 16, the PTI presented its “Charter of Demands” in writing to the government.
The party’s key demands include the release of political prisoners and the establishment of judicial commissions to investigate the May 9, 2023, and November 2024 protests. Khan’s brief detention on graft charges on May 9, 2023, had sparked countrywide protests that saw his supporters attack and ransack military installations in an unprecedented backlash against Pakistan’s powerful army generals.
In November 2024, Khan supporters from across the country defied blockades from various parts of the country to arrive in the capital to demand his release from prison. The government says four troops were killed while the PTI says 12 of its supporters died in clashes between law enforcers and Khan supporters.
“I wrote this in a tweet last night and this is Imran Khan’s directives too: no commissions, no negotiations,” Omar Ayub Khan told reporters outside the National Assembly. “End of discussion, we don’t accept it. The [judicial] commission of May 9 and the commission of Nov. 26.”
The opposition leader’s statement came shortly after Irfan Siddiqui, a key member of the government’s negotiation committee, said it would respond to the PTI’s written demands on Jan. 28.
When asked whether the committee had decided to form the judicial commissions, Siddiqui responded:
“We have not decided on the question of whether to form or not form [judicial commissions],” Siddiqui told reporters after a consultative meeting of the committee ended.
“That is why deliberations are taking place. Had this decision been taken today, there would be no need to hold meetings tomorrow and the day after that,” he added.
Siddiqui hoped negotiations between both sides would produce fruitful results.
The talks opened last month as Khan had threatened a civil disobedience movement and amid growing concerns he could face trial by a military court for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during the May 9 protests.
The negotiations also began two days after 25 civilians were sentenced by a military court to periods of two to 10 years of “rigorous imprisonment” in connection with the attacks on military facilities on May 9, 2023. Just days later on Dec. 26, another 60 civilians were sentenced by a military court to jail time ranging from 2 to 10 years.
Khan, facing a slew of legal cases from jail, says all charges against him are politically motivated to keep him and his party out of power. Khan had to sit out February 2024 general election as convicted felons cannot run for public office in Pakistan.
An anti-graft court last Friday sentenced the former premier to 14 years in jail and his wife, Bushra Khan, to seven years in prison, on charges of receiving land as bribe for a real estate tycoon in exchange for favors. Khan, his wife and the real estate tycoon have denied any wrongdoing in the case.
Imran Khan’s party says no talks with Pakistan government unless it forms judicial commissions
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Imran Khan’s party says no talks with Pakistan government unless it forms judicial commissions

- Khan’s party has demanded judicial commissions to probe protests of May 2023, November 2024
- Government’s negotiation committee says will respond to demands by Khan’s party in writing on January 28
Journalists’ union in southwest Pakistan launches hunger strike against new cybercrime law

- Bill creates four new government bodies to regulate online content, broadens the definition of online harm
- Parliament adopted amendments last month in the context of what is widely seen as a digital crackdown
QUETTA: A union of journalists in the southwestern Pakistani province of Balochistan on Wednesday set up a hunger strike camp to protest recent amendments to the country’s cybercrime law that opposition parties, the media fraternity and digital rights activists have widely said threaten online speech.
The Pakistan Electronic Crimes (Amendment) Act, 2025, enacted on January 29, includes provisions making the dissemination of “fake or false” information a criminal offense punishable by up to three years in prison without clearly defining “fake or false” news. Stakeholders like journalists and digital rights experts say they were excluded from consultations on the bill, which prevented genuine public scrutiny of the new law. The government denies the law is aimed at suppressing digital speech.
The amendments to the Electronic Crimes Act create four new government bodies to regulate online content and broaden the definition of online harm. The government bodies are authorized to block and remove content based on “ambiguous” criteria that do not meet the standards of proportionality and necessity required under international human rights law, rights bodies like Human Rights Watch and Amnesty have said.
The Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ) last week challenged the new law before the Islamabad High Court, urging it to strike them down for being “unconstitutional.” Journalists and their unions have also held protests against the amendments in several cities across the country.
On Wednesday, the Balochistan Union of Journalists (BUJ) launched a three-day hunger strike camp outside the Quetta Press Club, calling the new law “draconian.”
“Though the government says the amendments were proposed and approved to prevent fake news on social media, we are concerned that the government would target print and electronic media under the PECA Act also,” BUJ President Khalil Ahmed told Arab News.
He said the impoverished Balochistan province’s issues, including social and economic underdevelopment and security, did not get adequate coverage on mainstream media and many journalists from the region used online platforms to highlight the challenges.
“Journalists in Balochistan province would be affected under this act because the majority of journalists here are forced to discuss provincial issues on social media platforms through vlogs and blogs,” Ahmed said, adding that the BUJ’s protest movement would continue until the government abolished the new amendments to the PECA Act.
Saleem Shahid, a senior journalist and former vice president of Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists, described the new law as being against “basic human rights.”
“Under these news amendments, authorities can detain journalists without giving them a chance of a legal trial in courts and fine them rupees two to three million rupees,” Shahid said.
“When we speak about freedom of speech and independent journalism, we should be more responsible and pursue ethics of journalism.”
One of the regulatory bodies created under the new law, the Social Media Protection Tribunal, comprises government-appointed members rather than independent members of the judiciary.
Another new body, the Social Media Protection and Regulation Authority, is authorized to order any social media company to remove or block content deemed to be “against the ideology of Pakistan,” be known to be “fake or false,” or to cast aspersions on various public officials. The authority can also require any social media company to register with it and impose any conditions it deems “appropriate” upon registration.
Parliament adopted the amendments last month in the context of what is widely seen as an escalating crackdown on digital speech in Pakistan, including frequently shutting down the Internet and throttling Internet networks.
The social media platform X has already been banned since days after February general elections last year as allegations of rigging emerged online. There are regular reports of VPN restrictions, and the government is also moving to implement a national firewall, though it denies these moves are aimed at censorship.
South Africa win toss, bat against Pakistan in tri-series

- Both teams lost their opening match against New Zealand and have made changes
- The winning team will face New Zealand in the final scheduled for Friday in Karachi
KARACHI: South Africa won the toss and chose to bat against Pakistan in the third match of the three-nation tournament in Karachi on Wednesday.
South Africa, who lost to New Zealand in their first game, made four changes, with star batter Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Corbin Bosch and Tony de Zorzi coming into the side.
Pakistan made two changes from their defeat against New Zealand in the first match in Lahore, bringing in Saud Shakeel and Mohammad Hasnain in place of injured Haris Rauf and Kamran Ghulam.
The winner will face New Zealand in the final scheduled for Friday, also in Karachi.
Teams
Pakistan: Mohammad Rizwan (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Babar Azam, Saud Shakeel, Tayyab Tahir, Salman Agha, Khushdil Shah, Shaheen Shah Afridi, Naseem Shah, Mohammad Hasnain, Abrar Ahmed
South Africa: Temba Bavuma (captain), Tony de Zorzi, Matthew Breetzke, Kyle Verreynne, Heinrich Klaasen, Keshav Maharaj, Senuran Muthusamy, Wiaan Mulder, Tabraiz Shamsi, Corbin Bosch, Lungi Ngidi
Umpires: Asif Yaqoob (PAK) and Michael Gough (ENG)
TV Umpire: Richard Illingworth (ENG)
Match referee: David Boon (AUS)
Pakistani, UAE deputy PMs express concern over US proposal to dislocate Palestinians from Gaza

- Trump has announced plans to resettle Palestinian residents and redevelop enclave and said they should not have the right to return
- Palestinian territory, encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem, has been occupied by Israel since 1967
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar on Wednesday spoke to his counterpart in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, and expressed concern about a proposal by US President Donald Trump to displace Palestinians from Gaza, the foreign office in Islamabad said.
Trump has recently announced plans to resettle Gaza’s Palestinian residents and redevelop the enclave and said they should not have the right to return. Under Trump’s scheme, Gaza’s about 2.2 million Palestinians would be resettled and the United States would take control and ownership of the coastal territory, redeveloping it into the “Riviera of the Middle East.” Palestinians fear that Trump’s plan would enforce another Nakba, or Catastrophe, when they experienced mass expulsions in 1948 with the creation of Israel.
“The two leaders discussed the grave humanitarian situation in Gaza and expressed concerns at the proposal to displace or relocate the Palestinian people from their ancestral homeland,” the foreign office said after Dar’s call with his UAE counterpart.
The Pakistani deputy PM reiterated Pakistan’s “unwavering” support for Palestinian rights, and the foreign office said both leaders agreed to stay in close contact to achieve a “just, comprehensive, and lasting solution to the Palestinian issue.”
Israel began its latest assault on Gaza after a Hamas-led attack on Israel on October 7, 2023, that killed about 1,200 people, while some 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies.
More than 48,000 Palestinians have been killed in Israeli air and ground operations since, Gaza health authorities say, and much of the enclave has been obliterated.
The Gaza war has been paused since Jan. 19 under the ceasefire agreement between Israel and Hamas that was brokered by Qatar and Egypt with support from the United States.
Palestinian territories – encompassing the Gaza Strip and West Bank, including East Jerusalem – have been occupied by Israel since 1967.
Pakistan does not recognize Israel and has consistently called for an independent Palestinian state based on “internationally agreed parameters.”
Pakistan arrests medical officer for falsifying autopsy report in blasphemy case killing

- Dr. Muntazir Mehdi allegedly tried to conceal evidence of torture in Dr. Shahnawaz Kunbhar’s postmortem report
- Dr. Kunbhar was accused of sharing blasphemous content on social media, though he denied the charge
KARACHI: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has arrested a medical officer in Mirpurkhas for allegedly tampering with the autopsy report of a doctor killed in a suspected extrajudicial police shooting after being accused of blasphemy, the agency said on Wednesday.
The arrest is part of an ongoing probe into the killing of Dr. Shahnawaz Kunbhar, a physician who was shot dead in what authorities initially described as a police encounter, but which was later proven by a high-level police inquiry to have been a staged killing while he was in custody.
The FIA said in a statement the police officials implicated in the case were investigated on charges of murder, terrorism and torture.
“The FIA Mirpurkhas has carried out a major operation and arrested medico-legal officer Dr. Muntazir Mehdi,” the agency said in a statement.
“The arrested suspect is accused of concealing evidence of torture in the post-mortem report,” it added. “He was taken into custody in Mirpurkhas, and investigations have begun.”
The statement said further arrests were expected as part of the probe, and all available resources were being used to track down those involved.
Dr. Kunbhar, a government doctor in Sindh’s Umerkot district, was accused of sharing blasphemous content on social media in September 2024, though he denied the charge and said that his account had been hacked.
After facing threats from religious groups, he went into hiding but was later arrested. A day after being taken into custody, police claimed he was killed in an exchange of fire while allegedly trying to escape.
Rights groups and his family dismissed the police version, however, alleging he was tortured and executed in custody. A subsequent inquiry by the Sindh Human Rights Commission found that Kunbhar had been killed in a staged encounter, and his body bore signs of severe torture.
The case sparked protests across Sindh, with civil society and legal activists demanding accountability.
The incident also brought Pakistan’s controversial blasphemy laws under renewed scrutiny, with rights organizations calling for legal reforms to prevent their misuse and protect the accused from vigilante violence.
The FIA said its investigation into police officers involved in the case was ongoing, and efforts to apprehend all those responsible were underway.
Pakistan picks consortium led by Dubai-based firm to advise on power sector privatization

- The consortium will help with the privatization of three power distribution companies in Pakistan
- Pakistan has struggled with power sector challenges, leading to financial losses, revenue shortfalls
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has signed a financial advisory agreement with a consortium led by Dubai-based Alvarez & Marsal Middle East Limited to help privatize three major power distribution companies (DISCOs), the Privatization Commission said on Tuesday.
The agreement is part of the government’s broader privatization drive to reform the power sector that has been plagued by circular debt, operational inefficiencies and power theft.
The government has been working to divest state-run power companies as part of its wider economic reform agenda, recommended under its $7 billion loan program with the International Monetary Fund.
“This strategic initiative aligns with the government’s commitment to improving efficiency, reducing losses and ensuring long-term sustainability in the power distribution sector,” the Privatization Commission said in a statement.
Alvarez & Marsal Middle East Limited, a professional services firm specializing in business performance improvement and turnaround management, will provide financial advisory services for the privatization of Faisalabad Electric Supply Company (FESCO), Gujranwala Electric Power Company (GEPCO) and Islamabad Electric Supply Company (IESCO).
It will conduct due diligence, market analysis, investor outreach and transaction structuring to facilitate private sector participation in the bidding process.
Pakistan has long struggled with power sector challenges, with state-run distribution companies suffering massive financial losses due to inefficiencies, revenue shortfalls and delays in tariff adjustments.
The signing ceremony was attended by senior officials from the Privatization Commission and representatives of the A&M-led consortium.